I was born with naturally wide hips, a peach-shaped bottom, and a curvaceous figure. But my fiancé Pierce insisted I had to squeeze into that heirloom mermaid wedding dress before I could enter his family. For three years, I slept in shapewear every single night. My hip bones were rubbed raw and bloody. Because I couldn’t fit into it, I became the laughingstock of the entire city. Pierce would kiss my hip bones and whisper, “Be good, just try a little harder, and then we’ll get married.” For this day, I secretly scheduled an extremely high-risk hip bone reduction surgery without telling my family. Just as I was about to sign the consent form, Pierce’s assistant came running in, panicking. “Mr. Pierce, Miss Sullivan saw the wedding dress mockup and tried to kill herself again. She says she’s jealous that Miss Watson can stand up and wear a dress.” Pierce was silent for two seconds. “Take in the knees of the dress. Alter it to a size where she won’t even be able to walk.” “But Mr. Pierce, at that size, Miss Watson won’t be able to get into it at all…” “Then make her keep trying! Until Scarlett’s legs heal.” “Scarlett became disabled saving me. I can’t let her suffer watching someone else wear a wedding dress and walk around.” He didn’t know that my father had only given me three years. Since this wedding dress was designed for someone crippled, perhaps these legs of mine should just walk themselves back to Harbor City, where I could be the heiress I was meant to be.
“I’m not going through with this surgery.” “Miss Watson, I’m glad you’ve come to your senses.” “Your body really can’t handle this kind of trauma anymore.” I pushed open the consultation room door, only to run straight into a pair of people I had no desire to see. Pierce was pushing a wheelchair, and sitting in it was the pale-faced Scarlett Sullivan. Scarlett wore an oversized hospital gown. Seeing me, she covered her mouth in exaggerated surprise and laughed lightly. “Madison, what are you doing at the hospital? You look like… you’ve gained even more weight.” “That heirloom mermaid dress—I’m afraid you’ll have even less chance of fitting into it now.” Pierce instinctively pulled the wheelchair back a step, positioning it protectively in front of Scarlett. He frowned. “Didn’t I tell you to go to the gym for Pilates? Why are you at the hospital?” “Even if you’re going to slack off, there’s a limit. The wedding is only days away.” I stared at his hand resting on the wheelchair armrest—long fingers, well-defined knuckles, beautiful. Last night, those same hands had caressed the bruises on my hip bones. He’d kissed that spot, coaxing me in a low voice: “Be good, just try a little harder, and then we’ll get married.” Only now did I see clearly—that wasn’t love. It was domestication. Seeing my silence, Scarlett suddenly covered her forehead, her body going limp as she collapsed into Pierce’s arms. “Pierce, I’m so dizzy. Maybe the dialysis session was too long…” Pierce immediately bent down and pulled her into his embrace. “Don’t be scared, the doctor will be here soon. Where does it hurt?” After comforting Scarlett, he turned to look at me. “Scarlett got upset after seeing the wedding dress design. Her emotions are unstable.” “The doctor said she can’t handle any shocks. Don’t hang around in front of her. Go home.” This was my fiancé. While I was grinding my hip bones bloody trying to fit into that dress. He was worrying about whether another woman might get upset from seeing a picture of a wedding dress. A wave of nausea surged up from my stomach. I didn’t meekly leave as I usually would. Instead, I stepped forward. I looked down at Scarlett’s legs hidden beneath the blanket. “Upset?” “Is it because she’ll be a cripple for the rest of her life and can never stand up?” Scarlett’s face went deathly pale, tears welling in her eyes. Pierce straightened up abruptly. “Madison! Do you even know what you’re saying?!” “Scarlett became like this saving me—what right do you have to mock her?” His assistant came running over, sweating profusely. “Mr. Pierce, there’s an emergency at the company. The board members are all waiting…” Pierce took a deep breath, suppressing the rage in his eyes. He looked at me. “Go home and reflect. If you still can’t fit into that dress tonight, don’t expect to step through the doors of the Pierce family.” With that, he hurriedly pushed Scarlett away, not sparing me another glance. Scarlett sat in her wheelchair, looking back at me with eyes full of provocation and smugness. I stood there, watching them disappear down the corridor, and suddenly laughed. Reflect? I should definitely reflect. Reflect on how I’ve lived like a joke for the past three years.
