Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

Richard finally let go of me once the waiters carrying drinks walked away.

I almost suffocated. I gasped for air like I'd been underwater for too long.

Richard, the jerk, stood there with his arms crossed, looking all smug like his plan had worked.

"What did you put in those drinks?" I demanded.

Richard shrugged. "It's not deadly. Why are you freaking out?"

I glared at him for a few seconds before turning to leave.

I thought maybe I could still stop it.

But Richard grabbed me. With a creepy smile, he stepped in front of me and lazily threatened, "Thinking of warning them? Afraid I'll shut you up for good?"

I figured he wouldn't dare kill me. Richard had done time in prison and probably didn't want to go back.

He laughed casually. "Actually, I only messed with two drinks. By now, they should've been handed out. Who gets them is just a matter of luck."

Ten minutes later, he finally let me go.

But it was already too late.

People were sitting around the bonfire in small groups, grilling barbecue and chatting. Everyone's drinks had been refilled several times.

"Emily, what's taking you so long with the pepper? Hurry up and pass it to me," Bella said.

With empty hands, I stammered, "I, I forgot to bring it."

"You're not even in menopause yet. How come your memory is already so bad?" Bella teased. "I'll go get it," I said, turning around. But Bella stopped me again.

"Forget it, let the waiter fetch it."

She called a waiter to get it.

I plopped back down. Richard sauntered out, looking like he was waiting for a show to start.

A lot of people showed up at the bonfire party. Some folks chose other activities like playing cards or soaking in the hot springs. The few employees who did come left after a while. So in the end, it was just a small group of us. Ethan, Zachary, Faye, and I were at our table.

Jason was sitting on a long bench right beside us.

Richard perched on a chair a bit farther off, while Bella and Lacey were firing up the barbecue grill.

Richard was the most out of place since he wasn't chatting with us.

But he sat there with his legs crossed, looking extremely content.

I knew he was waiting to see how things turned out.

I had no clue who drank those two spiked drinks. But it looked like Ethan's drink was untouched.

"Don't worry, I followed my wife's advice and didn't drink," he said with a smile, probably noticing me eyeing his glass.

Faye had been sitting quietly, wearing a hat and keeping her head down, almost like she wasn't even there.

But then she suddenly lifted her head and softly said, "Ethan, I'm feeling a bit chilly. I want to go inside."

"You haven't eaten anything," Ethan replied.

Faye glanced at me. "Could you bring me some food later, Emily? I'm not feeling well and want to lie down for a bit."

Of course, I couldn't say no, so I nodded and agreed.

After a while, Bella placed the grilled skewers on a plate on the table.

"Just so you know, I'm not a pro. If it doesn't taste great, don't complain."

Zachary was the first to grab a skewer and take a bite. Smiling, he praised it. "It's delicious, even better than a pro would make."

Bella couldn't help but laugh, "Isn't that a bit self-congratulatory?"

"I'm not exaggerating. If you don't believe me, let everyone else try," Zachary said with a grin.

Bella laughed heartily, "Looks like I've got a new skill. If times get tough, I can sell barbecue."

Zachary chuckled, "If you end up selling barbecue, it would be my fault."

"Zachary seems to be really into bread," Ethan suddenly chimed in.

Hearing this, I noticed it too.

There was a loaf of bread on the table, which Zachary had ordered, and he was the only one eating it.

I remembered the first time I had dinner at Zachary's house, when he peeled shrimp for Bella, there was also a loaf of bread on the table.

"Yeah, at home, he either has bread and coffee or pasta," Bella said.

Hearing intermittent coughing, I turned my head.

I saw Jason holding a glass of wine in one hand and pressing a fist to his lips with the other, the wine in his glass gently swaying with his coughs.

"Can you drink if you have a cold?" Lacey asked him as she brought over some grilled skewers.

Jason smiled faintly. "It's fine, I haven't taken any antibiotics. Alcohol can ward off the cold."

Ethan and Zachary started talking about Faye's recent activities.

I took a plate of food to bring to Faye.

Her room door was open, but she wasn't inside. A cleaning staff told me that Faye had gone to the hot springs.

So I carried the food towards the hot springs.

The resort's hot springs were designed to blend with the natural landscape, featuring large pools that could fit a crowd and several smaller, private ones.

