My husband, Terrence Lawson, was a traveler between worlds. He wasn’t allowed to form relationships with the NPCs of each world.

But he was quick to fall head over heels for me. Every time his heart throbbed for me, a deep-rooted pain that tore through his soul followed suit. He had suffered from this torment 99 times so far.

Later on, I was kidnapped to another country, where I was tormented relentlessly. At one point, I even became a target of sexual abuse.

When I was at the brink of suffering from a permanent breakdown, I remembered the secretive technique that Terrence had taught me that allowed me to communicate with him despite being worlds apart.

After succeeding in forming a link with Terrence, I overheard his conversation with his mentor.

"Terrence, how could you contact the villains and have them kidnap Quinn? Isn't she your true love?"

Terrence's voice was awfully icy and resolute. "The female supporting lead, Yvonne Lynn, was supposed to be the one enduring the torment. I had no choice but to let Quinn shoulder this burden in order to save Yvonne's life.

"Besides, Quinn is this world's female lead. She has the blessings of the Narrative, so there's no way any harm will come to her.

"Once I'm done with this mission, I will be able to stay in this world forever. When the time comes, I'll make sure to make amends to Quinn properly."

I was completely heartbroken at that moment.

When I saw the villains approaching me once again, I completely gave up on fighting back.

"This lady's tougher than she looks," a woman said mockingly.

Shortly after, a sharp, searing pain shot up my left leg, and I couldn't help but let out a muffled cry.

"Oh, have you finally decided to make some noise?" Her voice grew more excited.

When I forced my eyes open, I saw a heavily made-up woman standing over me. Her face twisted with some kind of sick excitement, and she was holding a red-hot iron rod. After waving it in front of me, she abruptly drove it straight into my chest.

A scream ripped from my throat. My nerves felt like they were on fire. It was as though my chest was being burned from the inside out.

"That's more like it. It gets boring if you don't react."

The woman grinned in satisfaction before driving the metal rod into the other side of my chest.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stay silent. I knew that struggling would only spur them on. So, I could only endure the pain while praying that it would all end soon.

My limbs had been broken a long time ago. As I lay motionlessly on the filthy wooden bed, I was completely at their mercy.

"How many have we gone through? Have we used all eight torture devices?" Terrence Sawyer's cool and detached voice rang out.

"We've used seven so far. Is there really a need to recreate every event so accurately?" Terrence's mentor, John Williams, said reluctantly. "You know that Quinn Sawyer was the one who saved you back then. So, why insist on repaying Yvonne Lynn instead?"

I blinked.

When the landslide struck back then, I had dug Terrence out of the rubble with my bare hands and carried him to safety. By the time we reached the safe zone, I had collapsed from exhaustion. When I woke up, he insisted that Yvonne was the one who had saved him.

No matter how hard I tried to explain, he refused to believe me. As it turned out, he wasn't doubting me at all. He was simply feigning oblivion on purpose.

"I had already let Yvonne down by marrying Quinn. I don't want her to go through this kind of suffering again. Being subjected to something like this will ruin a woman's life," Terrence sighed, his voice heavy with guilt.

Lying on the filthy wooden bed, I let out a bitter laugh as tears trickled down my face. He knew exactly what this would do to a woman, and yet, he still chose to put me through it.

He claimed that he loved me, but he was single-handedly dragging me to my demise. Was I supposed to believe that he hadn't let me down?

All of a sudden, a sharp pain tore through my abdomen. I gasped for air and couldn't stop myself from screaming.

"Why is she bleeding so heavily?" one of the men shouted. "Is she pregnant by any chance?"

John started to sound nervous as well. "I don't think Quinn can take it much longer, Terrence. She—"

"Spare me the details," Terrence hastily cut him off in a pained voice. "It'll only break my heart."

After a brief pause, he declared heartlessly, "Alright. Let's proceed with the final one."

"What?" John exclaimed. "She's already at her limit. She's—"

"That's enough! I'll still love Quinn no matter what happens to her," Terrence snapped. "Everything has to remain exactly as it is. Otherwise, the original events from the story will eventually play out with Yvonne."

Terrence's tone stayed impassive. To me, he sounded like the devil himself.

Soon, someone returned to the room with dozens of iron nails.

Even though I had already fallen into despair, I still couldn't help but stagger backward in fear.

The man was right—I was pregnant. Before departing on this mission overseas, I had already been three months along. Before this, I had planned to tell Terrence the good news after the mission was completed.

He had always dreamed of having a child with me and leading a happy life together as a family of three. Initially, I believed we would have a home together, too.

Before I could react, someone grabbed my limbs, and a wave of unbearable pain spread through my entire body.

I watched as thick iron nails were driven into my body one after another. I nearly passed out from the agony, but I had been given a stimulant injection beforehand. Hence, I remained conscious throughout the entire process and was forced to endure every second of my hellish torture.

"I think she's actually pregnant… This is incredibly cruel…"

The man holding the forceps stared at my bloodied lower body before turning his face away. He couldn't bear to watch this any longer.

Ultimately, my unborn child couldn't withstand the stress that my body was being put through.

