The day Julian’s plane supposedly crashed into the ocean, I shattered. I jumped into the churning water after it, only to be rescued and then told it was just an April Fool’s joke. Before I lost consciousness, I heard the taunting voice of his mistress. “Julian, sweetie,” Chloe purred, “your wife, Aria, is absolutely madly in love with you. She’d go completely ballistic if she knew you were playing this trick on her, wouldn’t she?” He chuckled, a light, dismissive sound. “Go ballistic? Aria’s been so quiet, like a mouse since the baby. Just don’t let her find out about this, alright? This was just my final test of her devotion.” Everyone around them laughed, promising they wouldn’t breathe a word. I lay on the stretcher, unable to shed another tear. Julian didn’t know it, but this was my last chance for him, too.My love for him was officially zeroed out. I woke up in a hospital bed, a perfectly peeled apple sitting on the bedside table. Usually, when I got sick, Blake never even bothered to show up. He’d just send his assistant with a pile of expensive supplements. Seeing the indifferent expression on my face, he picked up a slice of apple and held it to my lips. “Happy I didn’t die, are we?” I turned my head away, catching a glimpse of a faint mark on his neck. My voice was calm. “Blake, let’s get a divorce.” His hand paused, then he popped the apple slice into his mouth. He crunched on it loudly, his eyes filled with mockery. Then, right in front of me, he made a call. Soon after, his assistant brought Leo in. Leo had grown taller in the few months I hadn’t seen him. But he was still distant from me. Less than a month after I gave birth to Leo, Mr. Smith took him away. I only got to see him on holidays when we had dinner at the family estate. I knew exactly why Blake had brought Leo here. In the past, whenever he’d gone too far with his antics outside, and I’d stew in silence, refusing to speak to him, he’d send our son to placate me. I can’t count how many times he’d pulled that stunt. But now, that old trick of his? It no longer works on me, not anymore. Seeing Leo, who had rounded out a bit, I didn’t smile. Leo frowned in displeasure, a spitting image of a miniature Blake, and even the way he said my name carried Blake’s dismissive tone. “Zara Clark, you’re still so uptight and boring. Daddy, I don’t want to be here. I want to go back and have Ms. Riley play building LEGOs with me…” Ms. Riley? No wonder he never called me Mom. He’d already found someone else to be his mother. Blake’s eyes turned icy. Leo obediently shut his mouth and burrowed into my arms. “Daddy was mean to me!” Usually, I’d defend Leo, but this time, I pushed him away. “Go tell your Ms. Riley about it.” Those two faces, so eerily identical, froze. I continued, my voice firm. “Blake Smith, I’m serious about the divorce. I’m not joking.” A flicker of anger crossed his eyes, quickly turning into a sneer on his lips. “You’re playing with fire, Zara. Push me too far, and you’ll regret it. You’ll never see our son again.” No wonder he hadn’t reacted when I first mentioned divorce. He must have thought I was just playing games. I remembered last year, when he’d gotten caught up in a scandal with a minor celebrity who ended up in the hospital with a serious internal bleeding incident that landed her in the ER, and I tried to divorce him. He locked me in a room and didn’t let me see Leo for six months. That’s when I finally learned my lesson. It was also then that I finally realized I couldn’t love him anymore. “Blake, I’m moving out of the Smith house once I’m discharged.” I stated again, my gaze locked directly with his. Noticing that I wasn’t just throwing a fit, his expression turned grim. “You want a divorce? Let’s see if you even have the guts to pull it off.” Only after he left with Leo did I pick up my phone and text that unfamiliar number. “I’ve thought it over. I’ll leave after the dance competition next week.” After being discharged from the hospital, I returned to the Smith family estate to pack a small bag, then headed straight to the dance studio. Since I’d made my decision, I didn’t want any more tangled connections with Blake. The moment I walked in, I was met with a chorus of complicated stares.