A lot of people were splashing around in the big hot spring pool, but I couldn't spot Faye. I walked further up along the hot springs. By chance, I looked up and saw someone standing by the mountainside. Judging by the back, it seemed to be Faye.

I stopped about three feet behind her.

"Didn't you say you were cold? Why are you still outside?" I asked, staring at Faye's back.

Faye slowly turned around, having taken off her hat and sunglasses.

She looked much more haggard, likely tormented mentally over these days.

Having gone through such an ordeal at a young age, I actually felt a lot of sympathy for her.

"Faye, everyone faces hardships in life. Forget those unhappy pasts. We must always look forward," I advised her.

Faye stared at me with a cold, impassive gaze. "Was it all your plan?"

I was stunned.

I had thought she might see me as insincere, but I didn't expect her to think this way.

"My plan?" This was utterly ridiculous.

Faye continued to stare at me as if I were a heinous criminal.

"If it wasn't your plan, would you be so kind to save me? You deliberately let him release that video to humiliate me. Emily, do you want me to lose everything? Let me tell you, I may be dirty, but Ethan won't mind. Do you believe that?" I felt helpless. "Faye, do you have to misinterpret my good intentions like this?"

"Good intentions? Are you kidding me? You wish I were dead. Would you be kind to me then?"

I was too exhausted to explain, "Think whatever you want. It seems you don't want to eat, so I'm leaving."

As I turned, Faye grabbed me, her previously cold face now showing a bizarre smile.

"Do you want to test whether Ethan cares more about you or me?"

Hearing her unusually soft tone, I felt a shiver down my spine.

I tried to shake her off, but she held on tightly.

But slowly, her hold loosened considerably.

"What if you pushed me off the cliff? Would Ethan forgive you? Would he still want you?"

I grabbed her back. "Don't be crazy; your life is your own."

She shook me off, laughing maniacally, and stepped closer to the cliff edge.

I stood there dumbfounded, completely at a loss.

At that moment, someone suddenly rushed over, grabbing her just in time and pulling her back.

"Faye, I think you're losing your mind. Ethan, you should send her to a mental hospital," Bella said sarcastically.

I turned around to see Ethan walking towards us, probably having seen the whole scene.

Faye turned and threw herself into Ethan's arms, crying loudly.

I felt utterly exhausted!

She cried as if she had endured a great injustice. In such a situation, who would hold her unreasonable actions against her?

Afterwards, Ethan took Faye back to her room, and Bella and I returned to the bonfire.

Only Jason and Lacey were left there. Richard was nowhere to be seen.

Bella felt indignant on my behalf. Honestly, I was also upset with how much Ethan accommodated Faye.

But she had already been through a lot and was in an extremely fragile state. If Ethan had ignored her or even blamed her just now, she might have done something irreparable. Could Ethan and I still be together in peace then? Jason asked what had happened, and Bella told him.

He fell silent, seemingly unsure of what to say.

"Don't think about it, just drink. If he ever wrongs you, I'll be the first to not let him off," Bella said, slamming her glass down.

We ended up drinking quite a bit, swallowing all our frustrations with the alcohol.

Jason kept coughing, and the more he drank, the worse it got. I advised him to stop, but he said he was fine.

When I was feeling dizzy from the alcohol, an employee from Skyline International Corporation came over and told me that Ethan was waiting for me at the hot springs and asked me to go there.

I staggered towards the hot springs.

By a row of partitioned small hot spring pools, there were many changing rooms.

A waiter handed me a set of clothes and then left.

I looked at the clothes in my hand; it was a bikini.

I hadn't worn a swimsuit before, let alone something so revealing.

After much hesitation, I went into the changing room. I changed, but it felt incredibly awkward.

"Not ready yet?" Ethan's voice came with a knock on the door.

"Is there another style? I don't think this one suits me," I said softly.

"It's your size. Why wouldn't it suit you? Open the door, let me see," Ethan said from outside.

Thinking there was no need to be shy in front of my husband, I opened the door.

Ethan walked in and closed the door behind him.

He was only wearing a pair of swim trunks, his bare upper body muscular and toned.

He looked me up and down, then smirked, "It looks great."

But I still felt very uneasy.

Just then, voices came from outside.

"Zachary, I'm so hot!" It was Bella's voice.