The night of my father’s funeral, I was kidnapped. They forced me to film an eight-hour sex video. The next day, that video spread through the entire town. My fiancé Ryan immediately canceled our wedding. The girls’ academy also terminated my teaching position. When I was drowning in despair, my fiancé’s uncle, Marcus, proposed to me. I grabbed onto that single ray of light in the darkness. Until six months after the wedding, one night I overheard Marcus talking with his friend: “Marcus, it was you who hired those men to kidnap Claire six months ago, wasn’t it? For Lily’s sake, don’t you think you went too far?” “I had no choice. Only by destroying Claire’s reputation could Lily get Ryan and secure the teaching job at the academy. I can’t protect Lily for her entire life, so I could only clear the obstacles in her path.” “You have no idea how the men in this town look at Claire now. They want to assault her right on the spot.” “Don’t worry about it!” Marcus said. His friend gasped in shock: “Marcus, have you lost your mind?! Have you even watched that video?! Claire was tortured by three men for eight hours straight. She was covered in blood!” “Enough! Don’t you think I know how much Claire is suffering? But that’s all in the past now. These are just rumors and gossip.” A chill seeped from my ears into every crack of my bones. I pressed my hand tightly over my mouth and stumbled away from the scene. The moment I stepped out of the hotel entrance, someone grabbed my waist. A group of drunk men leered at me with disgusting smiles: “Isn’t this the slut from the video? She looks so proper and uptight usually, who knew she was such a whore in private?!” One of the drunks even started tearing at my clothes right there in public. “Name your price!” I fought desperately to break free, but how could I resist a group of men? Soon, my outer shirt was ripped apart. The crowd erupted in waves of lewd laughter again. The terror from six months ago swept over me once more. Just when I thought the nightmare was about to repeat itself, Marcus’s familiar voice suddenly came from behind me. “You bastards! How dare you touch my woman?! Do you have a death wish?!” As soon as he finished speaking, a group of bodyguards surged forward from behind Marcus. They beat those drunks until they were wailing on the ground. I trembled and shrank into the corner, watching this man who had once again saved me from hell. But aside from fear, there was no warmth left in my heart. Marcus saw me huddled in the corner. He came over and draped his coat over my shoulders, his eyes full of heartache. “I’m sorry, Claire. I shouldn’t have let you come pick me up so late. This is my fault. Trust me, time will heal everything. People will gradually forget about that video. I’ll stay by your side every step of the way…” On the way back, Marcus held my hand and wouldn’t let go. After a long while, perhaps thinking I had fallen asleep, Vincent, who was driving, let out a long sigh. “Marcus, you need to find someone else to do these things in the future. I really can’t bring myself to do it anymore. If you had come out two minutes later, her clothes would have been stripped off in public!” Vincent’s words struck me like a thunderbolt. So those drunks at the hotel entrance were also planted there by Marcus in advance. Marcus gently moved me aside, then grabbed Vincent by the throat and growled in a hoarse voice, “Shut your mouth! If you let Claire find out, your wife and kids will die!” Vincent frantically apologized. Marcus gently pulled me back into his arms, planted a soft kiss on my forehead, and murmured to himself: “Claire, just bear with it a little longer. I’ll make it up to you for the rest of our lives…” But this inhuman torture— I really couldn’t endure it anymore. That night when we got home, after watching Marcus fall asleep, I secretly went to the study and wrote a letter to my aunt, who taught at the drama academy.
Early the next morning, as soon as I woke up, I heard Marcus instructing Vincent: “Today is the opening ceremony at the girls’ academy. After Claire wakes up, do whatever it takes to get her to go.” “But she doesn’t like crowds, and there will be so many people at the opening ceremony—” “It’s not your place to tell me what to do!” Marcus snapped. A few minutes later, the bedroom door was pushed open from outside. A pair of familiar hands ruffled my hair. “Claire, today is the opening ceremony at the girls’ academy. Our family foundation sponsored many students, so I need to attend. You rest well at home.” I forced a smile and agreed. Not long after Marcus left, Vincent looked at me eating breakfast and stammered, “Mrs. Marcus, my son said when you substitute taught at their school, lots of kids really liked you. Today is the opening ceremony. The children would definitely love to see you…” “I’ll go, Vincent. Let’s get ready and leave.” When I arrived at the venue and saw Lily’s provocative gaze, I knew why Marcus had insisted I come. When it came time for the new teacher representative to speak, Lily took the microphone and looked at me like a dagger. “Today, my speech topic is self-respect and dignity. Now I’ll play a educational video for everyone…” As soon as Lily finished speaking, my piercing scream echoed across the entire campus. On the giant screen that Marcus had just donated to the girls’ academy—three stories high— the video of my assault was now playing. Three long whips struck my naked body in turns. The messy, blood-stained bed made it clear to anyone what had happened. That piercing pain swept over me again. Before I could recover, a slap landed on my left cheek. A student’s mother next to me pointed at my nose and cursed: “How dare a woman like you show your face at a girls’ academy?! Look at how slutty you are in that video! Absolutely disgusting!” Then my hair was grabbed forcefully. I was dragged from my chair to the ground. Angry curses rang out above my head. “Your dad gave his life to secure this job for you, and you threw it away because you’re a slut! Your mom was so shocked she died clutching your dad’s ashes. How do you still have the face to live in this world! You should have died with them!” “A whore who sleeps with everyone! You’re the shame of our town! You should be tortured to death by men!” I collapsed on the ground, letting countless fists and feet rain down on me. “Claire, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how this happened. That video must have been swapped…” Lily stumbled toward me, helping block people’s attacks while apologizing non-stop. But beneath her guilt-ridden eyes was clearly the triumph of a plan well-executed. The Lily family was a wealthy household known throughout town. With such status, plus being a teacher at the academy, naturally no one dared provoke her. After they stopped, Marcus came running over in a panic from behind. Seeing me, he immediately embraced me. “Claire, why did you come? Didn’t I tell you to stay home and wait for me?” Marcus was such a good actor. If I hadn’t heard those words with my own ears, I would have fallen for his tenderness again and again.