Watching Pierce hurriedly wheel Scarlett away, I pulled out my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart. The call was answered after one ring. “Madison? Why are you calling at this hour? Do you need more money?” “Or… are your hip bones still hurting?” Hearing that familiar voice, my eyes immediately welled up with tears. These past three years, for Pierce’s sake, I’d rarely contacted my family. Even when I did call, I always reported good news and hid the bad. But I also knew that Dad had been quietly watching over me the whole time, fully aware of the suffering I’d endured. Dad felt sorry for me but didn’t dare interfere too much, afraid of putting me in a difficult position. He always said: “If you’re not happy, come home. Dad can take care of you.” I touched my bruised waist, choking back my tears. “Dad, I miss the roasted duck from home.” There was two seconds of silence on the other end. “Okay, okay! I’ll have someone go buy it right now. What else do you want to eat? I’ll send your brother to wait in line!” “As long as you’re willing to come home, I’ll give you anything you want.” After hanging up, I looked out at the blue sky and let out a long, deep breath. Three years ago, I was Madison Watson, the bold and spirited heiress of Harbor City. Back then, I had a voluptuous figure with gorgeous curves. When Pierce proposed to me on the Great Wall, he knelt on one knee. “Madison, I love your sensuality. Don’t change for anyone.” “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’ll marry no one but you in this lifetime.” I believed his lies and followed him to Port City without looking back. But the moment I stepped through the Pierce family’s door, Pierce’s mother looked me over with critical eyes. “Wide hips are good for childbearing, but they’re not refined. You can’t wear our family’s haute couture.” “That kind of figure—when you go out, people will just think you’re vulgar. You’ll embarrass Pierce.” From that day on, my nightmare began. To please his family and to satisfy Scarlett, Pierce started to relentlessly manipulate me. “Madison, as long as you can fit into that heirloom mermaid dress, everyone will shut up.” “This is for our future. Just bear with it a little, okay?” I endured for three years. Every day I slept in custom shapewear, barely able to breathe. My hip bones were rubbed raw, scabbed over, then rubbed raw again—over and over, never healing. The driver brought the car to a smooth stop at the entrance of the Pierce family estate. The butler stood at the door, his face stern, looking at me coldly. “Miss Watson, the young master has instructed that you must fit into the dress tonight for the preliminary photo shoot.” “The photographer has already arrived. Please hurry to the dressing room.” This was the Pierce family—no warmth, only endless tasks and suffocating rules. I walked into that dedicated dressing room. The silver-white mermaid wedding dress hung in the center. Its waist was extremely narrow, and the knee area was absurdly constricted. In the past, seeing it would only fill me with fear and anxiety. But now, I felt only calm, along with a hint of relief at my impending liberation. I walked over and ran my hand over the knee area of the dress. The texture was hard and cold. The sensation at my fingertips confirmed what I’d accidentally overheard the maids whispering yesterday— “The young master ordered the knees taken in another three centimeters and six steel boning rods added to make sure it holds its shape.” At the time, it seemed absurd. Now, touching these impossibly hard, completely inflexible steel bones, I understood how vicious every word had been. These boning rods would lock the knees in place. Forget walking—even standing would be difficult. Pierce really hadn’t lied to me. He truly had blocked off this path completely. Since this wedding dress was designed for a cripple, these legs of mine might as well be used for walking instead.
The dressing room door was pushed open, and several maids filed in. They carried heavy-duty shapewear, their expressions cold. “Miss Watson, please cooperate. We need to help compress your body.” “This time the measurements are even smaller. It might take two people pulling, and it will hurt a bit. Please bear with it.” In the past, during every dress fitting, I’d let them do whatever they wanted. Even when my ribs ached from the compression, even when my skin was rubbed bloody, I would just grit my teeth and endure. Because Pierce said this was for love, for our wedding. But today, looking at the binding straps in their hands, I only felt ridiculous. “Get out.” My voice was ice-cold. The head maid paused, apparently not expecting me to resist. “Miss Watson, our boss said tonight you must—” “I said get out!” I grabbed the scissors from the table and stabbed them hard into the vanity. “I’ll dress myself.” The maids were frightened by the ferocity in my eyes. After exchanging glances, they retreated. The moment the door closed, I picked up the scissors and cut into those shapewear garments without hesitation. The fabric tore. This thing that had constricted me for three full years, keeping me awake countless nights in pain. Finally became nothing but scraps of cloth in my hands. I kicked the pieces aside and pulled out my phone, opening a food delivery app. Fried chicken, pizza, cheesecake… Every high-calorie food that Pierce had strictly forbidden for three years—I ordered it all. Half an hour later, the delivery arrived. I sat cross-legged on the expensive leather sofa and opened the fried chicken box. The scent of deep-fried food instantly filled the entire room. I grabbed a drumstick and took a huge bite. The crispy skin, the tender and juicy meat, the oil bursting in my mouth. This long-lost taste almost brought me to tears. Just then, the dressing room door was violently pushed open. Pierce rushed in, looking dusty from travel. Seeing this scene, he froze. “Madison! What are you doing?!” He charged over in a few strides and knocked the fried chicken out of my hand. The golden chicken rolled onto the carpet, leaving a glaring oil stain. Pierce was so angry his chest heaved violently. He pointed at the mess on the floor, his voice trembling. “Have you lost your mind? One bite of that and half a month of effort is wasted!” “Do you know how important tonight is?” “Scarlett is downstairs waiting to see the results. This is how you repay me?” Looking at his furious expression, I calmly wiped the grease from the corner of my mouth. “Effort? What effort?” “To turn myself into a cripple, or to please a woman who doesn’t want me to be well?” Pierce froze, as if he didn’t understand what I was saying. “What are you babbling about? What cripple?” I looked up, meeting his eyes directly, and asked the question I’d been wanting to ask. “Pierce, is that wedding dress really meant for a living person to wear?” Pierce’s eyes flickered, avoiding my gaze. “Of… of course.” “It’s an heirloom. As long as you lose just a little more weight, you’ll be able to—” “Just a little more weight?” I laughed coldly. “Or as long as my legs are broken, I’ll fit right in?” Pierce’s expression instantly turned ugly. He opened his mouth to explain, but was interrupted by the sound of a wheelchair at the door.
