I heard that the girl Kamran Thorne was interested in this time had been with her struggling boyfriend for years. Kamran was relentless in pursuing her, taking what he wanted, by force if necessary, no matter the consequences. The girl fought back like a cornered Monster, refusing to yield, even if it meant her ruin. The night he finally got her, fireworks burst over the ocean, blooming for them all night long. The next day, expensive jewelry and lavish gifts flooded her home, as if money were no object. My friends told me all this when they came to the mental hospital to drop off my clothes. I coughed up a mouthful of blood, then suddenly passed out. When I woke up, Kamran, whom I hadn’t seen in six months, stood by my hospital bed, giving me a warning. “Angela, as long as you promise not to bother her, I can let you come home and enjoy all the privileges you deserve as Mrs. Thorne.” Finally, I nodded weakly in agreement. Because just before I collapsed, I’d learned my brother Nealon had lost everything in an investment last month, saddled with massive debt. Only with Kamran’s financial support had Nealon avoided ruin. It’s just cheating, isn’t it? For Nealon’s sake, I wouldn’t make a fuss anymore.
On the way home, my driver got into a rear-end collision. The car flipped, the driver was unconscious instantly, and I was severely injured. As the ambulance rushed to the scene, I suddenly regained a flicker of consciousness. With what little awareness I had left, I instinctively fumbled for my phone and called Kamran. It rang for a long time before someone picked up. I swallowed the metallic taste of blood welling in my throat and spoke with difficulty: “Kamran, I…” Kamran’s voice held an edge of impatience. “Didn’t I already send a driver to pick you up? I told you I’m busy, Angela. Can’t you be more understanding?” The phone’s receiver suddenly filled with noise. A familiar voice. The girl’s desperate cry came through: “Kamran, you can do whatever you want to me, but why would you hurt *him*?” Kamran’s voice was calm, but his words sent a chill down my spine. “Seraphina, I told you. If you dared to accept his proposal, I’d make sure he spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.” So, the sweet, innocent-looking girl Kamran was so desperately protecting was named Seraphina. I suddenly remembered why that voice sounded so familiar. It was the sound I’d made the first time I discovered Kamran was cheating, smashing everything in sight. Kamran always knew how to drive people insane. On the other end of the line, Seraphina was crying, begging Kamran to spare her boyfriend. Before I completely lost consciousness, I heard Seraphina’s pleas. “Please, be gentle…” Her cries shifted from enraged curses to soft, broken whimpers. When I woke up, Kamran was sitting on a sofa nearby, fiddling with his phone. He noticed my gaze. He hesitated, then reached out as if to check my forehead for a fever. I turned my head away, my voice hoarse. “I’m fine.” Kamran scoffed, pulling his hand back abruptly. “Angela, you just got out, and already you’re pulling stunts like a car crash. Haven’t you learned your lesson?” My mind went blank. “I’ve told you many times, no one will ever threaten your position. You are my only wife, Angela Thorne.” “What good does it do you, fighting with some young girl fresh out of college, only to end up covered in injuries?” He thought my car accident was a desperate tactic to win his affection against Seraphina. I opened my mouth, but found anything I could say would sound weak and useless. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” After all, I knew I had no right to argue now. Kamran seemed pleased by my surrender. My brother called to tell me Kamran had pre-paid his next month’s debt. See? If I just disappeared into the background, if I knew my place, Kamran would take care of all our problems. “If you’re so miserable, Angela, then leave him. Divorce him.” “I’ll figure out the money, I promise.” My arm ached from holding the phone. I’d heard it all. Our family’s assets had been seized and put up for auction. Cars, houses—everything vanished overnight, and it still wasn’t enough to fill the hole. My brother, Nealon, had been beaten by debt collectors, moved from our palatial riverside mansion to a dark, damp basement in just three days. I heard that when Kamran found him, Nealon was curled up on a cramped twin bed, eyes closed, face pale, blood on his lips. His blanket didn’t even cover his legs. On the floor lay an unopened takeout box. We were utterly ruined, with no other choice. Now Kamran was offering cars, a house, and endless funds. All I had to do was turn a blind eye and let him have his ‘beautiful love’ with Seraphina. In our current situation, what right did we have to refuse? I managed a weak smile. “I’m not miserable. Just being blind, that’s all. I can do it.” After being discharged, I tried to be a dutiful wife. I stopped asking about Kamran’s whereabouts or his spending. When Kamran needed a ride home after drinking at a business dinner, I gave the driver Seraphina’s number. When Kamran said he wanted my homemade mushroom soup, I expertly dialed Seraphina’s number and asked her to deliver it. When Kamran complained his newly tailored cufflinks didn’t have a matching suit, I told Seraphina to contact Kamran’s private tailor. Until three months later, Kamran, uncharacteristically, called me himself. He said he was coming home for dinner tonight.
