I was woken by the ringing of the telephone.

I glanced at the screen and couldn't help but smile. It was from my best grandma, Diane Harrington.

As soon as the phone was answered, a familiar voice came. "Bella, are you coming back for holiday?"

"Yeah."

We chatted endlessly.

Since I was a child, my parents sent me to live with my grandma in the countryside for care.

In fact, it was not that my family didn't have the money to hire a nanny to take care of me, but after my younger brother was born, all their energy and all their love were diverted to his side.

The night before I left, my mother, Susan Harrington, said, "Girls who are raised in a more independent manner tend to be stronger. They can handle things on their own instead of crying and running back home to seek their parents' help."

She was right, and I could definitely handle everything.

I was capable of fighting and had been a school bully since childhood.

Suddenly, I remembered the first time when the teacher called Diane in junior high school, she hunched over and kept saying, "Bella is so adorable and well-behaved like a kitten. How could she hit her classmates? Is she being bullied by others?"

No matter how much trouble I caused, she always felt that I was the little girl who was bullied.

I hung up the phone with a smile, only to find that my whole body was sore. As I turned over, I felt like my bones almost were broken.

This was the backlash after going crazy.

The smell of disinfectant spread to my nose, and I smiled bitterly. I was afraid that I would be stuck in bed for a few days.

Looking at the man approaching, I put away the self-mockery on my face and stood up with difficulty.

With this movement, I had the illusion that my whole body was being eaten by millions of ants. The pain distorted my face, and I made faces for a long time before I could control my facial expression.

"You're here."

I held his palm with a smile on my face.

Nicholas liked women who had a poised, elegant, and refined demeanor.

But I was straightforward and had a hot temper.

In order to emulate him, I had learned ladylike behavior countless times in the past five years. After repeated observation and learning, I had finally developed into what I was.

No matter how hard I tried, the word "lady" seemed to be separated from me by an endless gap.

No matter how much I suppressed my nature, I would only end up learning a weird thing.

"How could you hit Karen?"

Nicholas shook off my hand and peppered me with angry questions.

The sudden action caught me off guard.

My head hit the wall hard, making me gasp and unable to speak for a moment due to the pain.

"Don't think that just because you've been with me for so long, you can act recklessly. You're not qualified yet."

My collar was tightly grasped by his big hand, my face turned red, and I felt like I was being pushed into the water and was about to suffocate.

"Let go... let go. It hurts." Beads of sweat the size of beans fell down one by one.

"Why are you pretending? Mr. Thompson said you were just in shock due to emotional excitement. To put it bluntly, you are just pretending to be sick."

The roar continued.

"Don't forget, I'm your wife."

I roared with force, veins bulging as I clenched onto the bedsheet tightly.

After sleeping in the same bed for so many days and nights, no matter how cold-hearted a person was, they would not just be physically active without being emotionally active.

After all, we once took the oath together at the church.

"So what? You're not even as good as one of her fingers."

I closed my eyes.

At this moment, I realized that all my efforts over the past five years were actually a joke.

He was not my safe haven, after all.

Six days passed in a flash, and I was lying in bed like a dead fish.

The pain in my body intensified gradually as if I were being slowly roasted over a fire. The scorching flames turned my skin red and seeped into every fiber of my being.

Nicholas had never come back since he left last time.

I knew he was in the hospital.

Half an hour ago, Nicholas walked in from the door carrying a fruit basket. He was wearing a blue suit that I carefully picked for him on Valentine's Day.

I looked out the window, motionless.

If Nicholas didn't have me in his heart, no matter how hard I tried, I would be discarded like a dirty rag.

As my mind was free, the door was suddenly pushed open.

I saw Nicholas rushing in, pulling me off the bed without saying a word, and dragging me out.

I stumbled and could barely keep my footing.

"What are you doing? Can't you see that her face is too pale?"

At this time, Oscar Thompson was full of anger.

"She's pretending."

"What the hell? You try pretending for me."

Oscar was so furious that he looked like he wanted to slap him.

I was slightly surprised.

It turned out that my archenemy worked in this hospital.

He used to always have conflicts with me, so I didn't expect him to stand up for me.

"Karen has been crying non-stop, you should go and apologize to her."

Nicholas pressed his lips.

"No."

I grabbed the door frame and refused to move an inch.

Why should I apologize?

She was immoral and spoke ill of me. It served her right to be slapped.

Nicholas stared at me for a long while with his blue eyes.

He suddenly took out his cell phone from his pocket. "Tyler, throw out all of Bella's things, change the front door key, and send a divorce lawyer's letter."

My face turned pale instantly, and I was like a ghost that had just crawled out of hell.

"No, no..."

I rushed to him like a cheetah on break free, shaking my head desperately.

Nicholas held the phone in his hand, his voice as cold as ice. "Are you willing to apologize?"

"Yes, I am."

I couldn't get a divorce yet, and I couldn't leave home.

I must stay there for five years. Otherwise, the System would determine that the mission had failed and killed me directly.

Nicholas was actually a person who would not give up until he achieved his goal. I realized this very early on.

I just thought I had some place in his heart, but I didn't expect it to be worthless.

While I surfed the Internet, a netizen said, "Men with thin lips are the most heartless."

Before this, I scoffed at it.

And now, I understood that a man's lips could bring extreme pleasure and also plunge one into hell.