With a violent twist, I snapped its jaw apart—
blood spilled all over the ground.
I looked up at Grace, spat at her feet, and snarled:
“You want to die?”
Grace hadn’t expected me to fight back so fiercely. Her legs went weak; she couldn’t even step back.
I grabbed her by the collar—
when suddenly, someone rushed in and shoved me hard.
“Emily! What are you doing?!”
Ryan’s eyes were blazing with fury as he glared at me.
“I can’t believe you went this far—you even dared to hurt someone?!”
Before I could respond, pain shot through my back like electricity.
I flung the snake that had bitten me against the wall.
She actually let a snake bite me!
Grace waved her hand dismissively, smiling.
“Relax. It won’t kill you. I have the antivenom.”
Ryan just stood there, watching coldly.
“Even after all this, Grace still wants to save you. Apologize to her—now!”
My vision blurred.
I dug my nails into my palm until blood dripped to the floor.
Ryan’s voice was icy:
“You brought this on yourself. Say sorry before you really die here.”
Blood filled my mouth.
Grace covered hers in fake disgust.
“Oh right, I forgot—she can’t talk anymore.”
Ryan frowned and came closer.
“Then get on your knees. You need to remember this, so you don’t try this nonsense again.”
My legs buckled—
I collapsed on the floor, clutching Ryan’s pant leg, trying to tell him the truth.
Grace laughed.
“Ryan, your wife is obedient after all. I think I feel a little better now.”
I shut my eyes in despair.
Cold spread from the bite to every part of my body,
and pain gnawed at my heart like a thousand ants.
Before I lost consciousness, I thought—
Was this how my poor father-in-law felt before he died?
...
The officers came to the hospital to take my statement.
Halfway through, one of them stopped and angrily called Ryan.
“Mr. Carter, your wife hasn’t slept in two days over your father’s death, and you let her almost get killed by a snake? Are you even human?”
Ryan snapped over the phone.
“Officer, don’t pity her just because her father passed away.”
The officer froze, then said sternly:
“This isn’t about pity. The man who died… was your father.”
Ryan frowned impatiently.
“I know. You don’t have to keep saying it. I don’t need reminders about respecting my parents.”
“Emily’s fine now thanks to the antivenom. But Sandy is still in critical condition at the animal hospital!”
The officer’s voice hardened.
“Your wife is the one who was seriously injured—she almost didn’t make it. As the head of your household, you should come to the hospital.”
After finishing the statement, I forced myself to walk to the morgue to handle my father-in-law’s paperwork.
The doctor sighed sympathetically.
“Poor man. That snake’s venom is brutal—the pain must have been unbearable.”
I shuddered involuntarily and gritted my teeth.
“I know. Even with the antivenom, it still burns to the bone.”
The doctor pulled the white sheet over my father-in-law’s body just as Ryan walked in.
His voice was flat.
“So you’re fine now? See how kind Grace is? She saved your life despite everything.”
“Next time, stop calling the police and wasting their time.”
I didn’t want to argue with him in front of the corpse. I just said quietly—
