A dull throb started at Yun An'an's temples. She had no desire to engage further. "If that's all, Mother," she said, her gaze distant, "I'm going upstairs to rest." "Sister." Seeing Yun An'an about to leave, Yun Xinyue quickly stood and took her arm, her voice a sweet, cloying wheedle. "It's been so long. Why don't we sleep together tonight, just like when we were little?" A sharp pain shot up Yun An'an's arm, and her expression flickered. Her gaze on the other woman was as placid and cold as still water. "I didn't return to the Yun family until I was fifteen. What childhood are you talking about? Let go." But Yun Xinyue wouldn't release her so easily. Her nails dug into the flesh of Yun An'an’s arm, nearly breaking the skin. "Sister, are you still mad at me?" "I'm not even mad that you married Siqing in my place while I was gone. So why are you still so upset with me?" Every word, a carefully laid trap. Yun An'an let out a cold laugh, tired of the charade. She raised her hand to wrench free, but the moment she did, Yun Xinyue threw herself backward, crashing into a nearby vase. The scene unfolded in a sudden, violent blur. Just as Yun An'an reached out to catch her, a tall, elegant figure flashed past. In the next instant, before she could even hit the ground, Yun Xinyue was swept into Huo Siqing’s arms as the vase shattered across the floor. Yun An'an’s hand, still outstretched, was brutally slapped away by an enraged Huo Siqing. Thrown off balance, she stumbled and crashed to her knees amidst the sharp shards of porcelain. Pain. The shards sliced into the skin of her palms and knees, a fiery agony that brought an instant film of tears to her eyes. She trembled violently, biting down hard on her lip to keep from crying out. Huo Siqing’s cold eyes froze for a fraction of a second, but the flicker of hesitation was swiftly replaced by indifference and disgust. "You brought this on yourself." The four icy words felt like they froze the very blood in Yun An'an's veins, her face turning a frightening shade of white. "Siqing, my heart… it hurts so much…" Yun Xinyue, who had been watching Yun An'an’s miserable state with a triumphant smirk, suddenly went pale. Clutching her chest, she gasped for breath and then, dramatically, fainted. "Xinyue! Xinyue!" Huo Siqing's expression changed instantly. He bent down, sweeping her into his arms. His gaze, cold and hard, fell on Yun An'an. "You'd better pray nothing happens to her!" His glare was like an icicle forged in the dead of winter, piercing the softest part of Yun An'an's heart. It drew blood instantly. "Vile creature. Willing to harm your own sister just to compete for attention," Qi Lan sneered, her eyes warning the maids who had started to move toward Yun An'an. Yun An'an kept her head down, saying nothing, a bitter taste filling her mouth. After a long moment, she forced herself to stand and, ignoring the searing pain with every step, made her way back to her room. After peeling off her blood-stained clothes, Yun An'an noticed the blood on her underwear and drew a sharp, weary breath. All the recent turmoil had thrown her normally healthy body into chaos, her period now completely irregular. She applied a healing salve she had prepared to her wounds, changed her clothes, and lay down on her bed. Sleep wouldn't come. Her body was a wreck of exhaustion and cold, her heart overflowing with a deep, aching sorrow. It was a lie to say it didn't affect her. It wasn't that she didn't want to explain, or that it didn't hurt. It was just that no one had ever believed a word she said. In their eyes, she would always be the vicious woman who had schemed her way into marrying into the Huo family in her sister's place. Meanwhile, at the Imperial Capital First Hospital. Huo Siqing leaned against a sterile white wall, an unlit cigarette pinched between his fingers, his brow furrowed with irritation. Before long, the attending physician emerged from the hospital room with a sigh. "Mr. Huo, Ms. Yun's heart condition has worsened. We can no longer maintain it with medication alone. We'll need to build up her strength for a transplant. Otherwise, her body won't last another year." "Our hospital currently has no matching heart source for Ms. Yun. However, there was a potential match over a year ago… I believe it was Ms. Yun's sister…"