Damien Thorne, the ruthless underworld kingpin, confessed his love for the ninety-ninth time. And for the ninety-ninth time, I rejected him. That very night, he drugged me and held me captive. Damien’s eyes were wild, possessive. He held me close, whispering his love over and over, a chilling litany. I scoffed, my heart burning with hatred for him. I managed to escape, barely, only to be kidnapped by his enemies. To save me, Damien took three bullets. The first shot crippled his arm. The second blinded an eye. The third stole his life. As he lay dying, covered in his own blood, Damien stared at me, his gaze stubborn, yet heartbreakingly fragile. “Evelyn, why couldn’t you just love me, just once?” I opened my eyes again, and I was back. Back to the day Damien Thorne first confessed his love. This time, I took his hand. I thought we’d grow old together. But Damien, the man who died for me, betrayed me three times instead. On our wedding night, he deliberately ‘mistook’ rooms and slept with someone else. I swallowed the bitter pain and forgave him. Another time, a two AM call from someone else, and he left me stranded in the pouring rain in the middle of nowhere while I was three months pregnant. I miscarried. I wiped my tears, letting it go. But the third time? He threw my elderly mother off a sheer cliff, hundreds of feet above the crashing ocean.
The ocean wind howled, whipping my tears away before I could even try to stop them. Just a few steps away, my mother was brought forward, a burlap sack over her head. Her frail, elderly frame trembled violently. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew the utter despair consuming her. Damien’s face was a mask of cold indifference. A cigarette dangled from his lips, and in his right hand, he idly twirled a sleek, black handgun. Behind them, hundreds of feet below, stretched the vast, endless ocean. It hit me in an instant what he was about to do. My legs buckled. I fell to my knees, trembling, before him. “She’s my mom… my only family left in this world. Please, just spare her. Do whatever you want to me, but don’t hurt her…” Damien glanced at me, a casual, dismissive look. He lifted my chin with his hand, a mocking smile playing on his lips. “Did you ever think about Tiffany’s feelings when you recklessly hurt what she cherished? Now that the stick is hitting your own back, does it finally sting?” I stared at him, my heart heavy with a profound sadness. Just hours ago, Tiffany’s dog accidentally fell into a mud pit. Tiffany, feigning illness, had subtly ordered me to take on the ‘burden’ of bathing her pet. All because I accidentally got a little water in its nose while bathing it, Tiffany had cried hysterically, claiming I was trying to drown her dog. For years, Damien had treated her like a precious gem, so of course, he was utterly heartbroken for her. Damien gently comforted her, his smile easy and unbothered. I thought that would be the end of it. I never imagined that after comforting Tiffany, he would bring my mother here. I knew Damien’s methods all too well. I wouldn’t dare gamble with my mother’s life. So, I could only lower myself and beg him. “Damien, I truly didn’t mean to. Please believe me? My mom is old and her health isn’t good. Don’t scare her…” Damien scoffed. “You wanted to drown Tiffany’s dog, didn’t you? Then I’ll just have to let you taste what it’s like to have someone close to you drowned, Evelyn. When you do something wrong, there’s always a price to pay.” He looked into my eyes, a cruel smile twisting his lips. “Wouldn’t you agree?” A chill shot through me. I clutched desperately at his pants leg, pleading with him over and over again. But Damien was dead set on getting revenge for Tiffany. The next second, he slowly raised his hand, and his men immediately understood. “No! Don’t!” It was too late. My mother was thrown over the edge, like a rag doll— She plummeted downwards. *Splash!* The calm ocean surface erupted with a violent spray. My heart ripped into a million pieces. I lunged forward like a madwoman, only to be roughly held back by Damien’s men, pinned to the ground. Tears blurred my vision. In a daze, Damien’s blood-stained face from my past life, and his desperate, fragile eyes, flashed before me. Because of that look, I had made a solemn vow. If I ever got another chance, another life, I would love him truly. Fate, it seemed, had heard my plea. But tragically, in this second chance, the man from my memories had become utterly unrecognizable. Facing his repeated cruelty, I chose to bite my tongue and swallow the pain. I kept brainwashing myself: he didn’t mean it, if I just treated him well enough, he’d eventually remember his feelings for me. But reality slapped me hard across the face. My stubborn delusion had cost me an unbearable price. I had lost the only person in this world who truly cared about me: my mom. My tears became a torrent, and despair threatened to swallow me whole. Damien watched me for a long time, seemingly quite pleased with my reaction. He walked over, his fingertips tracing my face, gently wiping away my tears. Then he slowly pulled me into his embrace. “Sweetheart, do you finally understand your mistake?” His face held none of the loving warmth he once showed. Only cold indifference remained. The man who once died for me was long gone. Wrong. Of course, I knew I was wrong. I was wrong to keep softening my heart for him. Wrong to not walk away the first time he crossed my line. Wrong to bring the grievances of my past life into this one. I was terribly, utterly wrong. Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Eventually, Damien’s men retrieved my mother’s body from the water. Suddenly, I found a surge of strength from somewhere deep inside. I shoved him away, scrambling, trembling, to my mother’s side. Just as I reached out to open the burlap sack, Damien’s voice cut through the air again. “Alright, alright, I’m just messing with you. It’s just a dummy in there, not your mother.” I froze. Damien continued, “Sweetheart, if you ever dare to ‘misbehave’ again, what’s placed before you truly *will* be your mother’s body.” “Tiffany took a bullet for me. She’s my savior. Don’t provoke her again, understand? Be a good girl. Don’t make things difficult for me.” I stared blankly at him until his figure vanished from my sight. Only then did I wipe away my tears, my hand trembling as I dialed a number. “I’ve made up my mind,” I choked out. “I’m leaving Damien Thorne.”
