"If you leave... something bad will happen to me... please…"

Renald froze in his tracks. He turned to look at Lorraine, her eyes hazy and pleading under the dim light.

After a long moment of hesitation, he clenched his jaw, then hung up on my call.

Turning back, he gently helped her onto the bed.

"I'll stay with you until morning."

The video went dark after that. The only sounds left were a low, guttural groan and Lorraine's soft, satisfied laughter.

I felt as if I'd plunged into an ice-cold abyss. My fingers trembled as I clutched my phone, dialing his number again and again.

All through the night, I made over four hundred calls. But he didn't answer a single one.

When dawn finally broke, a message appeared on my screen. [I handled an emergency last night.]

A hollow laugh escaped me.

So this was his "emergency"—spending the night by another woman's bed.

...

The day I was discharged happened to be my birthday.

Renald came in person to pick me up. He even booked a private hall at an upscale restaurant for a small birthday celebration.

The venue was beautifully decorated, and he stayed by my side the entire evening.

After the cake was cut, he fastened a custom-made gold necklace around my neck, drawing murmurs of admiration from the guests.

To everyone else, I must have looked like the luckiest woman alive.

But to me, that necklace felt as heavy as a shackle pressing down on my chest.

Halfway through the banquet, I felt suffocated and excused myself to the restroom.

The moment I turned into the hallway, someone blocked my path.

"Well, if it isn't Mrs. Montgomery—the happiest woman tonight."

Lorraine leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed, mockery twisting her lips.

I didn't want to engage. I turned to leave, but she stepped forward, blocking me again.

"Renald must really adore you—throwing you a party, gifting you that expensive necklace. You must feel so proud."

"But when you called the police on me, didn't he force you to sign that forgiveness letter just to bail me out?"

"Do you even know how much he depends on me? Everything we've been through together... and yet you still cling to him shamelessly. Tell me, shouldn't I hate you for that?"

Each word was like a dull, poisoned blade, slicing deeper into a heart already scarred beyond repair.

My face was drained of color. I only wanted to get away. But she wouldn't let me.

In one swift motion, Lorraine grabbed my wrist, her nails digging deep into my skin.

"You survived last time... let's see if you're that lucky again!"

Before I could react, two burly men in work uniforms stepped out of the shadows. They grabbed me—one on each side—and dragged me down the hallway, ignoring my frantic struggles.

They shoved me into the top-floor lounge and locked the door.

Terror clawed at my throat. My strength was useless against theirs.

Lorraine's eyes gleamed with venom and twisted triumph.

"Danica, since Renald loves you so much, I'll destroy you completely! Let's see if he still wants a filthy, used-up woman after this!"

One of the men—a leering brute with a greasy smile—started to advance toward me.

I fought desperately, but despair swallowed me whole.

Lorraine lifted her phone, aiming the camera at me, preparing to record everything.

Just as that disgusting hand reached for my clothes—

BANG!

The door burst open, slamming against the wall.

Renald stormed in like a wild beast, fury radiating from every inch of him.

When he saw me pinned to the bed, my clothes torn, his eyes went bloodshot.

In one swift motion, he grabbed the man by the collar, hurled him over his shoulder, and slammed him to the floor. The man didn't even have time to scream before losing consciousness.

"Danica!"

He rushed to me, tearing away the restraints and pulling me into his arms.

"Don't be afraid! I'm here now—it's over."

Terror and humiliation surged up all at once, and I broke down sobbing against his chest.

He scooped me up, wrapping his jacket carefully around me, and headed for the door.

As we passed by Lorraine, he stopped.

His gaze turned cold—so cold it could kill.

"Lorraine! I've tolerated your tantrums and reckless behavior for years out of respect for your parents—but this time, you've crossed the line!"

"If anything happens to Danica today, I swear I won't let you walk away alive!"

The raw fury in Renald's eyes made Lorraine stumble back, her face pale. Then, as if something inside her snapped, she shrieked, "What are you going to do—send me to prison?"

She gave a twisted laugh, tears glinting at the corners of her eyes.

"Fine! Renald, since you want my life so badly—take it!"

Before anyone could react, she suddenly lunged toward the open floor-to-ceiling window and hurled herself out.

"Lorraine—!"

Renald's face turned deathly white.

Without a second's hesitation, he dropped me to the floor and bolted toward the window.

The world spun. My back slammed against the cold, hard ground, pain shooting up my ankle like a blade.

By the time I dragged myself to the window, he was already gone—racing downstairs like a madman.

Through the glass, I saw him scoop up Lorraine's blood-soaked body, his face twisted in panic. He jumped into his SUV, the engine roaring to life before the car tore away into the night.

He didn't even glance back at me.

I sank onto the freezing marble floor, staring in the direction he'd gone, my chest hollow, my soul utterly still.

Only silence remained.

...

After a long while, I managed to stand. Limping, I made my way home.

Later that night, Renald came back.

He stormed toward me, grabbed my wrist so tightly I thought he'd crush the bones.

