For a decade-long contract marriage, I was bound to the Sterling empire, one of the wealthiest families in Veridian City. For ten years, Julian’s playboy ways were legendary, a new woman on his arm every other week, all because he couldn’t get over his first, unattainable love. Today, heavily pregnant, I was handling the welcoming ceremony for his newest mistress. I’d just stepped out when I was abducted, then brutalized by multiple men. But Julian Sterling? He abandoned me, bleeding out, for his new fling. By the time Mrs. Gable found me, the baby had been delivered, but there was no sign of life. My heart shattered. I begged Mr. Sterling, his father, to end this decade-long nightmare. “Ten years are up. Let me go!” After I left, his “white moonlight” returned. Yet, Julian Sterling lost his mind. **01** Mr. Sterling took a deep drag from his cigar, his brows tightly furrowed. “That boy, Julian, he’s too stubborn!” He looked at me, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. “Seraphina ran off with someone else, but it was you who suffered through all of this. Don’t you resent me?” I numbly kowtowed, my voice a whisper. “Just… let me go.” In an instant, blood bloomed across the plush carpet. Mr. Sterling gasped, wide-eyed, immediately summoning the family doctor and frantically calling Julian to return. Julian’s response was cold, devoid of emotion: “Dad, I’m busy.” From the other end of the line, a woman’s soft, alluring voice cooed. “Honey, who is it?” Then, sounds that made my stomach churn filled the air. Mr. Sterling, furious, slammed the phone down. The family doctor rushed in. After a thorough examination, he sighed, his voice heavy. “Mrs. Sterling, you have multiple injuries, especially to your abdomen. Your uterus… it’s prolapsed. You might not be able to conceive again. If we had treated you sooner, there might have been hope, but now…” The doctor trailed off, his sighs the only sound in the room. Even Mr. Sterling, usually so stern, had a flicker of pity in his eyes. The doctor continued, “Mrs. Sterling can’t move around freely right now, or she might lose this leg. It’s best you stay here and rest for at least two weeks.” I was about to settle into the old mansion when two bodyguards roughly seized me. “Mr. Sterling said you must return to arrange the welcoming ceremony.” They ignored my protests, pulling me towards the door. They turned to Mr. Sterling, explaining: “Sir, Mr. Sterling insists that Miss Miller’s welcoming ceremony cannot be delayed. He wants everyone in Veridian City to be invited. Mrs. Sterling’s health can be taken care of later.” Mr. Sterling roared, slamming his fist on the table. “Is he out of his mind?! Does he want everyone in Veridian City to laugh at us?!” The bodyguards remained impassive. “Mr. Sterling’s orders.” With that, they hoisted me onto a stretcher, ready to carry me out. Mr. Sterling, boiling with rage, hurled an ashtray across the room. He let out a long, heavy sigh, then spoke, his voice weary. “Ten years… it’s time to set you free. I thought he’d come to his senses, but instead, he’s destroyed you. In two weeks, you can leave. I’ll handle the divorce. Just… keep Seraphina’s secret, please.” I nodded weakly. He handed me a phone. “It has your sister’s contact information. She’s healthy.” Seeing the familiar number, I clutched the phone tightly to my chest, tears streaming down my face. **02** Ten years ago, Julian went camping in the remote mountains at Seraphina’s invitation. But instead, she eloped with another man. Julian got lost in the wilderness for three days, eventually collapsing in front of a small cabin in the woods. I was cleaning up the area when I found him, unconscious. I carried him back to safety. Mr. Sterling, a firm believer in old superstitions, was convinced I had a unique resilience, a rare strength that could shield his family from whatever darkness plagued it. And I desperately needed eight hundred thousand for my sister’s kidney transplant. Eight hundred thousand dollars. It bought my ten years of youth. When Julian woke up, I told him I’d saved him, and my only wish was to marry him. He wasn’t angry, nor did he look down on me. Instead, he treated me with courtesy, never forcing me to do anything. He always comforted me, telling me to be myself. But the elite circle of Veridian City’s old money isn’t easy to enter. While they said nothing to my face, behind my back, they sneered at my humble background. Julian, however, always found a way to shut down those rumors. I also tried my best to fit into their world. Even with household staff, I always personally prepared his three meals. When he first came back, he was so traumatized. He’d wake up screaming in the dead of night, needing someone to comfort him. I would hold him in my lap, lulling him back to sleep. This went on for six months until he gradually got used to sleeping alone. He held my hand, his voice full of gratitude, “Without you, what would I have done?” In that moment, my heart absolutely swelled with joy. I thought my suffering was over, that I’d finally found a good man. But on his birthday, in front of everyone, he called me a “cleaning lady.” He smashed cake in my face, then