Before the wedding, Julian’s adopted sister, Sera, burst into the venue, her clothes disheveled and torn. She claimed my half-paralyzed father had assaulted her. Julian insisted we finish the wedding, promising to uncover the truth. But six months into our marriage, my father was castrated. My six-month-old baby, during a routine prenatal check-up, was tragically lost due to what they called an intern’s misdiagnosis. I was heartbroken, utterly devastated, and wanted to end my life. But Julian stayed by my side, encouraging me to pick myself up. I thought he genuinely loved me and I started to recover. Until I got pregnant again, and accidentally overheard his conversation with a doctor. “You knew your father-in-law was innocent, yet you still wanted revenge? And you forced your wife to miscarry twice?” His eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse. “But Audrey is already suffering from trauma-induced depression. If I don’t keep her happy, she’ll kill herself!” In that moment, my face went utterly ashen. All my suffering, all my torment, had been nothing but a cruel charade to appease Sera.
In the operating room, after the doctor’s cold declaration of death, I completely lost consciousness. The image of my baby’s blue-purple face haunted my mind. In my dream, a two-year-old boy looked at me with deep hurt. “This is my second time. Why do you and Daddy not want me again? I hate you both, I don’t want you anymore!” I screamed desperately, running towards him, wanting to tell him I did want him. But my feet felt as if they were tightly bound, unable to move. Watching his figure gradually disappear, I cried uncontrollably. “Don’t leave me, don’t leave Mommy!” I jolted awake, a tearing pain erupting from my fresh incision. My cold hand was tightly clasped. Opening my eyes, I saw Julian’s bloodshot gaze. “Don’t cry. We’ll have other children.” He’d said the same thing last time, when our first baby died on the operating table. But then he turned around and tricked me onto the operating table with a fake medical report, claiming the baby had a nuchal cord. The truth, blurted out while they administered anesthesia, felt like a dagger ripping my heart to pieces, again and again. I slapped him across the face. “Why did you do this to me! What did I ever do to deserve this? That was your own child!” His expression froze. Just as he was about to speak, the door burst open. Sera, sobbing uncontrollably, her face streaked with tears, knelt before me. “I’m so sorry, Audrey. Even though you weren’t cooperating, it’s still my fault we couldn’t save this baby!” The cutting pain on the operating table was still vivid in my memory. It was her. After the oxytocin started working, she gave me a muscle relaxant injection. The baby couldn’t be delivered naturally, and its heartbeat slowly weakened. Then she swapped my epidural for a sedative during the emergency C-section. After two hours of agony, they finally took out the baby that was already stillborn. My eyes bloodshot, I grabbed the blanket from the nightstand and threw it at her. “You deliberately delayed! You intentionally wanted to kill him!” She clutched a shard of glass to her wrist, her eyes growing resentful. “Yes, I deserve to die! I’ll go die right now, I’ll go pay for my nephew’s life!” Julian instantly rushed over, snatching the glass shard from her hand. “It’s not your fault! This baby was unlucky, it was his grandfather who did too many bad things. It has nothing to do with you!” Before, hearing that, I would have been consumed by guilt and self-blame. But now, I just found it laughable. How could they so shamelessly twist the truth? Julian glared at me fiercely. “You clearly weren’t cooperating with the delivery! Are you trying to push my sister to her death?” He dragged me into the Hayes family living room, forcing me to kneel on the shattered glass from earlier. “Harming our baby, framing my sister, assaulting me right here, and showing no remorse. You’ll kneel here and reflect properly!”
