Scott Chapman's company went bankrupt because his childhood sweetheart, Eula Saunder, had stolen confidential information from it.

Despite having millions in assets, I married him without hesitation.

After we got married, I not only devoted myself to caring for him after he was severely injured in a car accident, but also struggled alone to hold up the crumbling Chapman family.

When he recovered, he swore that I was the one person he would never let down.

But when Eula returned to the country, he had me hung to the ceiling for three days just because she asked for it.

I was pregnant, thirsty, and starving. I begged him to save our baby, but he turned a deaf ear. Instead, he hugged and kissed Eula right in front of me.

"If you hadn't taken advantage of me when I was at my lowest and forced me to marry you, I would've married Eula by now.

"You framed her back then and had her sent abroad. Now that she's back, you need to pay for what you did!"

Heartbroken, I went to see my brother, Ken. I knelt before him and said, "I lost. I misjudged him. Ken, I want to leave this place."

By the time they finally let me down, my entire body was so numb from the pain that I could barely feel anything.

I collapsed onto the floor. Even moving my fingers felt excruciatingly painful.

The air reeked of blood and something foul. I looked down and saw that the floor beneath me was stained dark with a pool of blood.

The wounds around my wrists and ankles were so deep that I could see my bones. The blood had long since dried and crusted over.

"Scott, she stinks," Eula Saunder said while pinching her nose and pretending to gag.

Scott Chapman glanced at my battered state. For a moment, a flicker of guilt appeared in his eyes. However, it quickly vanished as Eula spoke.

"I bled just as much when she had those men assault me."

The warmth in Scott's gaze disappeared instantly. It was replaced by coldness.

"Someone drag her off and rinse her with cold water," he ordered.

My body shuddered instinctively, but I clenched my jaw and refused to beg.

All of this was just because Eula wanted to recreate a scene she saw on television where a princess was wounded and hung from a castle wall.

He had me tied up and hung in the living room just like that.

I was furious and tried to fight back at the time.

"Have you lost your mind, Scott? I'm pregnant!"

He hugged Eula close and looked at me with disgust.

"You owe Eula for what you did. If you hadn't framed her, she wouldn't have suffered so much before finally coming back to me.

"Natalie Smith, you were willing to do anything just to marry me."

I stared at him in disbelief.

We had been married for three years, yet it all meant nothing compared to a few words from Eula.

"She's lying. You saw the footage yourself. She stole the confidential files!" I exclaimed hoarsely.

Scott pursed his lips. His gaze was cold. "She only did that because you forced her to."

Eula nestled against him and grinned maliciously.

"Natalie only did it because she loved you. I don't blame her, but still, I suffered so much."

That one fake line made Scott tighten his arms protectively around her.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my stomach.

It hurt so bad that I curled up and trembled uncontrollably.

Being six months pregnant meant I faced an even higher risk of miscarrying from all this torture.

The pain was unbearable, and I couldn't help but groan.

"Scott, please let me down. My stomach hurts. Think about the baby!" I pleaded.

He had been in a car accident that severely damaged his lower body.

We had tried countless times before I finally conceived.

When he found out I was pregnant, he held me and cried for three hours.

Throughout the pregnancy term, he had been cautious and took measures to ensure I was out of harm's way.

Now, he didn't even budge. He merely hugged Eula before asking her a question.

"Eula, is this good enough for you?" Scott asked.

Eula's answer was a long, lingering kiss.

When Scott turned around, he gave me a cold look.

"Natalie, did you really think you could use the baby to manipulate me? To force me into giving in?

"You and that thing inside you mean nothing to me."

He once looked at me so tenderly, but now he seemed emotionless.

It was as if my existence didn't even matter.

Tears rolled silently down my cheeks. My heart felt like it was being torn apart.

The freezing water was like knives against my skin, and I shivered violently.

...

The ache in my stomach only grew worse.

I could feel something slipping out from within. It was carried out with the warm flow of blood.

I had lost my baby.

The pain was a cruel reminder that I was still alive. I still had to endure this nightmare.

I wanted so badly to ask Scott if our three years of marriage even mattered at all. What was the point of it all?

When the icy water reached my lips, I realized none of those questions mattered anymore.

Right before I passed out, I saw the bloody object that had come out of my body.

A maid let out a terrified scream.

"Ahh! What is that?!"

I instinctively reached out and picked up the half-formed baby.

This was my baby. I was ready to devote myself to care for it, but Scott didn't even give it the chance to be born.

I looked down and let out a heart-wrenching sob.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

It wasn't just an apology to my baby.

It was an apology to the woman I used to be, the woman who had once thrown herself wholeheartedly into this marriage.

I heard footsteps approaching from outside the door.

