Lily's POV:
I had been waiting for Scarlett at the gate of the TV station for quite a while now.I wanted to win her
over.
It was not long before I saw her.
While I was walking towards her, I heard footsteps coming behind me.
The next second, I screamed in pain as someone yanked my hair.
"Come here! caught the bitch!" a man, whom I had never met before, said to his accomplice.
"Let go of me! Do you know who I am? Fuck you!" I fired back.
I put on a brave face as I struggled to get out of the man's grasp when the truth was, I was terrified.
"You're Lily, right? You're our target!" another man shouted.
He then kicked me to the ground.
There was nothing else I could do but curl up on the ground and shield my body from his kicks.
"Come on! Beat her!"
Three strong men surrounded me.
Then, they punched and kicked me while I lay helpless on the ground.
"Help!" I cried out at the top of my lungs, but nobody seemed to hear me.
A few moments later, the men finally stopped beating me and fled the scene.
My body was sore and aching from being beaten to a pulp.I curled up on the ground, unable to move.
Just as I abandoned hope, I saw Scarlett making her way towards me.
"Scarlett, help me…" I implored.
Thankfully, her female bodyguard helped me up.
"Scarlett, please help me.Rita is against me.She's our common enemy.We should work together to
bring her down."
I was like a frog in the mud, humbly begging for the attention of a swan.
However, Scarlett heartlessly rejected my proposal.
"Lily, the conflict between you and Rita has nothing to do with me.I'm not interested in your private
affairs," she coldly replied.
"What? Are you serious? Rita has been scheming against you.Wouldn't it be great if we cooperate and
bring her down together?" Scarlett reacted as if she had not heard my words.
"Have you called anyone? If not, I'll call an ambulance for you."
Since she did not want to cooperate with me, the least I could do was not act like a coward in front of
her.
"I'm alright.My driver is waiting for me in the car."
I gathered my strength and pushed her bodyguard away.
As if nothing had happened, I started walking towards the parking lot.
I did not want to give up, but my body was in excruciating pain.
My bruises and wounds felt like they were screaming at me, saying that I had to go to the hospital as
soon as possible.
My driver sent me to the nearest hospital.
I lay weakly on the bed after the doctor finished treating my wounds.
All of a sudden, the door opened.
My eyes fluttered open as a familiar voice rang in my ears.
"Lily."
Rita walked towards me with a look of contempt in her eyes.
"It seems that you haven't learned your lesson.You even went to Scarlett to ask her to join hands to go
against me.Come to think of it.Why would she help you?"
"It was you, who sent someone to beat me, wasn't it?" I asked, my voice trembling in anger.
"Isn't it obvious? It's your fault.You're a slut.You use men to get what you want.Sorry to say, but you
barked up the wrong tree.You may have fooled my father, but you can't fool me.If I don't teach you a
lesson, how can you know your place?"
Rita asked with a disdainful smile.
"So, you forged the paternity test report? You did it because you want Nate to leave me, didn't you?"
Rita chuckled.
Slowly, she bent over and slapped me on the cheek provocatively.
"Wow.I didn't know you were smart enough to figure that out.You know what I really want? I wanted to
kill your child.The Lively family only needs one heir.And I, Rita Lively, am the only one."
Tears welled up in my eyes.
This crazy woman! While Rita was having a monologue, a man strode over and slapped her across the
face so hard that she fell to the floor.
Rita screamed in pain.
"Why do I have such a vicious daughter as you? You make me sick!" Nate shouted angrily.
Unable to take it any longer, I burst into tears.
"Nate, she killed our child!"
Nate rushed to my aid and held me in his arms.
"I'm sorry, Lily.Rita deceived me.I had never expected she would do such a thing!"
I buried my head in his arms.I might look weak, but I was not stupid.I had known all along that Rita was
evil, and so was Nate.
The Lively family were devils in disguise.I suppressed my hatred and looked up at Nate with pitiful
eyes.
"Nate, why do I feel that we're not destined to be together in this life? Don't worry.
In the afterlife, I'll beg God to let me give birth to your child."
Nate touched my face lovingly and then turned to look at Rita. "Rita, since you can't accept a new
member of the family, from now on, the Lively family no longer has a place for you.I'll hold a press
conference and announce that I have cut all ties with you!"
Rita grabbed a chair to support herself.
Her face was red and swollen, and her lips were stained with blood.
Nate was ruthless to her, just like what he did to me the other day.
How ironic.I could not help but scoff at his hypocrisy.
"Dad, are you out of your mind? Have you gone crazy?!"
Rita shouted in astonishment.
"No.It's you who are out of your mind.How dare you hurt Lily and our child?!"
Rita strode forward and held Nate's hand.
"I'm the daughter you've raised for so many years! This woman is just one of your lovers.Are you sure
you want to cut ties with me for her? She has lost the baby, and that is a fact.Besides, have you
forgotten about the situation of the Lively Group? Only I can help you manage the company!"
I could sense that Nate was getting a bit hesitant, so I held his hand and looked at him with the most
pitiful eyes I could muster.
"Nate, you don't have to do this for me.She's your daughter.I forgive her.I know that I'm not as
important as she is in your life.But know that I love you.I'll try with all my best to give birth to your child
in the future."
