I curled my lips into a faint smile and didn’t answer his question, but only asked, “Where did you find him? Was I the one who kidnapped him?”

Kevin’s face stiffened.

“I didn't kidnap him, so am I indebted to him? I don't owe him anything, so why should I be beaten to exorcise evil spirits?” I asked sharply.

Before, even if I just scraped my hand, he would be so worried he’d almost wish he could feel the pain for me. However, now, he was willing to believe some baseless claim and beat me with a barbed whip?

Cora, who was standing by the side, spoke coldly with feigned concern, "Kevin, don’t make things hard for Kelly. This is my and Little Nate's fault. She's so precious, how dare we touch her?"

At first, Kevin felt a pang of guilt and guilt toward me, but upon hearing that it might harm Cora and their son, he snapped back. He kissed me on the cheek and said, "I'm sorry, Kelly. Just bear with it."

Before I could respond, a vicious whip knocked me to the ground. When its barbs tore into my flesh, I let out a blood-curdling scream.

After just twenty lashes, I was barely alive. The flesh on my body was shredded and blood was flowing freely from it. 

Kevin was a bit hesitant, but just then, Cora suddenly squealed with delight, "Kevin! Nate is reacting! Nate's about to wake up!"

A spark lit up Kevin's eyes and he whipped me again while speaking urgently, "Kelly, hold on a bit longer. Once Nate recovers, you’ll be the biggest hero. I’ll make it up to you!”

As each whip fell on my body, it chipped away a bit of the love I had for Kevin. Then by the time the forty-nine lashes ended, my feelings for him were completely gone. The pain was so great that I passed out. 

When I woke again, I was back in the hospital in the most luxurious private room and was swarmed by nurses. Anyone who didn’t know better would think it was a resort hotel, the kind of treatment I had never received when I was sick before.

Seeing me awake, Kevin lit up with surprise and joy. He gripped my hand and exclaimed, "Kelly, the doctor said you were in critical condition and might not wake up. I thought I’d never see you again! You’ve suffered so much.”

I furrowed my brows and pulled my hand away.

Kevin kept rambling in my ear, pouring out his guilt toward me. His voice annoyed me so much that I finally pulled the blanket over my head.

"Kelly, what kind of act is this?" Kevin snapped.  I’ve already apologized, yet you’re still giving me this attitude. What do you want to do?”  

He angrily pulled off the bracelet on my wrist and threatened, "I gifted you this back then to protect and keep you safe. If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back.”

He stared hard at me, as if searching my face for regret or desperation but found nothing.

Once again, I was lost in my memories.

When I was in college, a terrible flu epidemic happened. Anyone who ran a fever was immediately isolated and unfortunately, I fell ill. At the time, Kevin disregarded his own safety and climbed over the wall to see me.

The first time he came, he saw how deathly pale I was, lying motionless on the hospital bed and this grown man actually fell to his knees beside me, sobbing his heart out.

He must have received countless warnings, but he didn’t care. He brought me meals and milk tea and even in the bitter cold of December, he climbed step by step on his knees up to a nearby temple to get me this bracelet.

I had worn it ever since. I had replaced new strings more times than I could count, but I always kept it on to this day.

Seeing me stay silent, Kevin was about to lose his temper again when the door swung open.

Cora peeked in, carrying a food container. Then she said, "Kevin, I came to check on Kelly."

Kevin nodded and turned to leave.

Cora pretended to bring out some risotto and acted as if she were feeding me.  

When a bout of nausea rose in me, I instinctively turned my head away.

Suddenly, Cora released her grip of the risotto and the scalding risotto spilled all over me, making me yank my hands back. Unexpectedly, Cora shrieked and fell backward onto the ground!

Kevin rushed in and scooped Cora in his arms. 

"Kevin! Blood! I'm bleeding!" She pointed between her legs, sobbing.

“Doctor, come quickly! My wife fell while pregnant. You must save her baby!” Kevin yelled. He picked Cora up and rushed outside.

I listened to his anxious voice and smiled bitterly.

"Wife", so Cora is his wife.

After sending Cora into the operating room, Kevin came to settle accounts with me. His steps were followed by a group of doctors.

Ruthlessly, he said, "Kelly, clearly, I haven’t punished you enough! Neither pushing you down the stairs nor whipping you made you see your mistakes. Now you dare to harm Cora? This time, I’ll give you a lesson you’ll never forget!”

He ordered the doctors, “Take her to the operating room and remove her uterus!”

I was shocked and about to resist when his assistant rushed in.

"President Dawson! Miss Welder lost her baby!" he said anxiously.

Kevin’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He swung toward me with a murderous glare, his voice icy to the core. "Kelly, you’ve really done it now. Since you killed Cora's baby, don’t even think about getting off easy!”

I watched helplessly as Kevin picked up the fruit knife beside him and stabbed it fiercely into my abdomen and twisted it. The pain was so excruciating that I passed out instantly.

Kevin stabbed me in my lower abdomen using the same fruit knife that he had used to gently peel an apple for me.

When I woke up again, I was at home, in my familiar bedroom.