The sharp shards pierced my flesh, and blood immediately flowed. I remember when he knelt right here, suffering a humiliation to prove his love for me, just to marry me. It was all a lie. Just beyond the wall, he was softly comforting Sera. I endured the pain, slowly picking myself up, and stood at the doorway. “Let’s get a divorce, Julian.” The voices inside the room fell silent. Julian walked out, looking at me, utterly broken. A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes. He sighed, a mix of helplessness and irritation. “Audrey, you know Sera has depression. Why can’t you try to understand me?” “I know you’ve suffered a lot today, and being punished to kneel was unfair, but it was just for show. Sera is your sister,too For her, can’t you just play along, endure a little hardship?” Looking at this man who only knew how to morally blackmail me, my heart was a tangled mess of hatred and coldness. Since the last miscarriage, I had been battling postpartum depression and anxiety. Whenever he saw me in agony, he would blame himself, slap his own face, and stay up all night with me. He said he would protect me, protect our children, even fearing the slightest bump or bruise. But now, with his adopted sister’s revenge plan successful, he could look at my bruised body without a single flicker of emotion. I let out a cold laugh. “Right, her life matters, but mine doesn’t.” “Julian, Sera is so precious! Anyone would think she was your wife.” His pupils trembled. “I didn’t realize your heart was so filthy!” He slapped me across the face. A burning pain flared on my cheek. I lost my balance and stumbled to the ground. This was the first time he had ever laid a hand on me in all our years of marriage. But what about me? Right after we got married, he leaked my private videos across the internet. Now, anyone who mentions me calls me a notorious slut. At its worst, everywhere I went, men would try to take advantage of me. When I exposed them, they flipped the script and accused me of seducing them. I was publicly shamed and physically assaulted by furious strangers who believed the lies, my clothes ripped off on the street. My compromising photos were plastered everywhere, even on flyers. For an entire year, I was afraid to leave the house. Tears silently streamed down my face. Julian panicked. His eyes red, he shakily crouched in front of me. “I’m sorry, Audrey, I… I didn’t mean it. I was just so afraid you’d misunderstand and leave me.” Just as he tried to help me up, a heavy thud echoed from the room. Followed by Sera’s painful cry. He immediately let go of my hand and rushed inside. Julian came out, carrying her. As he passed me, he only spared me a fleeting glance. “Sera fell and hurt herself. I’m taking her to the hospital. You’ll be home alone tonight, be careful. Don’t bring up sensitive topics again, she’ll blame herself!” With that, he hurried past, bumping into me. Another searing pain. I wiped away my tears, using the wall to slowly pull myself into the bedroom. I immediately called my lawyer to draft divorce papers. The pain kept me awake all night. Close to dawn, a sliver of sleepiness finally set in. Just as I managed to drift off, a bucket of cold water was splashed all over me. I opened my eyes to Julian’s furious glare. He gripped my neck tightly. “Was it you! Was it you who spread the news that Sera deliberately didn’t use anesthesia for your surgery and intentionally caused the baby’s death?” “Do you have any idea that your reckless slander will ruin her? The entire internet is demanding her professional license be revoked! That she be fired!” The suffocating grip made me struggle uncontrollably. “I… I didn’t!” “Still denying it! You only lost a child! But she now only has her career, that one belief keeping her alive, and you want to destroy it! Do you really want her dead?” Blood continuously welled from my wounds with every violent struggle. Hearing him say “only lost a child,” my heart convulsed. When we were intimate, he would whisper over and over about wanting a home with me, wanting a daughter or son as lovely as me. Turns out, nothing compared to his adopted sister.
For a moment, I even wished I would die right then, to join my mother, to join my children. But no. Julian released his grip, his eyes dark and sinister as he stared at me. “Now, get dressed and record a clarification video for me. Tell everyone that you were jealous of her, that you slandered her, that you wanted to destroy her!” “Otherwise, I will make your father in the ICU pay the price for you at any moment!” I trembled all over. I looked at him, disbelieving. Once, when he was in business, a rival tried to provoke him, claiming I was a jinx and had betrayed him. He not only didn’t believe it, he beat the man unconscious and sent him to the hospital. He pointed at his rival, saying anyone in the world might betray him, but I never would. He said then that he would trust me unconditionally for life. And now, I was lying at home, unable to move, yet he was pinning this blame on me. My eyes turned red, glaring at him fiercely. “I told you I didn’t.” He looked at me coldly, pulled out his phone, and showed me the surveillance feed. On the screen, my father’s life support ventilator was unplugged, and he thrashed like a fish on the verge of suffocating. Watching the plummeting numbers on the monitor, tears uncontrollably streamed down my face. I trembled as I looked at him. “Julian, you know my father is innocent…” But before I could finish, his phone rang. In the video, Sera stood by a window, looking utterly despairing. Medical staff surrounded her, trying to calm her. “I’m so sorry, Julian. It was my mistake that the baby was lost, and it’s caused you and Audrey to consider divorce. Audrey isn’t wrong to want revenge on me.” As she spoke, she lifted one leg over the windowsill. “Audrey, I don’t resent anything you’ve done. I just hope my death can bring you and Julian a stable and happy life together!” Julian screamed, almost breaking down. “No, no! I promise I’ll make her apologize and clarify immediately! Please don’t do anything foolish!” He hung up, found a clean dress in the closet, and roughly tore off my blood-stained clothes. The cotton nightgown, soaked with blood, had dried on my wounds. He yanked it hard, and the barely clotted blood surged out again. Seeing my agonizing struggles, he only paused for a moment, then grabbed a roll of tape from a drawer and haphazardly stuck it over all my bleeding wounds, with some tissue paper underneath. Looking at this Julian, who used to fret over my slightest untreated cut getting infected, and frantically learned how to clean, disinfect, and bandage wounds… The last warmth in my heart completely drained away with the loss of blood, leaving only an icy coldness. He picked me up bridal style. “First, go apologize to Sera, then record the clarification video.” “What if I don’t?” He paused. “Then you’ll watch your dad be killed because of you.” I laughed, tears falling. “Yes, if I hadn’t married you, my mom, my two children, and my dad wouldn’t be like this. I hurt them, you’re right.” “The biggest regret of my life is marrying you. If I’d known you loved your sister this much, I never should have!” “Don’t worry. If my dad dies, I won’t live alone. Five lives from my family for your sister’s happiness—is that enough?” Julian’s eyes were filled with shock. But ultimately, nothing could deter him from sacrificing everything for his sister. In the hospital room, he pressed me down, forcing me to my knees. As he demanded, I had to show no hint of coercion, only genuine sincerity, as I bowed my head three times. “I’m sorry, Dr. Thompson, I slandered you. I deliberately smothered the baby and framed you for it, and I was intolerant to the anesthetic but intentionally didn’t tell you.” “It’s all my fault, please forgive me, I’ll never dare to do it again.” She stood on the windowsill, unmoving. Julian pressed my head down, forcing me to keep bowing until the blood from my forehead blurred my vision. Finally, Sera said, “It’s okay.” Julian sighed in relief, violently letting go of my hair. With a thud, I collapsed to the floor. He carried her down from the window and told the doctors who were recording the apology video to stop. After a long moment, he looked down at me. “Learn from your mistakes. Don’t ever do it again.”
