“Where's Rick?”

“Tommy, you’re pushing your luck. So, don't expect me to show any mercy!”

“I'll leave this guy to your hands. Do whatever you want. No need to inform me.”

The piercing pain made me break out in a cold sweat.

The doctor wiped my sweat and shouted, "Hurry, the anesthetic's wearing off! The patient's awake!"

The pain was too much and I blacked out. When I opened my eyes again, I was already in a ward. My younger brother, Greg, was in the room. He went forward to support me.

“Tommy, you’re awake! Are you okay?” he asked. “Lizbeth really went too far this time. Why didn’t you let me that you're the one having surgery? If the anesthesia wears off, you could die from passing out because of the pain!”

“What difference does it make if I were to tell you?” I forced a smile.

Greg asked with worry, “She didn't notice you left that abandoned warehouse, did she?”

“No. We took another mountain road,” I replied.

Redness slowly creeping up to Gerry's eyes. “You risked your life to save Lizbeth back then. You even stabbed ten times. Now you’re dealing with just one person instead of many, why not just kill her?”

I shook my head. “If we kill her, we’ll all die. She’s not the Lizbeth she used to be.”

“Do one thing for me. After it’s done, leave the country, never come back,” Greg said.

I got the message that my passport was ready two days later. During those days, Lizbeth did not send me a single message.

My chest tightened with a thousand pricks of pain; I could not breathe. When I got home, I felt like I had no strength left.

Before I could relax, I heard the clear click of a gun being loaded. I snapped awake and gripped the dagger at my waist. At first, I thought it was one of Lizbeth’s enemies. But my body fell to the ground before I could even control myself.

I didn’t know what exactly happened other than terrible pain swallowed me whole. My body felt torn apart and then sewn back together.

Then, the smell of blood woke me. Upon opening my eyes, I noticed I was lying on a big hotel bed and everything else I saw made me sick.

My body had whip marks, there wasn’t a single part of my skin unmarked. My stomach churned and soon I vomited.

From the hallway Lizbeth’s voice came. “How is it? Did you record the video?”

“We recorded it, but… Mr. Randall has been with you for eight years. Isn’t this a bit too much, ma'am?”

“What are you trying to say?" She replied, unamused. "Remember who you belong to. If he hadn’t insisted on bothering Rick, I wouldn’t have had to do this. He was pushign it, he deserved to be taught a lesson.”

“Tell the men to guard Rick well. If Tommy shows up again, we’ll release those videos, no matter what,” she added.

“Yes, ma'am!”

One second before she opened the door, I fell back on the bed and pretended to have just woken up.

A nail then dug hard into my palm; the familiar pain kept me barely in control. Her expression immediately changed into that gentle, caring face from the past.

“How are you? Are you okay? I've caught the person who did this. If anyone dares hurt you, I will not forgive them,” she said softly.

I couldn’t hold back tears and stared straight at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lizbeth frowned. “Relax. I know you're short tempered. I've kept the culprit—so you could deal with him yourself.”

“Let’s go. He probably won’t live long.” She held me in her arms.

Her hug felt as warm as before. Yet, my whole body was as cold as biting ice.

On the way, she still did not let go of my hand. I could see her caring expression mixed with guilt.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t protect you well. I promise, it won’t happen again,” she cooed.

When I stayed silent, she kissed the corner of my mouth.

“Tom, you’re my everything. Don’t act like that, you’re making me and our baby worried.”

I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to hear more of Lizbeth's words.

The car soon reached a factory on the outskirts of the city.

There was a guy inside the building and was barely breathing. His eyes were full of hatred when he looked at me. But the moment he saw Lizbeth, his eyes turned red and he lunged at her like a mad dog.

“You’ll rot in hell!”

“You've touched my man and now threatening me?” Lizbeth kicked him hard in the chest. “Looks like you didn’t learn your lesson last time.” She pulled out a knife.

“Nobody touched your man, you crazy woman!” The man cursed wildly. “Lizbeth, you—”

Before he could finish, the blade was already in his chest.

She turned to me, a small smile playing on her lips. “Sorry! I hurt him before you did! I got too angry and can't stop myself.”

Lizbeth then pressed the knife into my hand, guiding it the way she’d once taught me. Her hand covered mine.

I didn’t remember how many times I stabbed the random guy. Before I knew it, blood had covered the floor like a lake spilling on the floor.

Each strike felt like it went straight through my own heart.

When we walked out of the factory, she hugged me tightly under the setting sun.

“Tom, stop acting all upset, okay? You know you’re special to me. As long as you behave, I’ll always be with you, right here.”

I just stood there, speechless at her words.

She gently took my hand and placed it on her slightly swollen belly. “Baby, say hi to Daddy. Daddy almost got into trouble today, but Mommy took care of it!”

“Tom, don’t you want to say something to the baby?” Her gentle gaze was locked on me.

Out of instinct, I jerked my hand away. “Sorry, I… I don’t feel well.”