Lucy, who cooked for us, broke the news to me in tears, "Miss, your uterus was too badly damaged, so it had to be removed. You’ll never be able to have children again.”

I nodded numbly.

“Mr. Dawson also feels he went too far and feels guilty toward you," she added. "He prepared a gift for you in the living room. Would you like to go take a look?”

I shook my head dully.

Lucy let out a heartbroken sigh and continued, “Since you're awake, I'll go buy groceries now. You've been through so much these days, so I'll make sure to nourish you properly at lunch.”

After saying that, Lucy left.

A long time passed before I slowly walked to the living room.

It was filled with roses in full bloom. The moment I saw them, my face fell because I was allergic to pollen and Kevin had actually forgotten about this. Almost instantly, my face swelled up and it was covered in red rashes that itched terribly.

It was obvious that since he no longer loved me, how could he remember my preferences and allergies? To him, I was probably just a stranger now. So, even if I died, he wouldn’t care.

I cleaned through the entire villa and searched for everything related to Kevin.  

There were love letters, photos of us together and the little trinkets he made by hand to comfort me. Then, among the sea of roses, I set it all ablaze.

When Kevin returned home with Cora, he saw the scene where I sat amid the raging fire, nearly consumed by the flames.

Kevin frantically pulled me out of the fire. Then, he stared in disbelief when he saw the scattered photo fragments on the ground. "Kelly, what kind of madness are you doing?"

After Kevin carried me to a safe spot, he tried to rush back in to salvage those memories, only to have the flames sear his hand. He stumbled back out, no longer daring to go in.

After the firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire, Kevin carefully helped Cora into the bedroom and did not look at me again.

“Pack up your things and move out," he ordered. "Cora will be staying in the master bedroom.”

“Oh, and Cora just had a miscarriage. She needs someone to look after her. That someone will be you," he added.

I was in disbelief. "Me? Serve her?"

Kevin's eyes turned icy when he said, "What? Don’t forget, you still need my help. Think about the Johnson Family, your father and your daughter. Kelly, think it through!”

So, I stood outside the master bedroom, clutching a thin quilt, listening to Cora’s exaggerated giggles and Kevin’s gentle murmurs of comfort from inside.

Silently, I turned away and walked down the hall to a small, dark room that hadn’t seen sunlight in years. When I opened the door, a wave of moldy air hit me. This place used to be a storage room, but now it has become my “new home.”

In the middle of the night, Cora sent me several photos of her and Kevin in intimate poses, including a video. In it, Kevin was moving on top of her, his low moans ripping through my eardrums.

I casually tossed the phone aside, intending to continue sleeping, but then another message from Cora popped up.

[Kevin and I love each other so much, yet you still cling on like a leech? Don’t forget! It’s Kevin who paid all of your father's and daughters' medical bills! You'd better listen to me, or with just one word from me, I can send them all to hell!”

The next morning, I was jolted awake by harsh banging on the door.

“Madam, Miss Welder wants you to come serve her.”

Lucy’s voice came through the door, tinged with reluctance.

Remembering Cora’s threat from the night before, I dragged my aching body to the master bedroom.

Cora was applying makeup in front of the mirror. When she caught sight of me in the mirror, her red lips curled into a cold smile.

“You’re here? Go prepare the bathwater for me," she ordered. “It must be exactly sixty degrees Celsius, not a single degree more or less.”

I silently entered the bathroom.

By the time the water temperature was adjusted, Cora had already undressed and was standing behind me. She deliberately displayed her smooth, firm skin and the cesarean scar on her abdomen in front of me.

“This is from when I gave birth to Nate,” she said, touching the scar. “Kevin was heartbroken and said he never wanted me to suffer again.”

She leaned close to my ear, whispering, “What a pity … your uterus is gone and you’ll never give him a child now.”

I bit down hard on my lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Cora stepped into the bathtub and suddenly screamed, jumping out. “Do you want to scald me to death?”

She slapped me across the face, making me stumble and slam into the sink.

Hearing the sound, Kevin rushed in and Cora instantly dove into his arms, sobbing. "Kelly blames me for taking away her uterus and deliberately scalded me with hot water …”

I looked up to defend myself, only to meet Kevin’s frigid gaze. Right at that moment, I understood that he would never believe me again.

“Kneel and apologize to Cora,” he ordered.

I stood motionless. He grabbed my hair and forced me to kneel on the slippery tiles. The pain from my knees hitting the ground made my vision go black.

“I’m sorry.”

The words spilled from my lips mechanically as my mind silently counted how many times Kevin had hurt me for Cora's sake.

After Kevin left, Nate came to find me and asked, "Auntie, can you help me wash my hair?”

I eyed him warily, but his innocent expression was that of a pure child.

Maybe I was just overthinking it? With a sigh, I knelt to wash his hair.

Just as the foam began to lather, he suddenly grabbed my wrist and pushed it into the water.

“Go to hell! Mom said that if you die, she can marry Dad legitimately!”

I struggled, caught off guard as he shoved me face-first into the tub. With a strength no child his age should’ve had, he slammed my head under the water.

I could no longer struggle and the next moment, the back of my head collided with the ceramic and everything went black.