Of course I was only putting on an act.I knew very well that a man could never refuse a weak and
helpless woman who loved him wholeheartedly.
Sure enough, Nate held me in his arms again.
"Lily, you're too kind.You don't deserve this."
All of a sudden, my throat felt itchy.
I coughed, and there was a taste of blood in my mouth.I looked down at my palm and found that I had
coughed up blood.
My eyes widened in terror.
"Lily!"
Suddenly, I felt the room spin around, and my body went limp.
Nate calling my name was the last thing I remembered before everything went black.
Rita's POV:
Nate hurriedly called the doctor the moment Lily fell unconscious.
And now, the ward was in chaos.I took the opportunity and slipped out of the ward.I called Richard as I
walked out of the hospital.
However, he hung up the call without even answering it.
"What an asshole!" I exclaimed.
I did not stop calling him until he answered a few moments later.
"What the hell do you want?! Stop bothering me!" he bellowed impatiently.
"Tell Charles that I have what he wants."
I hung up the call without waiting for his response.I was certain that Charles would help me obtain the
Lively Group.
****
I browsed the news as soon as I awoke the next morning.
There I saw the hottest news at the moment.
The headline read: "Rita Lively, the daughter of Nate Lively, has announced that she is no longer in
relation with her father and is now the new CEO of the Lively Group."
"As you wish, Dad," I muttered to myself.
With that, I stood up and began to get ready for the celebration party of 'my' company.
At the party, Nate's former underlings all showed respect to me.
I enjoyed everyone's compliments.
But, in my mind, something was missing.
I looked and found that Charles had not arrived yet.I only saw him thirty minutes later.
With two glasses of champagne, I approached him and greeted, "Charles, you're finally here.Thank you
for your help.Without you, I wouldn't be able to take charge of the company."
"You're welcome," Charles curtly answered.
His cold gaze made me shiver.
Of course, I knew better than to get close to him.
With a smile, I handed him a glass of champagne and said, "Have a drink with me."
Charles did not take it from me.
Instead, he picked up a glass of wine from the table and raised it perfunctorily.
Although he was cold to me, his presence was enough.
The celebration party was a success.
When it finally came to an end a few hours later, I saw Charles walking to the parking lot alone.
I strode to catch up with him.I could barely keep pace with him.
Because of this, I decided to hold the hem of my evening gown to run faster and tried to stop him.
"Charles, wait for me!" Charles frowned in displeasure.
"Don't follow me." When he turned a corner, he bumped into a woman.My jaw dropped, and my face
turned dark and gloomy when I saw who the woman was.
"Scarlett?" Charles wrapped his arms around her waist.
Astonishment was written all over his face as well.
Scarlett's face turned beet red.
"Let go of me!" she ordered while glaring at him.
Charles let her go and stepped back.
I saw, with my own eyes, that the way he treated Scarlett was different from the way he treated me.
I suppressed my jealousy and forced a smile at her.
"Hi, Scarlett."
It seemed that it was only then that she noticed me.
Her gentle manner disappeared in an instant, replaced by disdain.
"I saw today's news.Congratulations!"
"I owe it to Charles," I answered, deliberately making her jealous.
Just as I had expected, Scarlett cast a contemptuous glance at Charles.I must say, I was pleased.
My eyes fell on the ring on her finger, and I noticed that it was not the one that Charles had given her.I
felt even happier.I could not help but wonder if something was wrong between her and Charles.
"Why are you with him again?" Charles asked in an annoyed tone.
His voice drew my attention.I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at the man behind Scarlett
with an apparent dissatisfaction.
It was William.
He was wearing a crisp suit and leather shoes.
"We have to talk about work," Scarlett replied indifferently.
Behind her, William smiled meaningfully and chimed in, "Yes.Scarlett and I have something to deal
with.We're leaving now.We don't want to bother you two."
Without another word, he took Scarlett's hand and left.
Before William could take a step, Charles grabbed him by the arm.
"Don't touch her!" he bellowed.
His voice was filled with anger.
"Sorry.We're in a hurry."
William turned to look at Scarlett, unmoved by Charles's command.
For a moment, Scarlett was stunned.
Once she came to her senses, she shook off Charles's hand and said lightly, "We're leaving now.
You can continue your talk with Rita."Charles stood frozen in the spot as he watched Scarlett walk
away with William.
I could not help but sigh in my heart.
Scarlett was indeed a head-turner.
Many excellent men had fallen head over heels for her.
"What a perfect match! Both you and William are perfect for her," I remarked with a smirk.
I observed Charles's expression as I spoke.
He glanced at me sideways and said in an annoyed tone, "Just shut up if you don't have anything
better to say.Don't ever forget that even though I've helped you, I can also take everything away."
The smile on my face faltered, and I felt as though a bucket of cold water was poured all over my body.I
was petrified.
When I came to my senses, Charles had disappeared.
While I was making my way to my car, I saw that William's car was still in the parking lot.I was
perplexed.I had just seen him leave with Scarlett.I strode towards his car and knocked on the window
of the driver's seat.
William rolled down the window.
To my surprise, he was alone.
At that moment, he shot an impatient look at me, urging me to say what I wanted to say. "William, I'm
not messing with Scarlett anymore,"
I explained in a low voice.
Without a word, William started the car and sped away.
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