Scarlett wheeled herself into the dressing room. Seeing the mess on the floor and the chicken drumstick with a bite taken out of it, she covered her mouth in mock horror. “Oh my, doesn’t Madison want to wear it?” “Pierce went to so much trouble for this dress. How can you treat his efforts so carelessly?” She wheeled over to the wedding dress and reached out to lovingly caress the layers of white tulle. Her eyes reddened, her voice choked with emotion, filled with infinite regret and longing. “It’s so beautiful… If my legs still worked, I’d look so beautiful wearing this dress.” “Too bad I’m a cripple. I’ll never have the chance to wear it and walk in it.” Pierce turned his head and glared at me viciously, any trace of guilt from earlier completely gone. “Madison! Look how understanding Scarlett is, and then look at yourself!” “I’m just asking you to eat a little less, to wear a dress, and you have this many complaints?” “Put it on! Put it on right now! Don’t make me do it myself!” I looked at these two people singing the same tune, and the last shred of hope in my heart was completely extinguished. “Fine. I’ll wear it.” I stood up, grabbed the wedding dress with its constricted knees, and pulled it on in front of them. Without the shapewear compressing me, the dress stuck at my hip bones and wouldn’t pull up no matter how hard I tried. The hard boning rods pierced through my skin, the pain piercing to the bone. I gritted my teeth and didn’t make a sound. Seeing this, Pierce didn’t call a stop. Instead, he strode over and grabbed the zipper pull. “Breathe in! Madison, breathe in!” The force in his hand was frightening, completely disregarding whether he’d hurt me. “Riiiiip—” The crisp sound of fabric tearing. Not the zipper going up, but the lace fabric on the side splitting open. At the same time, the sharp metal zipper sliced open my back. Bright red blood stained the snow-white wedding dress. I gasped in pain, cold sweat instantly soaking my forehead. Just then, Scarlett, who had been watching the show, suddenly screamed. “Ah! My wedding dress! You ruined my wedding dress!” As if she’d received some enormous shock, she frantically wheeled herself forward. Before I could react, she actually lunged from the wheelchair and shoved both hands hard against my chest. “You’ll pay for my dress! You fat pig! You don’t deserve to wear it!” I was already unsteady from being constricted by the dress. With her push, I instantly lost my balance. “BANG—” I fell backward heavily. My lower back hit the sharp marble corner of the dressing room squarely. “CRACK!” That was the sound of bone dislocating, so clear it made my scalp tingle. Excruciating pain hit me. My vision went black and I nearly passed out. At the same time, Scarlett, from using too much force, also fell from her wheelchair. “Ah! Pierce, save me! It hurts…” She’d only fallen lightly onto the carpet, but she screamed louder than anyone. Pierce was clearly closer to me. He’d clearly seen me crash into that sharp corner with his own eyes, seen the blood seeping out. But in that instant, he didn’t hesitate for even a second. He stepped over me lying in agony on the floor and rushed toward Scarlett, who had only scraped some skin. “Scarlett! Did you hurt yourself anywhere? Don’t be scared, I’m here!” I lay on the cold floor, feeling my lower body gradually losing sensation. Blood flowed along the hem of the wedding dress. Looking at those two people embracing tightly not far away, I suddenly didn’t feel the pain anymore.
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