“Clara, what did you do to upset Mrs. Sterling?” My colleague, Sarah, pulled me aside, her voice filled with worry. “She not only snatched your competition spot but also got the boss to fire you.” Mrs. Sterling? My gaze followed hers to the elegant figure on the stage. Sienna was dressed lavishly, looking every inch the wealthy socialite. I almost forgot, she always introduces herself as “Mrs. Sterling” at the dance studio. Right now, she stood with her chin high, basking in the envious stares of the crowd, when suddenly her eyes found me in the shadows. “Clara, I’m truly sorry, but my dance skills are probably more suited for the competition than yours. So, the boss gave me the only spot for the dance championship.” I didn’t care how much she messed around before, but this competition meant everything to me. I absolutely couldn’t give it to her. “Sienna, what exactly is your ‘skill level’? Is your dancing only good enough to perform for men? And do you dare tell everyone your real identity?” She used to be just an online influencer, an aspiring streamer who only got into this high-end dance studio through Julian. She’d always been so careful around me before. Now, she dared to act so brazenly? I couldn’t stand it. Sienna’s face flushed crimson, unable to utter a word, tears welling in her eyes. Just then, a hand wrapped around her waist from behind. Julian looked at me, his gaze intensely oppressive. “And who are *you* to ask?” My lips moved, but a bitter taste filled my throat. His mother died because of me. Nine years of marriage, even bearing him a son, wasn’t enough to repay that debt, that life lost. Once, when he was drunk, he’d gripped my throat and hissed: “Clara, you married into this family to atone, not to live a life of luxury. Don’t you ever forget your place!” Seeing me lost in thought, Julian leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Clara, if you want to keep this job, you’ll obediently move back to our house.” Only then did I realize that he was the “boss” Sienna had mentioned. He gave my competition spot to Sienna and then threatened the studio owner to fire me. He was forcing me to bow, to take back my words about divorce. Seeing my unwavering resolve, Julian’s lips curled into a cold sneer. “So, your wings have grown strong, have they? You think you can just fly away from my control? Then I’ll break those wings, and we’ll see how you fly.” He made a phone call. A SnapChat message from Chloe, my best friend, popped up almost instantly. “Clara, I think I messed up. I just got promoted last month, and now my supervisor called me into the office, saying they’re letting me go…” My lips pressed into a tight line. I went to pack my things. As I left, I heard Sienna’s mocking voice. “Clara, you’re still relying on a man, just like me. And here I thought you had so much backbone, so much independence?” My hand, gripping the handle of my suitcase, paused. I refused to back down. “Did you forget, Sienna? He and I aren’t divorced yet. He’s still my husband…” Suddenly, Julian seized my arm. “Clara, who gave you the guts to bully Sienna right in front of me? And those warnings I gave you, have you forgotten all of them?” My heart felt like it had been pierced by a needle. Since we got married, he had never publicly acknowledged me as his wife. Outsiders only knew he was married, and he was never short of beautiful women by his side. Since I couldn’t participate in the dance competition anyway, there was no need to wait another week to leave. Thinking this, I felt a slight sense of relief. Before heading back to our house, I stopped by a lawyer’s office and printed out a divorce agreement. Then I sent a text message to that particular number. “No need to wait a week. I’ll be gone in two days.”
Back at Dominic’s sprawling estate, I sat on the sofa, lost in thought. Dominic rarely came home this early. He stood by the foyer, his gaze locking with mine. It was like looking at my past self. After work, I’d sit in the living room, waiting until deep into the night, just for my husband to finally come home. I’d smile, stepping forward, attentively taking off his coat and even his shoes and socks. “Honey, are you tired today? I learned a new massage technique, do you want me to…?” For years, beyond teaching at the dance studio, my entire world revolved around him. A constant cycle, yet I never received even a flicker of warmth from him. Now, stepping away and looking back as an outsider, I realized how incredibly foolish I’d been. Seeing my lack of reaction, Dominic frowned. “What are you thinking about? Running away?” I found it almost amusing. “If I wanted to run, what would you do?” He strode towards me, urgently pushing me onto the sofa, expertly changing the subject. “You don’t like our son? Then let’s have a daughter. Daughters are sweeter, they can keep you company. Maybe then things will be better for you here.” When I first married into his family, the household staff saw how coldly Dominic treated me. They took my gentle nature as a sign of weakness, piling all the unpleasant chores onto me. In those years, I deeply loved Dominic and never once complained to him. He saw my predicament but simply didn’t care. My thoughts snapped back to the present as my nightgown was torn away. His kisses landed on my skin. Fierce and dominating, carrying a clear sense of punishment. No matter how he tried to provoke me, I felt nothing. It turned out, when you no longer loved someone, your body just… shut down. Dominic seemed to lose interest and got off me. “Amelia, I know your body. This isn’t how you react.” He gripped my chin, scrutinizing me. “Tell me, have you been with another man?” Dominic was a notorious womanizer, but he had a twisted sense of ownership. He couldn’t stand the idea of any woman *he’d touched* being desired by another man. There was a security guard at the dance studio who enjoyed watching me dance. Dominic caught him once, and the studio owner fired him that very day. Dominic even had him arrested on false accusations of harassment. I bit down hard on my lip, then laughed through the humiliation. “Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. I’ve slept with every single man at that dance studio. Are you going to have them all arrested too?” Dominic’s eyes narrowed, his voice rough. “Is that so?” Suddenly, he scooped me up, carrying me towards the bathroom. He actually suspected me! “Since you’re so dirty, then let’s get you cleaned.” He tossed me into the bathtub, aiming the spray nozzle at my face as icy water poured down. Goosebumps erupted all over me. I struggled, but couldn’t push his hand away. Under the shock of the cold water, my PTSD flared. Images of my parents’ plane crash, when I was thirteen, flooded my mind. I trembled uncontrollably, curling into a ball in the corner. Dominic again thought I was faking it. “Amelia, don’t forget why you married me. You’re not here to enjoy life; you’re here to atone!” That same broken record, words he’d spat at me countless times before. It was our usual dynamic. Almost every single word he uttered was laced with malice.