Scott and Eula appeared at the doorway.

Scott's gaze landed on the bloody object in my arms, and for a brief moment, his pupils contracted.

He almost took a subconscious step forward, but then Eula threw herself into his arms and sobbed hysterically.

"The men Natalie hired did the same thing to me. They assaulted me and got me pregnant. I ended up losing the baby!

"I could have had your baby too, Scott, but now I'll never be able to get pregnant again."

She was lying.

I had never hired anyone to hurt her.

Even so, Scott believed her.

He looked at me coldly.

"Natalie, you're truly heartless."

He walked over, yanked the baby from my arms, and brutally yanked the umbilical cord that still connected us.

"My baby!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Scott! Please don't do this! That's our baby!"

He didn't even look at me once.

Instead, he turned back to Eula and hugged her tenderly as if nothing had happened.

"An eye for an eye," he said.

"No!" I screamed.

I tried to get up, but Scott kicked me back into the freezing water.

The icy water made me choke, but it didn't hurt as much as my heart did.

I glared at him with bloodshot eyes.

"You monster! That's our child!"

He looked at me with an air of superiority. His tone was ice-cold when he spoke.

"That was never my child. That thing was a mistake."

I had never truly believed Scott loved me completely, but I never imagined he could be cruel enough to kill our child.

At that moment, the rage inside me erupted like a volcano.

"I want a divorce!" I yelled.

Overwhelmed by anger, I suddenly passed out.

When I woke again, I found myself in a dark, damp storage room.

I was freezing. My clothes were still wet, and the floor beneath me was stained with blood.

I didn't know how much time had passed when a splash of icy water hit my face.

Eula stood over me. She looked down at me with a sarcastic smile.

It had been four days since I last ate. My body was so weak I couldn't even lift a finger.

My throat was so dry it felt scorched, and every breath came with a searing pain.

"Tsk, tsk, look at you. So pitiful," she sneered.

She lifted my chin with the tip of her toes.

"Kneel and beg me. Who knows, maybe I'll show you some mercy."

I coughed weakly. The unusually high temperature in my body warned me that I was burning up.

Even as I shivered, I clenched my jaw and refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing me broken.

I forced a smile and stared her down.

"No wonder Scott loves you. You're just as despicable as I imagined," I said.

Her expression darkened instantly. She yanked my soaked hair and uttered, "You're so arrogant. Do you really think he cares about you? He doesn't!

"You're just a toy to me. I can do whatever I want with you, and he'll go along with it.

"It's your fault for getting in my way."

"What way?"

Eula froze when she heard Scott's voice.

He was standing by the door and frowning slightly as he took in the scene.

Eula panicked for a moment but quickly played the victim.

"I was just checking on Natalie, but she cursed at me and said I was getting in her way."

Scott's expression changed. He pulled her into his arms protectively. He then kicked me hard in the stomach.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. You're not getting in anyone's way. You're my everything. If she still doesn't know her place, maybe the punishment wasn't enough."

The kick sent me into a violent spasm. I coughed up blood, and my stomach ached intensely.

It wasn't over yet.

Scott ordered someone to bring a skimpy dress. They forced it onto me and fastened a collar around my neck.

I was dragged to the back of his car and chained to the rear.

"Come on, let's take her for a stroll." he said before wrapping his arms around Eula as they got into the car.

The car moved slowly down the busy street, forcing me to stumble along behind it.

People stopped and stared. Phones came out.

Some laughed, while others pointed and whispered to each other.

A few men took the chance to grope my exposed body.

I tried to back away, but the collar yanked at my neck until I could barely breathe.

The car window rolled down.

Eula peeked out. Her voice was filled with mock concern.

"Do you think this might be too much for Natalie?"

"Silly girl." Scott chuckled.

"She was so cruel to you, and you still feel bad for her?" He added.

The car stopped at a red light.

A ragged homeless man came toward me and started groping me without shame.

I struggled desperately to avoid his touch, but it was pointless.

He pinned me down and started removing my clothes with brute force.

I thrashed around and screamed.

"Help! Please, somebody help me!"

He leered and bared his rotting, yellow teeth.

"Quit screaming, pretty face. No one's coming for you."

"Let me go! Get off me!"

From inside the car, Eula's laughter was louder than the chaos outside.

She clapped her hands with delight.

"Scott, this is hilarious!"

I saw myself in the rearview mirror. I looked helpless while the homeless man grew more excited.

Scott didn't react.

He glanced at me once before turning to Eula. He let her rest her head on his shoulder.

"As long as you're happy," he said softly.

Just as the homeless man tried to go further, the collar around my neck suddenly tightened. The car had started moving again.

The pulling force was violent. My neck jerked backward, and my body was dragged along.