As my mind grew hazy, I heard Terrence speak again. His voice trembled ever so slightly as he said, "Hold on, Quinn. Once I complete the mission, I'll be able to stay in this dimension forever. I promise I'll make it up to you when that time comes."

How was he going to do that? Was he planning to make it up to me with his so-called love?

I let out a broken laugh. To my surprise, I couldn't even cry anymore.

I was dragged up from the ground like a dead animal. Sneering, the men tossed me into a stinking water cell and left me to rot in the cold, filthy water.

I didn't know how much time had passed before the cell door finally opened again.

Terrence's figure appeared. His face was wrecked with concern and heartbreak, and it almost seemed as if he was going to cry.

He rushed forward and pulled me into his arms. In a trembling voice, he cried, "I'm here to save you, Quinn."

I lifted my head numbly and stared at him with a hollow gaze. He used to be the man I loved. But now, his face seemed foreign, and the sight of it made me feel sick.

"You told me you could track my location at all times. You also claimed that you would come for me immediately," I said.

His expression stiffened. Then, he explained remorsefully, "I'm sorry. The situation overseas was too complicated. It took up quite a bit of my time. I'm sorry, Quinn. It's okay—I'll always love you no matter what."

Love me?

I scoffed. What a joke.

Terrence didn't seem to notice my reaction. Perhaps, he simply chose to ignore it.

He took off his coat and wrapped it around my battered body. Then, he picked me up in his arms and rushed outside.

I was taken to the hospital.

After hearing the news, my colleagues rushed over to check on my condition. Even though they were used to all kinds of gruesome injuries, they couldn't help but inhale sharply once they saw me.

I was ushered into the operating room in a horrific state. The tendons in all four of my limbs had been severed, and my lower body was ruined. My body was also covered in severe infections and festering wounds.

The doctor shook his head and sighed as he continued the surgery. The anesthesia wasn't working for me at all, but I no longer had the strength to even groan.

After the operation, I was transferred to a hospital room, and Terrence came to visit me.

He sat by my bed and wept. As his tears fell onto my face, he cried, "I'm sorry, Quinn. I'll never let you suffer again."

In the past, I would've immediately gotten up and tried to comfort him. But now, the sight of his broken expression only made me feel sick.

All of a sudden, the door creaked open.

"Are you hungry, Terrence? I brought you breakfast," a voice said.

Yvonne had dropped by.

Terrence let go of my hand. Without turning around, he rejected her offer.

"I don't have an appetite. You go ahead. In three hours, you should board the return flight and head back to Eulasia. It's not safe here," he instructed.

"I don't want to go alone," Yvonne whined coquettishly. "I'm scared. Can you keep me company on the flight back home?"

"No," he refused immediately. "I need to stay with Quinn."

"But I'm really scared…"

Not to my surprise, Terrence hesitated. In the end, he gave in.

"Fine. I'll go and inform the team."

He claimed that I was the only one he loved, but he could never bring himself to turn down Yvonne's requests.

The moment he left, Yvonne dropped her act.

She walked up to my bed and slapped me hard across the face. "You're awake, aren't you? Cut the crap. We all know you were given a stimulant injection."

She stared at me condescendingly and continued, "How does it feel to be passed around like that? I heard that your limbs are practically ruined now. How pitiful."

I forced my eyes open and shot her a cold glare. "It doesn't matter what condition I'm in. You'll never become Mrs. Lawson."

Yvonne had been madly in love with Terrence for years. But unfortunately for her, the latter had never reciprocated her love.

Upon hearing my statement, her expression shifted, and she let out a disdainful scoff. "Don't get too cocky. Terrence only brought me here to take credit for what you did. I'm about to be rewarded for capturing the fugitive."

"How dare you!"

My eyes widened with fury as I forced my words out through gritted teeth.

Initially, only my team had been dispatched on this mission. But later, Terrence claimed he was concerned about me and insisted on joining the operation. As it turned out, he didn't tag along to protect me—he was there to put me through hell.

My colleagues and I had lost two of our closest friends to capture this fugitive. Now, the credit for our efforts was going to be handed to Yvonne instead.

Yvonne picked up a syringe and injected it into my vein without any hesitation.

"You should just die," she snarled. "Look at you. At this point, staying alive will bring you nothing but pain."

Flashing me a vicious smile, she added, "This is a sepsis-inducing injection. Terrence was afraid you'd get in our way, so he told me to give this to you.

"Goodbye, Quinn. In your next life, don't bother competing with me over a man."

She cackled before she strode outside. Less than five minutes later, the monitor alarms began to blare.

Doctors and nurses rushed in, and the room was thrown into chaos.

"The patient's vitals are dropping fast! Her coagulation abilities are failing. If this continues, she'll die from an infection! There are coagulation agents back in Eulasia. We need to have her transferred immediately!"

"There are no flights available right now!" someone shouted frantically.

My colleagues were panicking. Then, all of a sudden, one of them seemed to have remembered something.

"Wait—Terrence applied for a helicopter transfer! He can send Quinn back to the country!"

A flicker of hope stirred within me. I wanted to live.