When David saw the vacant look in my eyes, how I was swaying, as if I’d hit my head against the wall, he finally panicked and scooped me onto the bed. “What’s wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell…?” “David, you’ve put me through hell long enough. Let’s just set each other free!” Rage surged through me. I hurled the divorce papers from the nightstand straight at his face. He stared at the signature line, then scoffed, a cold sneer on his lips. “You’re in such a hurry to divorce me. Do you have another man waiting outside?” I bit my lip, refusing to answer. He didn’t press. Tears streamed down my face. Thankfully, after tomorrow, I would finally be free. The next day, David sent me a message. “If you want me to sign, come to the Hilton Hotel, Suite 708. I’ve had a servant prepare an outfit for you.” It was a stunning, figure-hugging designer dress, accentuating my curves perfectly. I pushed open the suite door, and a crowd of people stared at me, their chatter dying down. Chloe’s smile was particularly dazzling and sharp. “Sarah, Mr. Davies wanted to see someone dance, but I twisted my ankle. I’m so sorry, but it seems you’re our only hope.” The man’s gaze fell on me, devouring me like a predator. This was David’s intention all along: for me to dance for Mr. Davies. “Sarah, you want a divorce, don’t you? I’ll grant it. Just dance until he’s satisfied, and I’ll sign the papers, just as you wish.” He whispered each word distinctly into my ear. Then, he shoved me towards Mr. Davies. Mr. Davies wrapped an arm around my waist, his eyes glazed over. “Everyone says Miss Sarah is a great beauty, and I’ve finally witnessed it today. Don’t worry, I promised Mr. King that I’ll only touch you at most. I won’t actually do anything to you. If you dance to my satisfaction tonight, I’ll agree to take on the King Group’s contracts for the second half of the year.” I looked at David in utter disbelief. Everyone in the industry knew Mr. Davies was a notorious creep, known for his inappropriate behavior with women. The last woman sent to him, supposedly, ended up in the hospital with severe injuries. I struggled free from Mr. Davies’s embrace, but before I could run a few steps, David seized me. “Sarah, stop being so dramatic, okay? It’s just a touch, it’s not like it’ll kill you or leave a mark. This is your leverage for the divorce.” So this was the price of my freedom! The moment the suite door clicked shut, utter despair consumed me. The heavy, sweet scent of an aphrodisiac filled the room, making me feel hot and restless. A hand snaked around my waist from behind. I grabbed a wine bottle from the table, intending to smash it over his head, but he swiftly caught my hand, twisting it back. The bottle shattered against my forehead, and I fell to the floor, a button ripped from my collar. The desperate thought of biting off my tongue to end it all flashed through my mind, but then my parents and sister’s faces appeared before my eyes. “Sweetie, it’s our fault for not being there as you grew up.” “Sister, just live. Live well.” Like a beacon in the darkness, I opened my mouth and bit down hard on Mr. Davies’s finger. He groaned in pain. I seized the chance, yanked open the suite door, and bolted out. As I dashed down the corridor, I passed another suite, its door slightly ajar. David had Chloe pinned against the wall, kissing her wildly. “David, darling, shouldn’t we go check on Sarah? I’m worried about her…” “What’s there to worry about? I already told Mr. Davies he wouldn’t dare touch her. Besides, I wanted to use this opportunity to punish her. She’s been too defiant lately.” I was about to push open the door and confront them when Mr. Davies’s bodyguards found me. They dragged me back inside. My heart turned to ash. Consumed by utter despair, I just threw myself against the wall. Before losing consciousness, I thought I saw my parents and sister smiling at me again. Mom, Dad, Sister, it seems I might break my promise. Your little Sarah is coming to find you. An hour later, David opened the door to Suite 708. He expected to find me there, apologizing. His footsteps suddenly froze. I was nowhere to be seen. Only shards of broken glass littered the floor, and bloodstains. The cleaning staff were whispering. “That girl earlier, she had it awful. Almost lost her innocence. She wouldn’t take the humiliation; she took her own life by smashing her head against the wall…” David refused to believe I was dead. He drove to Mr. Davies’s private estate. Mr. Davies had bandages on his forehead, and a private doctor was tending to his wounds. Seeing David, Mr. Davies looked visibly shaken. “I didn’t even do anything! She just ran into the wall herself. You can’t blame her death on me.” David’s face darkened terrifyingly. “Repeat what you just said!”
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