I pushed myself with my last ounce of strength, rushing like a madwoman to the ICU. But when I finally reached the door, I saw my father being wheeled out, covered by a white sheet. I stumbled and fell. “No, Dad, wake up, don’t scare me!” The doctor beside me looked at me with scorn. “Neither the daughter nor the father is a good person. If it weren’t for Mr. Hayes being reasonable, Dr. Thompson would have been completely destroyed.” In an instant, I was surrounded by righteous people criticizing me and my father. “Well, well, if it isn’t that tramp again? Lost another baby, huh? Did some guy knock it out of you? Your videos are still hot, I’ve watched them for three years and never get tired. When can I get a taste, huh?” “This shameless bitch, are you really still hooking up with her? Aren’t you afraid of catching something? I wouldn’t touch her even if she paid me.” “Bitch, how dare you slander Dr. Thompson!” “Serves you right, your dad deserved to die! You deserve to die too!” With that, several patients and their families started throwing instant noodles, herbal soup, leftover food, and trash at me. I trembled, covering my father’s ears. “Don’t listen, Dad, they’re all lying.” The voices around me grew louder, more chaotic. So loud that I could no longer hear my father’s breathing. I desperately slapped him, but he would never again open his eyes and say, “Just kidding, I’m perfectly fine.” The curses from the crowd accompanied me as I pushed my father’s body to the hospital entrance. Gusts of cold wind made me unsteady on my feet. My clothes and hair, covered in filth, quickly froze. Suddenly, Julian’s voice came from behind me. He ran over and draped his jacket over me. “What happened? How did you get yourself like this?” People around us whispered. “Mr. Hayes, she’s rotten to the core, she’s not worth your genuine affection. If you ask me, you should divorce her.” “That’s right, a manipulative, shameless, and cruel woman like her doesn’t deserve you!” Julian shot a deadly glare around. Everyone immediately shut up and dispersed. His gaze finally landed on the gurney in front of me. “What’s this? Who are you pushing?” My eyes were hollow as I stared at him. “My dad.” His eyebrows twitched, his eyes filled with horror and panic. But just as he reached out, Sera’s startled cry suddenly came from behind him. She clutched her chest. “I accidentally bumped myself when I was climbing out the window just now. It hurts so much.” Julian picked up Sera bridal style, and his eyes instantly turned sharp as he looked at me. “Know when to quit, stop acting out! You just had surgery yesterday, go home and get some rest!” He walked away from me, carrying her. The funeral home car, mysteriously, never showed up, and no taxi on the road would give me a ride. I pushed my father’s body through the freezing snow for two hours until I reached the funeral home. Two hours later, my father’s once mighty body turned into a handful of ashes, placed in a cold urn. Soon, on my phone, the online channel of the taxi, and on all the big screens in the shopping malls, the video of me kneeling there to apologize to Sera was playing in a loop. Suddenly, a message popped up on my phone. It was from Julian. [Didn’t I tell you to go home? Where are you? I’m warning you, don’t try any more meaningless stunts. Think about your father, think about those videos from three years ago. I can suppress it, and I can also make it resurface.] [As for the apology video playing outside, it’s a small punishment for you. Don’t take it to heart. Just come back and write a guarantee that you won’t bully Sera again, and we can go back to how we were.] The cold wind howled. It scattered the warmth from the urn. And it scattered the last of our feelings. I opened the blacklisted messages from a week ago, from Caleb Stone, Julian’s biggest rival. Without a moment’s hesitation, I dialed the number. “I agree to the partnership you mentioned.” An hour later, Julian, who had been waiting endlessly for Audrey’s reply, saw the latest business headlines. [CEO Julian Hayes’s Two Children Tragically Die, Wife Kneels in Apology, Marriage on the Rocks] [Julian Hayes’s Adopted Sister’s Accusation of Father-in-Law’s Assault Suspected to be a Hoax]
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