"Lorraine is suffering massive internal bleeding—your blood type is the only one that matches hers!"

My vision went black. My pulse roared in my ears.

"No! Renald, are you insane? Why should I save her?!"

But his grip only tightened, desperation flashing in his eyes.

"Danica, please! Lorraine jumped because of what I said. I can't let her die—she's still so young! A little blood won't harm you. Don't worry. I'll get the best doctors to help you recover. I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

I screamed, fought, kicked—but it didn't matter. He still dragged me into the operating room and pressed me down on the cold metal table.

"Renald! I hate you!"

That was the last thing I managed to shout before the anesthesia numbed everything—my body, my voice, my heart.

...

When I woke again, it was already the next morning.

Renald sat by my bedside. The moment I opened my eyes, he rushed over.

"Danica, you're awake?"

He pulled out expensive tonics and gifts, trying to appease me. But I just stared blankly at the ceiling, my expression void of life.

Later that day, while he went out to buy me porridge, Lorraine slipped quietly into my hospital room.

"Well, if it isn't my savior," she said with a smirk.

"Poor thing—you've been unconscious for so long! You nearly drained yourself dry to save me. Honestly, if it weren't for you, I'd be dead by now."

My stomach churned. My voice was hoarse.

"Get out."

Her smile vanished, her eyes flashing with venom.

"What's with that attitude, blood bag?" She scoffed and stormed out.

A few minutes later, Renald burst into the room, his face dark with fury.

"Danica! Why did you bribe the nurse to poison Lorraine's medicine?!"

I blinked, stunned. "What?"

"Lorraine said you were angry that I forced you to save her. She claims you paid a nurse to tamper with her medication—she went into shock and barely made it out of the ER alive!"

His voice was sharp, full of accusation.

"I didn't!"

At last, my restraint shattered. I shot up from the bed, tears spilling down my face.

"Renald! I've had enough—do you hear me? Enough!"

"You always believe her. Always take her side! I nearly died because of her again and again—look at me, I'm covered in scars!"

"And you—what have you ever done for me besides force me to sign, to bleed, to suffer, to die for her?!"

"Your love makes me sick—absolutely sick!"

Renald froze in place.

The door to the ward swung open, and Lorraine leaned against the frame, her voice trembling with false tears.

"Renald, you promised me! You said I could deal with her for three days!"

Renald's gaze flickered between us, torment warring in his eyes. After a long pause, he finally gave in.

"These three days," he said coldly, "you cannot harm her life. That's my bottom line."

"Don't worry," Lorraine immediately replied with a sweet, poisonous smile. "I just want to teach her a lesson. I won't kill her."

I stared at him in disbelief. Renald—my husband—was actually offering me up to that woman just to calm her down?!

"Renald! Don't you dare!"

I tried to get out of bed in panic, but before I could move, Lorraine waved her hand. Two burly men in work uniforms stormed in and dragged my frail body off the bed without mercy.

"Renald! Help me! Please—I don't want to go!"

I reached out for him, tears streaming down my face, my voice cracking with desperation. But he only clenched his fists and shut his eyes tightly, standing still, refusing to look at me.

For the next three days, I was imprisoned in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. Lorraine unleashed every cruel method she could think of—whipping, sleep deprivation, and forcing me to swallow filth. She shattered my body, humiliated my soul, and seemed to delight in every moment of my agony.

By the time she was done, I was barely breathing. She finally ordered her men to throw me back to the hospital emergency room like discarded trash.

I didn't know how long I was unconscious. When I finally opened my eyes, the doctor sighed in relief.

"You're awake... we almost lost you. I'll notify your family to handle the paperwork."

He handed me my phone. The first message I saw was from Madam Montgomery.

[The divorce papers are ready. Leave Renald as soon as you can.]

I let out a hollow laugh, my throat dry and burning. Knowing his obsessive nature, I weakly dialed Madam Montgomery's private number.

"Please…" my voice was barely a whisper. "Help me fake my death. Use an unclaimed body from the morgue... let him think I'm gone for good."

"If I simply disappear, he'll hunt me to the ends of the earth. But if he thinks I'm dead... everything ends."

There was a long silence on the other end. Then Madam Montgomery exhaled deeply.

"Follow the people I send. I'll handle the rest."

Under her arrangement, I left the hospital quietly through the back door and headed straight for the airport.

Meanwhile, Renald was pacing his office, eyes fixed on his watch. The moment the seventy-second hour struck, he called Lorraine. His voice trembled with tension.

"Three days are up! Where's Danica? I warned you—no killing!"

"Why so anxious?" she replied, feigning innocence. "Relax, I sent her back to the hospital."

He slammed the phone down and rushed out the door. By the time he arrived at the operating room, the light above the door had just gone out.

The doctor removed his mask, face heavy with sorrow.

"Mr. Montgomery... I'm sorry. The patient's injuries were too severe. We did everything we could."

A stretcher rolled out, covered with a white sheet.