She could no longer care about anything else and rushed toward him, repeatedly explaining.

"Ashton, calm down! I'm not going to marry him. Please, come down."

But Ashton, full of agony, clutched his head and screamed,

"No! I clearly heard you say you were going to marry him! You're going to betray me, abandon me for him!"

Jade's face was filled with pain as she gently extended her hands, coaxing him,

"I swear, I'm not going to marry him. Please come down, okay?"

But Ashton continued to sob, refusing to come down.

The commotion drew a crowd.

"What's going on? So young, and he's thinking of jumping?"

Another person glanced at me with disdain,

"It's because of relationship issues, isn't it? This lover boy pushed the real boyfriend to the point of wanting to jump. What a scumbag!"

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, pointing fingers at me.

"I overheard them earlier. This guy is pretty slick, faking an illness and causing trouble in the hospital, even lying that his mom died. Ugh!"

"How shameless! Cursing your own mom just to manipulate someone! If I had a son like that, I'd disown him on the spot."

Jade didn't defend me once. Instead, she said to Ashton,

"Ashton, did you hear that? I'm not going to be with him. He's just a lover, nothing more..."

Those words made my blood run cold.

The woman I loved for three years, just to protect her ex-boyfriend, falsely labeled me as her lover.

"I don't believe it! I clearly heard you say you would compensate him and marry him!"

Ashton screamed again, prompting more whispers from the crowd.

"Compensation? Isn't that what people say to pacify a lover? She's no better-stringing along two men at once, disgusting!"

"Yeah, look at him, even dressed up like that for the act. No wonder she feels sorry for him..."

Ashton's accusation now turned Jade into the target of public criticism as well.

I thought that even if she didn't defend me, she would at least explain for herself.

After all, she was proud and cared deeply about her reputation.

But instead, she turned without hesitation and slapped me hard across the face.

The sudden force caused my ears to ring.

I had been barely holding it together these past few days, arranging my mother's funeral.

That slap finally knocked the strength out of me, and I collapsed to the ground.

"Ashton, he's only doing this to break us apart. Don't fall for it-come down!"

Ashton's expression shifted from despair to doubt.

As the ringing in my ears slowly faded, I lay on the ground and painfully asked,

"Jade, why would you say that? We've been in love for three years; our friends can all vouch for it..."

Before I could finish, Jade lifted her foot and brutally kicked me in the mouth.

"Even now, you dare to lie? Are you trying to kill Ashton?!"

The intense pain struck me as a burning sensation filled my nose, and blood gushed out.

That kick had injured my nose.

Dizzy and nauseous, I choked on the blood running down my throat, coughing violently.

"If you think I'm lying, check the photos on my phone."

"And the messages between me and my mom. She was still asking me about the wedding details right before she passed away..."

With all my strength, I pulled out my phone, trying to show the crowd.

But the next second, Jade grabbed the phone from me and smashed it to the ground, crushing it beneath her foot.