Bethany''s face stiffened slightly as she snorted coldly. "So what if I did cut it myself?"


    Upon hearing this, I lost interest in continuing the argument and turned to Mrs. Shaw." Mrs. Shaw, can I leave now?"


    I thought she was just getting revenge for her daughter. Now that the truth was clear, it had nothing to do with me.


    To my surprise, she affectionately pinched Bethany''s cheek. "Are you out of your mind? Sacrificing your own reputation just to frame her?"


    Bethany pouted and said coquettishly, "Mom, I''m sorry! She''s so stubborn; I had no choice but to resort to this method."


    "Alright." Mrs. Shaw said in a loving tone, "You go upstairs first. I will handle this."


    Her tone was gentle, without a hint of me. She seemed to be the most indulgent mother in the world.


    Bethany smiled happily. "You''re the best, Mom!"


    With that, she skipped upstairs, and Mrs. Shaw looked at her with a warm smile, her demeanor very soft.


    Once Bethany''s figure disappeared, Mrs. Shaw slowly withdrew her gaze and looked at me with a cold, unfeeling expression, as if she were looking at something dirty.


    "Charlotte, I gave you the easy way, but you refused." With that, she said to the bodyguards, "Make her kneel outside! When she''s willing to admit her fault and agree to go abroad, then bring her back in to see me."


    I stared at her in shock. "What right do you have to do this?"


    "Right?" Mrs. Shaw sneered. "You should ask yourself what ''right'' means."


    My face turned pale instantly. Yes, it was a foolish question to ask.


    I allowed the bodyguards to drag me outside, and snowkes fell on me, quickly


    melting into water.


    But I refused to kneel!


    I gritted my teeth and struggled desperately.


    Through the French windows, Mrs. Shaw looked at me like I was a clown. After a long while, she grew irritated, put on a fur coat, and came out with an umbre. "Useless


    fools! You can''t even handle a woman!"


    In the next moment, as the bodyguards held me down, she kicked the inside of my knees with the tip of her high heel.


    The pain and reflex caused me to copse to my knees with a thud!


    The icy snow water immediately soaked my knees.


    It was both cold and painful.


    Looking up at Mrs. Shaw from my kneeling position, I, who had never cried during the divorce, found my face wet with tears, and I asked in bewilderment, "Mrs. Shaw, what exactly did I do wrong?"


    I had never fought with Bethany orpeted with her. She pressed me step by step, and I knew I had no support to fight back, so I endured as much as I could.


    "If you must know, you did nothing wrong anywhere." She looked down at me, like an ant. "The only mistake you made was being Ryan''s ex-wife. Bethany is wary of you. I know, and I can see that you have no intention ofpeting with her."


    "Then why..."


    "Why am I treating you the same way as Bethany does? Forcing you to leave?" Mentioning Bethany, her eyes softened with a motherly tenderness, but her lookN?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    towards me remained cold. "Because I''m her mother, the only one in this world who can protect her unconditionally."


    Such tender words.


    But my tears flowed even more fiercely.


    She looked at the bodyguards and said coldly, "Keep an eye on her. If she manages to get up like this, you''re fired."


    The snow became heavier.


    There was so much snow that my knees were already numb from the cold, and even if no one was stopping me, I wouldn''t be able to get up.


    When I looked up, I saw Bethany standing in a room on the second floor, with a triumphant smile on her face. "Loser."