The next morning, Christian sent a car to pick me up. To my surprise, ten bodyguards were already seated inside.

A faint unease started to creep into my heart.

Had he found out something?

As the car gradually came to a stop, I was led into a garden overgrown with thorny bushes.

The leading bodyguard finally spoke. "Madam, Mr. Leighton said he won't send you back until you've picked ninety-nine white roses."

As if I had long since given up, I obeyed with surprising calm.

"Give me the tools," I said coolly as I lowered my gaze.

"Mr. Leighton said Miss Stone only likes the ones picked by hand."

That reply made me momentarily frozen. I couldn't help but stare at the garden bristling with razor-sharp thorns before me. I realized that I had no other option.

When I stepped out from the garden, covered in wounds, clutching a full 99 blood-stained white roses, my pristine white dress was already soaked crimson. My once delicate, pale fingers were now drenched in blood.

There was a time when Christian wouldn't even let me touch cold water and gently cradle my hands. "Serena, your hands are meant to hold a paintbrush, to create the greatest masterpiece in this world."

My vision went completely black. I couldn't stand it anymore and fainted.

Meanwhile, in the luxurious party hall, Jocelyn appeared arm-in-arm with Christian, radiating the grace of a princess.

For a moment, everyone present was stunned.

"Isn't that the 'Star of the East,' a gem of which there is only one in the entire world? Mr. Leighton actually bought it for Miss Stone."

"Indeed. It seems Mr. Leighton truly spares no expense to win a smile from his beauty."

Whispers of admiration filled the room, every eye fixed on Jocelyn with envy. She naturally basked in the spotlight and her smile was exceptionally brilliant.

Nevertheless, only one person remained distinctly out of place. That was me, Serena Clarke.

Exhausted from blood loss and the recent abortion procedure, my body was severely weakened. As a result, I had fainted again.

The moment I opened my eyes, Christian forced me downstairs.

"Serena, you're here," greeted Jocelyn, who spotted me standing alone in the corner.

She feigned surprise, her voice soft yet clear enough for everyone present to hear.

I didn't want to get tangled up with her. But just as I was about to leave, Jocelyn grabbed my wrist.

Her eyes instantly welled with tears, giving her a pitiful, vulnerable look. Even so, beneath that gaze lay blatant provocation and undisguised smugness.

"I know you dislike me, but I came to join this family, not to tear it apart. Serena, you'll always be Mrs. Leighton. All I want is Chris' love."

Before I could even object, I was sharply rebuked by Christian, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion. "Serena, haven't you made enough of a scene? Today is Jocelyn's celebration party. Do you absolutely have to cause a commotion so everyone focuses only on you?"

"Apologize to Jocelyn immediately and hand over the gift you prepared for her," he barked.

I stared into Christian's unfamiliar, icy eyes. Though my heart boiled with refusal, the thought of my brother forced me to swallow back my words.

The bruises on my body ached faintly, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

In front of everyone, I held out the blood-stained bouquet of ninety-nine white roses to Jocelyn.

Under Christian's cold gaze, I closed my eyes as if quietly awaiting death itself. I could only sigh softly, "I'm sorry. Everything that happened before was my fault."

As soon as I said that, the crowd murmured. A wife apologizing to the mistress was truly a rare sight.

Jocelyn looked at the flowers I offered and slightly frowned. "Thank you, but as much as I like this bouquet, I can't accept it."

Confusion clouded my eyes as I stared blankly at the lavishly dressed woman before me.

"White roses symbolize purity, yet this bouquet is stained."

As soon as she spoke, murmurs rose from the surrounding crowd.

"There's blood on it!"

"Doesn't she know receiving blood-stained flowers is the worst taboo in our line of work? I hear it brings a curse."

The mutters reached my ears, but before I could gather her thoughts to explain, Christian knocked the bouquet from my hands and onto the floor.

His expression darkened instantly. His eyes, fixed on me, were filled with fierce displeasure as he snapped, "Serena, I never imagined you could be such a vicious woman."

"Someone, take her to the main hall and punish her according to the family rules," he ordered.

Christian didn't spare me even a trace of dignity, publicly ordering my punishment. I knew how brutal his family's punishments were.

Years ago, when he insisted on marrying me, he was given one hundred strikes. His back was bloody and raw, yet he gritted his teeth and refused to give in.

It wasn't until the last strike that I couldn't bear to watch anymore.

Throwing caution to the wind, I cried out and rushed forward, forcibly taking the blow for him. That single strike knocked me unconscious for an entire day.

Now, they roughly forced me to kneel before Jocelyn.

I struggled wildly, resisting with all my might. "Let go of me! Christian, you can't treat me like this!"

Jocelyn, standing nearby, shook her head as if disappointed by my defiance. "Serena, Chris is doing this for your own good. I know you blame me for stealing his love, but you shouldn't resort to such underhanded methods to harm others."

I stared hatefully at the woman who had stolen everything from me, wishing I could rush forward and take her down with me.

I barely opened my mouth when the butler rushed over. He whispered something into Christian's ear and suddenly, every eye in the room was fixed on me.

"Who would've thought the seemingly noble and magnanimous Mrs. Leighton is such a promiscuous woman? No wonder Mr. Leighton fell for someone else."

"Mr. Leighton and Miss Stone share true love. Unlike her, who plays around so recklessly."

Hearing this, my heart lurched violently. It turned out someone had leaked the news of my visit to the hospital for an abortion to the media. Now, reporters and paparazzi swarmed outside the Leightons' residence.

In an instant, I became the focus of public scorn.

I looked at my phone, which was filled with hot searches bearing my name.