Everything I experienced at the school made me break down again. My eyes were empty, unconsciously rejecting anyone’s touch. Marcus looked at me with heartache written all over his face. Eventually I was injected with a sedative and taken away in an ambulance. When I woke up again, it was completely dark outside. The pungent smell of disinfectant made me realize I was still in the hospital. My whole body was bound with restraints. In a daze, I heard Marcus’s familiar voice outside the hospital room. “Lily, seeing Claire like this, are you satisfied now?” “I am. Ryan dated her for eight years. If I didn’t use extreme measures, I was afraid they’d rekindle their old flame. It’s just hard on you, having to spend your life with such a woman. Every time I think about it, my heart aches for you. In this life, because of my family situation, I can’t marry you…” Through the foggy glass door of the hospital room, I saw Marcus pull Lily into his arms. His hoarse voice carried the bitterness of unrequited love: “No… Lily, you don’t owe me anything… I’m doing all this willingly for you. Now that you’re carrying my baby, that’s already the greatest blessing for me. Besides, Claire treats me well. You don’t need to feel guilty…” The man and woman outside the room kissed passionately. Mixed with their desire was the man’s low, choked voice. He really loved her so much. They even had a child together. Old wounds tore at my heart, sending waves of piercing pain. Large tears fell from my eyes. So from beginning to end, I was the one who was unnecessary… I forced myself not to listen to the intimate sounds from outside the door, but those sounds wrapped around me like a curse, driving me mad. I buried my head in the blanket, my teeth biting the corner so hard they left traces of blood. I lost track of how much time passed. The hospital room door was slowly pushed open from outside. A wave of perfume hit my nostrils. Before I could react, a pair of slender hands pinched my chin. “Claire, don’t be nervous. It’s me, Lily…” Hearing the woman’s name, I struggled desperately in the darkness, trying to break free. She laughed softly and helped untie the restraints binding my body. “Claire, who seemed so proud and unyielding, turns out to be such a pathetic waste after all. Of the two men in the Marcus family, with just a flick of my finger, either one would abandon you and run to me. Especially Marcus—he’s truly sacrificed so much for me…” “Such an upright man, yet to give me the teaching position at the academy, to fulfill my marriage, he personally drove his mentor to death, and personally sent his mentor’s daughter into other men’s arms. Tell me, what kind of love is that?” “When your dad died, he stupidly begged Marcus to take good care of you. And your pathetic mom probably still thought Marcus was your family’s savior! So foolish! Your dad’s ashes were scattered by Marcus’s own hands!” Lily’s words struck me like lightning. I had always thought my father committed suicide because he couldn’t cope. I never imagined it was Marcus who drove him to death. My father was Marcus’s mentor, who gave everything to teach him all his life’s knowledge. How could he bring himself to do it… I used all my strength to spring up from the hospital bed, gripping Lily’s throat tightly. But before I could apply pressure, the hospital room door was violently pushed open from outside. Seeing it was Marcus, Lily immediately ran to him crying. “Marcus, I just felt sorry for Claire and wanted to help untie her restraints so she could move around. But she insisted I stole everything from her and tried to strangle me like a madwoman!” Before I could explain, Marcus came forward and slapped me across the face. “Claire! Everyone around you has been good enough to you! What the hell are you making a fuss about?! You failed to grasp everything yourself—why blame Lily?! Crazy woman!” After saying this, he ignored me collapsed on the floor and left with Lily in his arms. The moment the hospital room door closed, Lily turned back and smiled at me with contempt. She was right to mock me—I was worthless. But they seemed to forget one thing: Even a cornered rabbit will bite…
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