After dinner, as I mechanically prepared his suit for tomorrow, He suddenly pinned me beneath him. “You’ve been so quiet lately, almost… unlike yourself…” As a flurry of kisses rained down on my face, Seraphina’s usual gardenia perfume quickly filled my nostrils. The room’s temperature abruptly rose, making the scent even more intense. A strong wave of nausea suddenly surged in my throat. I forced myself to hold it back. But then, at the peak of it all, Kamran whispered *Seraphina’s* name. My mind went blank, my knuckles white as I gripped the pillow. The next second, I found a surge of strength from somewhere, pushed Kamran away with all my might, And rushed to the bathroom, dry-heaving over the toilet bowl. Kamran followed me closely. Seeing my actions, the lust in his eyes instantly vanished. He leaned against the doorframe, a slight frown on his brow, his tone impatient. “What’s wrong with you?” I didn’t answer him, the continuous retching echoing through the bathroom. He lost patience, simply dropping a line: “Go to the doctor tomorrow for a check-up.” The roar of his car faded downstairs, taking my sleepiness with it. I curled up in the corner of the bed, desperately trying to suppress the physical discomfort. But it seemed useless. So I got out of bed. Rummaging through drawers, trying to find some medicine, I found a pearl necklace in the back of the cabinet. It looked cheap, its metal settings faded. The cold metal in my palm suddenly grew hot, burning me so badly I almost dropped it. I remembered Kamran’s toughest year. We were twenty-two. To test his abilities, his family cut off all his financial resources, forcing him to start from the bottom. The pampered heir who used to blow millions a month was now earning a meager salary, wearing cheap, off-the-rack clothes, squeezed into a crowded employee dorm. My heart ached for him, and I secretly gave him half of my allowance. Under the moonlight, his voice choked. “Angela, it’s so good to have you.” To earn money to buy me a birthday present, He took on every odd job he could, working until he was seeing stars, refusing to stop. When he handed me a pearl necklace, his face was flushed. “The quality of this pearl is definitely nothing compared to what you have in your closet, Angela. If you don’t like it, you can just say so…” I didn’t refuse. I took off my latest designer necklace and wore that pearl necklace year after year. Many times later, that necklace became Kamran’s token to soften my heart. Snapping out of the memory, I clutched the necklace and walked to the balcony, flinging it forcefully into the air. The pearl necklace disappeared into the flowerbed, out of sight. Two months later. Someone arrived at the door. Seraphina. She wore a chic, designer-style suit, and an expensive watch adorned her wrist. Even her earrings were the ones Kamran had bought at auction for a fortune recently. I knew she had accepted Kamran’s possessive love. Like many women, she had come to make me step aside from Kamran’s marriage. “He doesn’t love you anymore. There’s no point in you holding onto this position.” “And I need the title of Mrs. Thorne to shed the label of ‘mistress’.” But now, *I* also needed that title. I only had my brother left. I could give way on everything else, but not this. Seeing no reaction from me, a flicker of hatred crossed her eyes. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up. “Angela, why can’t you keep Kamran in check?” “Why did you let him drive me and my boyfriend to the brink?” “I’m like this because of your incompetence! You’re the one who ruined me!” “If I’m not happy, then you and Kamran, you won’t be either, you disgusting cheats!” She lunged at me, her full weight pressing down on me. My lower back slammed against the metal-edged table corner, the intense pain making me momentarily speechless. I tried to push her away. But before I could even apply force, she suddenly fell to the floor herself, sending plates and silverware crashing to the floor. I turned around and saw Seraphina clutching her stomach in pain. The fabric beneath her quickly stained red with blood. She… was pregnant? The screams of the house staff echoed in my ears, and Kamran’s panicked shouts came from the entryway. The next second, a swift, brutal slap landed across my face. The blow was so hard I tasted blood on my lips. “Angela!” “I thought bringing you back these past few months meant you’d learned your lesson. I never thought you’d still be so stubborn!” An indescribable bitterness surged, rising to my throat, thick with the metallic taste of blood. My voice hoarse, I defended myself: “I didn’t push her…” Kamran didn’t listen to my explanation. He scooped Seraphina up, holding her close, and bolted out the door, his composure shattered. The man who usually remained unflappable even at the negotiation table now had a back that trembled subtly with fear. A week later, I received a call from my brother. “Angela, can you please ask Kamran why he suddenly disconnected the bank account for repayments?” “If it’s too much trouble, then forget it…”