"Serena Clarke, the wealthy wife of Christian Leighton, couldn't stand the loneliness and got pregnant after an affair."

"Wife of capital's richest man is pregnant, but the baby isn't her husband's."

…

My mind went completely blank. My dull, empty eyes drifted to Christian, but he showed no intention of defending me.

Of course, even that man believed the baby in my belly wasn't his.

Soon, I was placed under house arrest. The servants roughly threw me into the basement.

As I stared into the pitch-black, damp and gloomy space, my entire body trembled uncontrollably. I cried out in despair and helplessness, but Christian only watched me indifferently.

"When you're ready to admit whose child this truly is, I'll let you out," he said.

I knew he was forcing me to confess.

As the last glimmer of light vanished, I was engulfed by darkness and an overwhelming sense of terror instantly washed over me. Trembling, I curled up in the corner.

How could Christian not know that darkness was my greatest fear?

I couldn't help but recall how, in the past, Christian would keep every light in the house on 24/7 because I was afraid of the dark. Just to make me feel safe.

Today, he was personally throwing me into this endless abyss.

My hands and feet slowly grew cold, then numb and finally stiff.

But his words echoed relentlessly in my ears. "I've already contacted PR. We're going public with a live stream tomorrow."

I've known him for so long; I knew this was a notification, not a discussion.

I refused like a madwoman, screaming and questioning him. Still, all it got me was being locked in the basement, supposedly to "clear my head."

My consciousness gradually faded.

After a long while, the basement door opened. I didn't know how much time had passed, but that night felt impossibly long.

I was dragged out and taken to the study, like a lump of mud.

Christian calmly looked up. When he saw how exhausted and worn out I looked, a flicker of complex emotion crossed his eyes before vanishing swiftly.

He set down the documents in his hand, his sharp brows furrowing slightly as he leaned back into the sofa. That man spoke ruthlessly. "Have you made up your mind?"

His tone carried an unyielding authority, but I just closed my eyes in silence.

Seeing that I still wouldn't give in, Christian placed his phone in front of me. The person on the video screen was none other than my brother.

Because of that, I finally compromised.

Before leaving the study, I ended up asking the one question I had to.

"Do you love her?" I asked in a shaky, completely broken voice.

"I do," Christian answered without hesitation.

I smiled bitterly at those words, though my vision was already blurred. "What about me?"

The air instantly froze and it felt like we were locked in a silent confrontation. After a moment, Christian broke the silence. "I loved you once."

Loved me once. How ridiculous.

When we were in love, he would have given me the best of everything in the world. But now that he didn't love me, he wouldn't even let me go.

I sat in front of the phone, watching all the vicious comments scroll endlessly across the screen.

My heart twisted with pain, the agony intensifying with every beat. My limbs also began to tremble uncontrollably.

However, no one noticed that cold sweat had soaked my back.

After saying that last sentence, all my strength seemed to drain away. I stumbled to my feet and left.

Before I could even catch my breath, the first thing I saw when I walked out of the room was my brother tied tightly to a chair.

As soon as Jocelyn saw me, she barked an order to the servants to press the nearby button, without a word of explanation. Instantly, a surge of electricity coursed through my brother's limbs.

All my pent-up resentment and rage immediately erupted at the sight. I lunged desperately toward her, but Christian firmly blocked me again.

"This is a crime, Jocelyn! I'll kill you! Let go of my brother right now! You deserve to die!" I roared in a hoarse voice.

Jocelyn, however, seemed oblivious. She buried herself in Christian's embrace as if hurt.

"Serena, I'm doing this for your own good. Electroshock therapy is the fastest way for a patient to recover their memory. Don't you want your brother to get better quickly?"

The smell of flesh scorched by electricity wafted through the air, mingling with my cries that shifted from furious curses to desperate pleas. "Please, Christian. Stop the shocks! My brother will die, he really will die!"

"I'll do anything you ask, just spare my brother," I begged.

Christian remained standing there, completely unmoved. He just said faintly, "Jocelyn is only doing this for your good."

The electrotherapy was indeed effective. That very night, my brother remembered everything. Unable to bear it any longer, he ran out despite everyone's attempts to stop him.

Then came the sound of a violent crash …

"No!" I let out a final, desperate scream, my hoarse voice cutting through the silent night like a sharp blade.

My brother died on the spot.

Cradling him in a pool of blood, I felt the last fragile shard of hope within me break apart. I had thought about calling the police, but Christian virtually controlled everything in the capital.

In the end, I didn't even manage to dial the emergency number before I got locked away again.

That day, Christian surprisingly came into my room.

"All of this was an accident," he said.

Accident? It was easy for him to say.

"I'll choose the best burial plot for your brother and make sure he's properly laid to rest. I advise you to abandon any thoughts of reporting this."

I knew I couldn't win against him.

I let out a self-mocking, bitter laugh. As the last tear slid down my cheek, I felt my crying run dry and with it, our marriage had come to an end.

One blow after another had nearly shattered me. Yet before I could recover, Jocelyn came knocking.

"You saw it yourself. Chris loves me now. I advise you to leave while you still can," she whispered.

The Jocelyn before me was a different person from the innocent girl she was in front of Christian.

"I'm willing to leave," I said expressionlessly, as if I were talking about something that had nothing to do with me.

That woman stared at me in shock, seemingly unprepared for such an immediate acquiescence.

Shortly after, I placed the divorce agreement in front of her.

"As long as you can get Christian to sign this agreement, I'll immediately give you the position of Mrs. Leighton."

I had long been tired of being in that position, anyway.