When it was time for the new teacher representative to speak,

Christy stepped forward, holding the microphone, her gaze sharp and piercing as it landed on me like the tip of a blade.

“Today,” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “my speech is about self-respect and self-love. And now, I’d like to share a short promotional video.”

The moment her words fell, my scream tore through the campus.

On the three-story-high LED screen—just recently donated by Sean to the girls' school—the video began to play.

It was that video - the one that should never have seen the light of day.

My naked body lay on a mottled bed, writhing under the lash of three long whips.

Welts and bite marks littered my skin.

Blood seeped into the once-pristine white sheets, turning them into a sickening shade of red.

Pain surged again, not from my body—but from my soul, as if a thousand insects crawled beneath my skin, gnawing away.

Before I could even react, a harsh slap struck my cheek.

A mother beside me pointed at my face, shrieking, “How dare a woman like you step foot in a girls' school? You shameless whore! It’s revolting!”

Another hand yanked my hair, dragging me from my seat and throwing me to the ground.

Voices thundered above me, raining down curses like stones.

“Your father gave up the government job he fought so hard to get for you—because of this filth! Your mother died holding his ashes! And you? You still have the audacity to live? You should’ve been buried with them!”

“You slut! A disgrace to this entire town! You deserved every second of that torture!”

I curled up, numb, as fists and feet landed again and again.

Compared to the night of the video… this was nothing.

Then Christy stumbled forward, her voice trembling with false concern.

“Sheri, I… I’m sorry. I don’t know how this happened. Someone must’ve switched the video…”

She reached to shield me from the beating, muttering apology after apology.

But in her tear-glossed eyes, pride sparkled like glass shards.

She wasn’t sorry.

She was victorious.

As the daughter of the influential Thornton Family, no one would question her. No one would dare.

A commotion behind me—

Sean rushed through the crowd, panic written on his face as he pulled me into his arms.

“Sheri! Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you to wait at home? It’s okay now, I’m here…”

His performance was perfect.

If I hadn’t heard everything with my own ears,

I might’ve believed him again.

Might’ve melted into that familiar, deceiving embrace.

But the humiliation at school shattered me all over again.

My mind broke. I screamed at the sight of any man who came near. I thrashed, cried, cowered from invisible terrors.

Sean held me tightly, tears streaking his face, his voice raw with heartbreak.

But even his sorrow felt like a lie.

Eventually, I was sedated and carried away in an ambulance.

When I opened my eyes, everything was dark. The bitter smell of antiseptic stung my nose.

I realized I was still in the hospital, my wrists and ankles restrained tightly to the bed. Outside the ward, muffled voices floated in.

Sean’s voice.

“Christy, are you satisfied now that Sheri’s like this?”

Another voice, low and sweet—Christy.

“Of course. Jason dated her for eight years. I had to be sure there were no lingering feelings between them. If I hadn’t done this, who knows what might’ve happened?”

She sighed.

“It’s hard for you, too, having to live with a woman like her. I feel bad every time I think about it. But because of our families, we can’t be together in this life. In the next life, I’ll repay you—no matter what. Even if I have to be your horse or ox.”

Through the glass door, fogged with condensation, I watched them laugh and lean into each other.

I saw Sean pulling Christy into his arms.

His hoarse voice trembled with the bitterness of unrequited love.

“No… Christy, you don’t owe me anything. I did all this willingly. Now that you’re carrying my child… that’s the greatest blessing I could ever ask for. Besides, Sheri’s always been kind to me… you don’t need to feel guilty.”

Outside the ward, the man and woman embraced, kissing with abandon.

His voice, thick with sobs, revealed everything—he truly loved her.

They were going to have a child. The pain tore through me like an old wound ripping open all over again.

Tears spilled silently down my cheeks.

So, I was nothing more than the extra… the unnecessary one… from beginning to end.

I tried to shut out their voices, to silence the intimate sounds coming through the door.

But they wrapped around me like a curse, refusing to let go. I buried my face in the quilt, biting it until my gums bled. I didn’t know how long I lay there like that—

Until the door creaked open, and the soft scent of powder drifted in.

Before I could react, a pair of slender hands gripped my chin.