I mumbled a reply, understanding in my heart that Nealon was always too proud. He wouldn’t have called me unless he was truly desperate. When I called Kamran, he picked up quickly, as if he’d been waiting for my call. “What card? Oh… that one. I thought it might have been compromised, so I unlinked it. Is there a problem?” Kamran’s tone was dismissive. But his words felt like a heavy hammer blow to my heart. My hands twisted my shirt hem nervously, and I forced myself to speak. “But Nealon can’t wait, Kamran. Please, can’t you be considerate of me, just this once, like you used to be…” *Kamran*. It had been a long time since I’d called him that. Kamran fell silent for a moment. After a rustling sound, Seraphina’s voice came through. “Angela, don’t you know the company is facing financial strain lately? You and your brother are like bottomless pits; no matter how much money is given, it’s never enough. You’ll drag him down eventually.” Financial strain… The headlines I saw this morning suddenly flashed in my mind. “CEO Kamran Thorne Lavishes Millions for Love! Multi-Million Dollar Mansion, Luxury Car Titles All Registered to Seraphina Hayes!” Financial strain, it was because of this, wasn’t it? An endless bitterness spread across my tongue, like insects gnawing relentlessly, making my heart tremble with pain. “Kamran has left this matter to me. If you can appease me enough, he’ll naturally repay your brother’s debt.” I agreed without hesitation. “I’ll send you an address. Come find me tomorrow, and I’ll tell you.” I never expected Seraphina to send me the address of *my* old family home. Standing at the gate, looking at the familiar exterior, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if stepping into a different lifetime. The cherry tree outside the door was in bloom. When Kamran and I planted this cherry tree together, he asked me, “Do you know what cherry blossoms symbolize?” I shook my head. He leaned down, gently biting my left ear, his hot breath on my earlobe making my heart pound. “Angela, I’m your prisoner of love.” A spring breeze blew, bringing me back to reality. I gave a self-deprecating smile. Entering the courtyard. In front of the massive French windows, the sunlight made the indoor furniture gleam, filtered through the white sheer curtains. I saw two intertwined bodies sprawled on the very chair my mother cherished most. Kamran’s breathing was ragged, his voice laced with both seduction and a hint of punishment. “So, you promised you wouldn’t go too far.” Seraphina playfully pushed his shoulder, giggling. “You gave me this house. Why are you still telling me what to do?” What did she mean… he *gave* her this house? I rushed into the house, distraught, and confronted him: “This house, did you really give it to her?” Kamran got up from Seraphina, slowly wrapping his bathrobe around himself. “Yes, the paperwork is being processed.” The moment those words left his mouth, my ears buzzed. I couldn’t hold back my emotions anymore. Like a madwoman, I lunged at Kamran, hitting him. “Why would you give it to her! You promised that as long as I listened to you, this house would be returned to me!” “Kamran, why did you give it to her, why?!” He grabbed my flailing hands and shoved me roughly onto the sofa. Even though the sofa was soft, a dull ache still throbbed in my lower abdomen when I hit it. “She lost a baby. This house is my compensation to her.” “If you had lost a baby that day, I would have compensated you too.” “And Angela, don’t forget why you’re here today.” In an instant, I forgot how to cry, how to shout, how to hate. When a sliver of rationality returned, Seraphina had also gotten dressed. “Angela, I haven’t quite decided how to punish you. How about… you get down on your knees and beg me?” Meeting Seraphina’s haughty gaze, a powerful sense of humiliation instantly erupted within me. But I knew I couldn’t refuse. The room fell silent. For a moment, I only heard a soft, muffled thud. It wasn’t my knees. It was my spine, straight for twenty-six years, that snapped completely in that moment. Seraphina smiled. “I don’t have all day to spend here with you.” “This is your house. You must know where the security cameras are, right? If I check the security footage and don’t see you on your knees, then I probably can’t help your brother.” With that, she linked her arm with Kamran’s and left. My abdominal pain grew worse. I was in too much pain to straighten up. Every time I tried to stand and catch my breath, The security camera in the corner would subtly shift. The person behind the camera seemed to be reminding me, over and over, that if I dared to run, dared to stand, My brother would be ruined. As night fell, I suddenly felt a warm gush between my legs. By the moonlight, I saw my pants were already stained crimson. Terrified, I called my brother. I cried, telling him I was dying, that I was bleeding so much. My brother, Nealon, arrived. He was still in his uniform from his part-time job. He trembled as he scooped me up and ran towards the ambulance. “Angela, don’t sleep! Keep your eyes open for me!” “Angela! Don’t you dare fall asleep!” Before I was wheeled into the operating room, dimly, I saw Kamran. It was the first time I’d seen him so distraught since we got married. The man who usually kept every strand of hair perfectly in place now wore his coat inside out in his carelessness. Could he actually look so panicked for me? But I didn’t want to see him anymore.
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