That night, Jake didn’t return.

After midnight, I silently wished myself a happy birthday.

I still remember that before I was admitted to the psychiatric hospital, Jake had once accompanied me for a prenatal checkup. At that time, when the doctor had calculated the due date, he had looked so excited.

“Your due date might fall right on your birthday. Let’s celebrate properly that day!”

However, as time passed, things changed. He lit up the whole city with fireworks for Luna, just to celebrate some baseless nomination.

At dawn the next day, the nurse brought me a little palm-sized cake.

“I remember you mentioned that today’s your birthday, but… about your baby…” She hesitated but still lit a candle for me. It was her care that got me through those inhumane days.

I closed my eyes and made a wish. Just as I was about to blow out the candle, a figure appeared in the doorway. Jake glanced at the scene before him, his brows furrowing slightly like he suddenly remembered something. “Oh, today’s your birthday.”

He awkwardly patted his coat pocket, as though searching for something he could use as a gift.

To no avail, he pulled out a crumpled piece of lacy pink lingerie. Embarrassed, he stuffed it back into his pocket and stammered, “Maybe… maybe someone played a prank on me. I’ll make it up to you with a proper gift later.”

I blew out the candle abruptly and replied without thinking, “There’s no need.”

The words had barely left my mouth when Jake’s expression darkened instantly. With a displeased look, he shoved his hands into his pockets.

“All this fuss over a gift? Really? I paid for your mom’s medical treatment when she was gravely ill. And now you’re throwing a tantrum over a lousy birthday? Don’t you think you’re being unreasonable?”

I bit my lip, silently listening until he was done. He was right. He was my family’s savior. I owed him, and it seemed like I could never repay that debt.

Even the nurse sitting at the bedside couldn’t take it anymore. She stood up to leave and accidentally bumped into Jake’s shoulder. Staggering, his expression grew even more unpleasant, and his chest rose and fell exaggeratedly.

He shot me a reproachful look, then decided to leave, only to run into Luna entering the room in her lab coat, under which was a short lacy dress faintly visible beneath.

Jake’s anger inexplicably dissipated. He hurried forward and said in a gentle tone, “I told you to rest at home. Why are you here again?”

Luna sneezed, waving her hand dismissively. “Thanks to you taking off your coat and warming me up yesterday, I’m feeling much better now.”

She suddenly realized there were others in the room, quickly retracted her flirtatious gaze, and gave me a polite smile. “I came today because there’s an important experiment to conduct, and I need Joy’s cooperation.”

My heart sank. I looked at Jake with pleading eyes, shaking my head repeatedly, begging him not to agree. However, he turned to Luna with a generous smile and said nonchalantly, “It’s fine. She’s not doing anything else anyway.”

At that moment, the knife hanging over my heart finally fell.

Luna curved her lips into a smile and added as she glanced at me. “This might hurt a little, but as long as you endure it, it’ll be fine. Joy, you’ve cooperated so many times before. I’m sure you’ll do great this time too.”

A sense of foreboding crawled over my chest.

Jake poured a significant amount of startup funding into setting up Luna’s laboratory. He allowed her to test her self-developed drugs on living people, even indulging her in extreme electroshock therapy.

Every time, it was Jake who cleaned up her messes, and he seemed to enjoy it. Even still, I never imagined that one day, Jake would let Luna torment me like this.

I didn’t resist strongly because I owed him too much. After all, once the experiments were over, surely the debt would be repaid in full, right?

Luna shattered the silence with a few claps. Moments later, a group of doctors holding various tools entered the room. As the equipment was set up, Luna suddenly leaned coyly against Jake’s shoulder, pouting. “Jake, I’m feeling a bit scared now.”

His heart seemed to ache for her. He gently covered her eyes with his hand as he spoke in a tender voice, “Let’s step outside for now. We can get them to send the data over later.”

In the room, I lay on the cold hospital bed, staring at the ceiling without blinking as they restrained my hands and feet. The light blurred, and my consciousness began to fade. As the voltage increased, my body grew numb, but my mind occasionally cleared.

In a daze, I heard the people around me scrambling and the clattering of equipment.

“Tsk, what are you doing? Can’t you even control the voltage properly?”

The next thing I knew, my body convulsed violently. Faintly, I heard someone shout, “Hurry, hurry! Get her to emergency care. Maybe there’s still time!”

I didn’t struggle; it felt like being knocked out by a club.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a new and unfamiliar hospital room. Before I could speak, a sweet voice chimed in my ear, “You’ve worked so hard, Joy. Here’s a little compensation for you.”

Luna gave me a sugary smile before pulling out a bill from her bag and placing it beside my pillow. She turned around, immediately putting on a pitiful expression as Jake entered the room.

Gone was the sinister grin. Instead, she frowned and lowered her head. “It’s all my fault. I was too careless, which caused Joy to pass out. I’ve already apologized to her.”