After hanging up, as I dragged my numb, lifeless legs, ready to leave, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Tiffany. “Ms. Price, I assume the dummy has been retrieved. Why don’t you open the bag and take a look? There’s a little surprise for you.” My eyes involuntarily darted to the burlap sack containing the ‘dummy’ a short distance away. My entire body stiffened, a chilling dread blossoming in my chest. I was shaking uncontrollably, my feet heavy as lead. I couldn’t even move my legs. Suddenly, the burlap sack shifted. A muffled cry of pain seemed to come from within. I couldn’t take it anymore. I stumbled, half-ran, half-fell towards it. My hands trembled violently as I desperately clawed at the sack, tearing it open… Tiffany’s second text followed immediately. “I had someone switch your mother with the dummy, Ms. Price. This is the price of provoking me. I hope you can afford it.” My mother’s face was ashen, blood stark against her skin. She lay bound, soaked, barely clinging to life. At the sight, I nearly fainted. When I finally managed to get her to the hospital, practically dragging her, I was told all medical resources had been diverted to save a dog that had merely choked on some water. The nurse pursed her lips, sighing helplessly. “Just a dog, yet it’s worth more than a human life! I swear, my life isn’t even worth as much as that dog’s!” “Exactly. If a dog has issues, take it to the vet, right? Why waste all these medical resources on it? Besides, that dog looks perfectly fine, jumping around. People are making a fuss over nothing!” “Shhh! Keep your voice down! That dog belongs to Damien Thorne’s beloved! You want to talk trash about the Kingpin’s favorite, you’ve got a death wish!” My mother was barely breathing. Any more delay and it would be too late. There was no time to think. I had to find Damien. I found him in a VIP room upstairs. The moment I walked in, I saw Tiffany sitting on his lap, their bodies pressed intimately together as they passionately kissed. Normally, seeing such a scene would tear me apart with jealousy. But now, I didn’t even have the energy for it. I rushed over, grabbing Damien’s hand. “My mom… something’s happened to her. She’s in critical condition. Please, will you save her?” Damien impatiently shook off my hand, looking annoyed, as if I’d interrupted something important. “I threw a dummy into the ocean, Evelyn, not her. What could possibly happen to her in such a short time? Stop this drama. I don’t have time for your games.” As every second ticked by, helpless tears streamed down my face. “I’m not lying… My mom is really hurt. Tiffany swapped her with the dummy. She hit her head on a rock when she was thrown down, and she’s barely clinging to life. She’s right here in the hospital. Please, tell the doctors to go see her!” At my words, a flicker of uncertainty crossed Damien’s eyes. “Ms. Price, what are you implying? How could I possibly harm your mother? I haven’t even brought up you trying to drown my dog, and now you’re trying to frame me?” Tiffany started to cry as she spoke. Seeing her tears, Damien’s expression instantly darkened. He stared at me, a cold fury in his gaze. “Apologize.” My mother was teetering on the brink of death. For her sake, I had no choice but to endure. “I’m sorry, Ms. Reed. I was wrong. Please, for my elderly mother’s sake, save her!” A flash of triumph crossed Tiffany’s eyes, but before she could speak, Damien cut in again. “Good. Now, it’s its turn.” Damien pointed at the dog behind me, a sneer on his face. “You almost drowned it. Is it really too much to ask for you to apologize to it?” Even after enduring so much humiliation, I still couldn’t believe my ears. Damien Thorne was actually telling me to apologize to a dog. All color drained from my face. I stared at him, utterly incredulous. “You want me to apologize to a dog?” Damien chuckled, “What? Feeling wronged? Don’t you want me to send someone to save your mother? Just apologize to it, and I’ll agree.” I looked into his eyes, biting down hard on my teeth. The humiliation was so profound, I wished I could just die. But then I thought of my mother’s ashen face, and I realized I didn’t even have the luxury of death.
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