turned and took a girl’s hand, kissing her passionately in front of the stunned crowd. I stood there, utterly humiliated. I looked down, tears blurring my vision, begging him to let me go. He looked at me with cold eyes. “When you drove Seraphina away, why didn’t you think of this day?” My phone rang. Seraphina’s tearful voice came through. She kept apologizing, saying she shouldn’t have reappeared, that she’d leave far away, but she just missed Julian too much and had to call. Then, the line went dead. Julian frantically redialed, but her phone was off. From that day on, he never smiled at me or spoke a single word. He began a frantic search for Seraphina. At the same time, he kept finding her substitutes. Everyone in Veridian City knew: as long as a woman bore even a slight resemblance to Seraphina, she could soar to the top. And I? I was in charge of their welcoming ceremonies, preparing banquets, jewelry, and arranging their lives in the mansion. He even forced me to watch them being intimate, to “learn.” Ten years passed. My heart, once raw and bleeding, had turned to stone. I thought if I just endured these ten years, everything would be okay. Until one day, Julian, drunk, mistook me for Seraphina. That night, he took me by force, and I became pregnant with his child. When he found out about the pregnancy, he changed. He stopped his partying, occasionally even talking to me. I thought, finally, I had reached the end of my suffering. But then… A call came from an unknown number. It was that familiar voice. **03** She claimed I was scheming behind her back, that I’d hired someone to poison her, causing her to be infertile. Julian completely lost his mind. He lashed out, kicking my belly viciously. Again, another kick. I could feel the baby fighting inside me. I struggled, making as much noise as I could. Mrs. Gable rushed in with a mop, trembling as she stood in front of me. Julian froze, glared at me fiercely, then slammed the door shut. Mrs. Gable collapsed onto the floor, taking a long moment before she numbly helped me up and called a doctor. To our relief, the baby was okay. But later, I still couldn’t protect him. Maybe it was for the best. With a father like that, it was better he didn’t come into this world. The car stopped, jarring me back to reality. The bodyguards roughly tossed me onto the ground. “Mr. Sterling said, since you love to tattle so much, your leg can just stay broken!” I pushed myself up with my hands, gritting my teeth, dragging my legs, crawling inch by agonizing inch into the living room. The short five-hundred-meter distance took me an hour to cover. My blood stained the garden path and the stairs. Julian Sterling, meanwhile, was half-reclining on the sofa, his arm around his latest fling, Celeste Miller. He looked at me, a sneer of disgust on his face. “Mrs. Gable, slap her! Let’s see if she still runs her mouth after this!” Mrs. Gable hesitated, rooted to the spot. “Mrs. Gable, are you forgetting who signs your paychecks?!” Julian’s voice was a low snarl. I managed a weak smile at Mrs. Gable. She closed her eyes and slapped me. My lip split, and a stream of blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. Celeste Miller cowered behind Julian, whispering, “She’s so scary.” Only then did Mrs. Gable, tears in her eyes, stop. “What’s with the dramatics? It’s just a little blood, isn’t it? Look what you’ve done, you’ve scared Celeste! Get over here and apologize!” My head spun, pain searing through every inch of my body. Gritting my teeth, I dragged myself forward, propped up my upper body, and bowed my head slightly. “I’m sorry, Celeste.” Julian’s expression was hard to conceal. He looked genuinely surprised. For almost ten years, I had never caved. Even when I was abandoned on that deserted island, beaten, I refused to confess to anything I hadn’t done. But to a man who didn’t love you, crying and pleading that you were innocent was utterly foolish. They only needed to whisper a few lies, and my life was instantly dragged through hell. Since he was convinced I was a liar, a villain, any further explanation was useless. I slowly moved my body, preparing to go rest. He suddenly grabbed my shoulder, staring at my stomach with confusion. “The baby? Where is the baby?” I slowly raised my eyes, meeting his gaze directly. “At the old mansion.” Of course, Mr. Sterling wouldn’t let me take him. After all, he was a Sterling, meant to be buried in the Sterling family plot. They’d even calculate the burial time, choose an auspicious location. I had no right to decide where my baby was laid to rest. He sneered, his voice dripping with venom, “Why so careful? You think everyone is like you, who won’t even spare a child?” That was a child he’d had with one of his many women. She accidentally fell and lost the baby, then claimed I’d pushed her. He didn’t care, immediately locking me in the solitary room for three days and three nights, without food or water. I was so lightheaded from hunger, I started seeing my great-grandmother, her hand waving to me. The door was kicked open.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “297396”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic
Leave a Reply