Jake gave me a quick glance, then affectionately patted Luna on the head. “It wasn’t intentional, so there’s no need to apologize.”

Then, he paused for a moment, as if a thought had crossed his mind, and walked over to my bedside. “The doctor said there’s no baby anymore. Why didn’t you tell me when you were giving birth?”

I stayed silent. At the time, he had been busy watching fireworks with Luna. I had sent him countless messages, none of which he replied to.

The nurse beside me was about to explain, but I raised my hand to stop her. I told Jake, “The baby is very weak and needs to stay in an incubator for a few days.”

To avoid further questions, I added, “It’s a boy.”

Jake lowered his head thoughtfully, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He nodded in satisfaction.

“Good. As long as he’s out now. You’ve been holding on for so long. Tonight, I’ll take you to a restaurant to celebrate properly.”

Without waiting for my response, Jake dragged me to a clothing store and bought me a dress. When he zipped me up, his eyes caught sight of the bruises all over my exposed skin, and his hands froze, but in the end, he said nothing.

At the restaurant table, Jake’s eyes stayed glued to his phone the entire time. He even left for the restroom for over twenty minutes. When he returned, he finally remembered to ask the waiter for a menu, but he was distracted and pointed aimlessly.

Bewildered, the waiter froze as Jake pointed to the restaurant’s address printed on the menu.

Sighing, I took the menu myself, ordered the food, and handed it back.

A while later, just when all the dishes were served, Jake hurriedly stood up, grabbing his coat.

“Luna got picked on at a party. I need to go check on her right away.”

Jake was just about to leave when he hesitated. In a cold tone, he said, "Come along. There aren’t many cars at this hour anyway."

The whole ride, Jake showed no intention of talking to me. He kept staring at his phone, afraid of missing any updates. We rushed to the location Luna had sent, only to find a lively scene in a private room.

The moment Luna saw me, the smile on her face vanished, but she quickly adjusted her expression, lowering her head in feigned guilt. “I didn’t know Joy was with you. I just lost a game of truth or dare—that’s the only reason I called him.”

Jake, who had rushed into the room still catching his breath, showed no signs of reproach. “It’s nothing serious. I just had a meal with her.”

As soon as he said this, all eyes in the room turned to me. Lowering my head, I fiddled with my fingers, wanting to put an end to this farce. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave now.”

However, just as I turned to go, Luna called out to me, “Joy, my experiment isn’t finished yet. You can’t go home right now. It’s better if you stay in the hospital a bit longer.”

At that moment, someone in the crowd sneered. “So, she’s Luna’s test subject? No wonder she’s covered in scars.”

Another voice chimed in, “Having scars is one thing, but wearing such a revealing dress despite having them? How ugly!”

I turned my back on them, pinching my fingers to keep myself from crying.

Jake acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, continuing to defend Luna, “Luna’s right. You shouldn’t waste your previous efforts. You’d better go back to the hospital.”

I clenched my teeth and held back, but before I could leave the private room, I received a call from the hospital.

“Miss Joy, your mother’s condition is critical. If possible, you should come and see her one last time.”

My mind went blank. I was about to run out when a few bodyguard-like men blocked my way. Struggling helplessly, I turned back, teary-eyed, and looked at Jake, only to see displeasure on his face.

“Luna has worked so hard to get to today. Do you really have to ruin this moment at the last second?” Seeing me remain silent, he offered no room for negotiation. “Today, you must return to the psychiatric hospital.”

At that moment, I could no longer hold back and urgently tried to explain, “My mother is dying! I have to see her!”

Jake hesitated slightly, but Luna tugged at his sleeve, her expression aggrieved.

Jake immediately changed his tone, snapping at me, “There’s plenty of money in your mother’s hospital account. What good will it do for you to go? Luna is about to receive an award. Can’t you stand to see her succeed for once?”

My throat tightened, and I felt a cold numbness spread through my body. Jake’s expression only grew more impatient as he raised his hand.

At his signal, the bodyguards seized me and dragged me outside, tossing me into a car sent by the psychiatric hospital. The journey felt endless.

Once again, I was locked in the cold, dark hospital room.

Until the dreadful news from the hospital reached me...

At that moment, countless images churned in my mind. It felt as though I had plunged into an icy abyss. For the next few days, no matter how Luna tortured me, I remained as lifeless as a walking corpse, no longer resisting.

Finally, on the last day, Jake accompanied Luna to her awards ceremony, basking in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, I regained my freedom. With the plane ticket the kind nurse had helped me purchase, I carried the heavy urn of ashes and my battered body back to my hometown.

The moment I got off the plane, my phone was flooded with missed calls—all from Jake.

After some thought, I replied with a single message: “Jake, let’s get a divorce.” Then I blocked him, disappearing into the bustling crowd.

Returning to my shabby apartment complex, I let out a sigh of relief. While unpacking, I received a call from the nurse.

“The city’s news channels are all blowing up…”