“Don’t be scared, Sheri,” came the voice. “It’s me. Christy…”

Hearing her name made me flinch and thrash wildly in the dark.

She let out a soft laugh and calmly began untying my restraints.

“Sheri, the proud girl everyone admired, reduced to this—what a joke. The men of the Noble Family… either of them would choose me over you in a heartbeat. Especially Sean. He gave up everything for me…”

Her voice turned cold, laced with pride.

“He’s such a noble man, isn’t he? But for my sake, he forced his own mentor to death, just to get me a job at a girls’ school and fulfill my marriage. What kind of love do you think that is?”

I stared at her, stunned.

“After your father died, you begged Sean to look after you. Your pathetic mother probably thought he was your family’s savior. So pitiful. But it was Sean who scattered your father’s ashes with his own hands!”

Her words struck me like lightning.

I had always believed my father died by suicide from depression.

But no—Sean, the man my father mentored, the one he treated like a son, had driven him to death.

Fury exploded in me. I shot up and wrapped my hands around Christy’s throat.

But before I could squeeze, the door slammed open.

Seeing Sean, Christy immediately threw herself into his arms, sobbing.

“Sean! I only wanted to help Sheri. I felt sorry for her, so I untied her restraints… but she said I stole everything from her and tried to strangle me!”

I opened my mouth to explain—

But the slap came before I could utter a word.

“Sheri!” Sean’s eyes blazed. “People are trying to help you and this is how you repay them?! Why blame Christy for everything? You’ve completely lost your mind!”

He didn’t give me a chance to speak.

He just left me there, trembling on the cold floor, while he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

As the door shut, Christy looked back at me with a slow, mocking smile.

She had every reason to laugh.

I was a failure. A discarded thing.

But what they didn’t know—Even a cornered rabbit bites.

After they left, I forced myself to stand.

I discharged myself from the hospital.

And once I got home, I followed the instructions from my aunt’s letter.

With everything in place, I left... Without looking back.

When I stepped outside, I ran into Gregory.

“Sheri,” he called out, “Sean said he was impulsive about what happened in the hospital today. He told me to ask you not to blame him… He’ll come home later to apologize.”

I smiled faintly at him.

“Tell Sean it’s okay. And remind him to come home early tonight… I have a surprise waiting for him.”

Then I turned and walked away, ignoring the confusion that flashed across Gregory’s face.

As I passed by the girls’ school, I saw Sean onstage, holding Christy by the waist as if she were the most precious treasure in the world. The crowd around me buzzed with conversation.

“Did you hear? Mr. Noble and the new teacher Christy just launched a 'Self-Love' scholarship. It’s meant to reward girls who know how to respect themselves.”

“Isn’t that ironic? After what happened with his wife… I bet he’s traumatized.”

“Of course he is. Who wouldn’t be, after being with a woman like that?”

I looked up at the banner hanging above the stage: Mo Die Scholarship.

How touching. I hope this so-called ‘affection’ survives the night.

---

Later, as the event ended, Gregory approached Sean and relayed my message.

“She said it’s okay,” Gregory told him. “And to come home early—she has a surprise for you.”

Hearing that, Sean exhaled in relief, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

He was confident in his hold on me. After all, I had nowhere else to go. He believed that even if he overstepped, I wouldn’t dare to leave.

Still… he admitted to himself that he’d been a little too harsh. I was his wife.

Tonight, he decided, he would make it up to me.

After spending the night wrapped in Christy’s arms, he reluctantly began dressing, gently pulling away from her clingy hands.

“Be good, Christy. I’ll see you tomorrow—”

Before he could finish, the doorbell rang—loud and frantic, cutting through the night like a blade.

Sean frowned and walked toward the front door with a scowl. The moment he opened it, Gregory burst in, face pale, chest heaving.

He glanced behind him to confirm Christy hadn’t followed, then turned to Sean.

“Sean… something happened…”

Sean’s expression shifted instantly.

“The ones who hurt Sheri before… they came back. They broke into the house… tortured her… and set it on fire. She’s gone.”

Gregory’s voice cracked as he forced the words out. “The neighbors said the men were shouting about how Christy sent them… And what’s worse—Sheri… she was pregnant. Sean… Two lives…”