Maybe it was guilt. Maybe I just didn’t want to keep pretending. She didn’t press further, didn’t complain about morning sickness like she used to.

On the way back, she kept glancing at her phone, a faint smile on her lips.

It reminded me of when we first fell in love. Back then, whenever she smiled like that, I’d tease her and grab her phone.

“What are you looking at? Something prettier than me? Tom, you’ve been naughty! No kisses for you tonight!”

She’d always pretend to cry. “Tom stop teasing me! You know I can’t sleep if you don’t kiss me! You’re so mean!”

To everyone else, she was cold and ruthless — a devil in heels. But to me, she’d always acted like a fragile, helpless bunny.

But not anymore. Now, I didn’t even have the courage to joke around with her. I couldn't risk myself to danger. So, I swallowed the bitterness.

Suddenly, she told the driver to stop. “Tom, someone’s causing trouble nearby. You should go home first. It might take a while. Go to bed without me. Text if you need anything.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her phone screen and the chat bubbles.

It was a message from Erick: [Miss you, baby.]

She replied: [What a coincidence. My baby misses Daddy too.]

I got out of the car and walked for three hours before reaching the villa. Just as I was about to open the door, a sharp pain hit the back of my neck. My body went limp and instantly falling to the ground.

When I woke up, the sound of a knife being sharpened filled the air.

There was a man with scarred face and only three fingers on his right hand in front of me. The grin he had was wide.

“Damn that Lizbeth. We've made a deal to stay out of each other’s business. And now she kidnapped my man? Did she think I won’t fight back?”

He spat before staring coldly at me. “Well, fine. Let’s do this. I’ve got both of her men in my hands now. Let’s what she can do about this.”

“Boss, I heard that Lizbeth bitch is pregnant. This time she’s done for!” One of the men spoke up from the crowd.

"Pregnant, huh?" The scarred man laughed cruelly. “If the baby’s real father gets chopped to pieces, that’ll definitely hit her. Heh, maybe she’ll drop dead from the shock! Two lives gone at once!”

He pointed a finger at Erick. “Start with this one. He looks soft! I bet Lizbeth will hate to see him hurt.”

They loosened Erick’s ropes and tore the tape from his mouth. “Wait, don’t touch me or Lizbeth will kill you all!”

“Shut up!” someone barked.

Erick clearly was inexperienced with this kind of situation. The more he screamed, the more excited these gangsters became.

While they surrounded him, I used my knife to cut my own ropes. My eyes remained fixed on the chaos before me.

Then came the sound of fabric tearing. Erick’s white shirt was ripped to shreds. He cried out while calling Lizbeth’s name over and over.

The scarred man slapped him hard and grabbed his hair. “Shut up! Or I’ll cut your tongue out!”

Just as he raised his hand, I finally cut through my ropes and got ready to rush in.

At the same time, Erick shouted, “Don’t touch me! I’m just Lizbeth’s side lover! I mean nothing to her! If you hurt me, she won’t care!”

He pointed straight at me. “But that man, kill him! He’s been with Lizbeth for eight years!

She said it herself, that bastard is her life!”

The scarred man froze, then turned toward me. Erick dropped to his knees, his voice shaking, eyes full of fear and flattery.

“Boss, look at him! He’s been with Lizbeth for eight years! I remembered! he’s killed plenty of your men before! The guy we lost last week? He died taking the blame for him!”

My body stiffened. I stared at Erick in disbelief. He knew who I was. He knew what I meant to Lizbeth.

So this was the ‘innocent guy’ she swore to protect? What a joke.

The scarred man’s face twisted with rage. He grabbed my throat with one hand.

“So you’re the bastard who got my brother killed? Damn it! Kill him!”

Then he shouted to his men, “That one too! They’re both trash! Chop off their heads and send them to Lizbeth!”

As his hand reached for me, I twisted, trying to throw him down. However, he saw it coming. He kicked my wrist hard. The knife flew from my hand.

“Still trying to play games with me?” The scarred man grinned. “Hold him down! Beat him to death!”

Soon the gangsters surrounded me, soon their fists were raining down on me. I tried to escape but I found no chance.

In the distance, Erick was already on the ground, barely breathing. Dozens of people were on top of him.

A fist then slammed into my head and turning my vision blurring red. As I frantically thinking how to escape, the old factory windows shattered with a crash.

Lizbeth burst in with a hundred armed men following her.

In seconds, the scarred man’s crew was pushed back. The fight broke with even more chaos. One of the gangsters realized that they were about to lose and he turned to stab Erick in the stomach.

Lizbeth saw it happen and pulled her trigger in a flash.

Gunfire filled the air.

Next, she pushed through the fight and rushed to Erick’s side. She pulled him into her arms and saw his eyes were staring at me.

“Tommy… I never wanted to steal Liz from you.

Why did you do this to me?” His voice faded and he passed out.

Lizbeth turned her head toward me, her eyes colder than I’d ever seen them.

“Tommy,” she said quietly, “I’ve been far too soft on you.”