After signing the paper, I stood up, only to be hit by a sudden wave of dizziness. Years of malnutrition in prison had left me with severe hypoglycemia. My body gave way, collapsing forward uncontrollably.
Then, a pair of arms caught me. I was lifted gently, cradled horizontally, and placed on the sofa. Moments later, the sweet taste of honey water touched the corner of my lips.
With each spoonful, the haze slowly lifted. My vision steadied. The face before me blurred and shimmered through my tears.
Once upon a time, Callum had cared for me just like this.
Ten long years. So many grievances were swallowed, and so much pain endured. Through it all, the one belief that had kept me going was seeing him again.
If bringing Callum back meant throwing myself into the fire, I would do it without hesitation.
Still drifting in memory, I barely realized when I woke again, only to feel a hard shove. Jaxon had pushed me away.
Caught off guard, I hit the floor, the back of my head slamming hard. Pain pulsed through my skull as I clutched it.
His cold voice rang out above me.
“Don’t flatter yourself. This was just compensation.”
Murmurs rippled through the guests nearby.
“Give her a drop of kindness, and she wants to drown in it. Bootlickers are all the same.”
“Young Master Jaxon is too soft. She’s already clinging to his leg like a leech. Disgusting.”
“Young Master Jaxon, don’t bother with someone like her. She’s marrying into the Montgomery family, right? Just let them take her already.”
I struggled to my feet, breath shallow and hands shaking. Just as I braced myself, Arabelle sauntered over.
In a swift, hidden move, when no one was looking, her stiletto heel crushed down on my hand.
A sharp cry escaped me as pain ripped through my fingers. I jerked my hand back, blood already pooling beneath my palm.
But before I could react further, Arabelle suddenly stumbled backward in a dramatic arc right into the towering stack of wine glasses.
The crash was deafening.
Glass shattered. Red wine splashed everywhere. The entire hall seemed to freeze.
“Arabelle!” Jaxon’s voice rang out in panic as he rushed to her side, lifting her from the jagged mess of broken crystal.
Her white gown was drenched in red, the stains vivid and jarring, like blood blooming through silk.
“Arabelle! Are you alright? Say something!” Jaxon’s hands trembled as he brushed the tears from her face. “Someone, call an ambulance! Now!”
But Arabelle didn’t speak to him. Her tear-brimmed eyes were locked on me.
My hand throbbed, bleeding from where her heel had torn skin. But over the noise and chaos, I heard her soft, trembling voice.
“Liora, why did you push me? Didn’t you already agree to marry into the Montgomery family?”
Her voice cracked, perfectly timed, as a tear rolled down her cheek. “You must still hate me. You smiled and acted generously, but deep down, you still wanted revenge.”
The room went still. A suffocating silence swallowed the air.
Arabelle’s best friend was the first to charge over and slap me hard across the face.
“I knew you had bad intentions! You faked fainting just to win pity, didn’t you? So Jaxon wouldn’t send you to the Montgomery family?”
Suddenly, the entire banquet hall turned into a storm of righteous fury. People grabbed whatever they could reach, pastries, glasses, scraps, and hurled them at me without mercy.
Cream and cake splattered across my body. I crouched in shame, trembling, clutching my injuries as laughter and scorn rained down like knives.
Then, a pair of leather shoes came into view, cold, polished, and unforgiving. They stopped in front of me.
Jaxon stepped forward and lifted his foot, then slammed it down on my head.
His sole ground into my scalp, forcing my head low until my cheek smeared against the sticky cream on the floor. The humiliation was bone-deep, unbearable.
“You actually dared to hurt Arabelle? You’ve got some nerve. Did you think gaining my sympathy meant you could stay? Dream on. Get out. From this day on, there’s nothing between us!”
He pulled his foot away. I gritted my teeth against the pain and slowly stood, staring him down. My voice was steady, each word sharp and final. “Fine, as you wish. From now on, we are completely done.”
As long as I could marry that vegetative man and bring Callum back, I could vanish from this cruel world. I no longer needed to trail behind Jaxon, scraping for scraps. I was finally free, and I could walk away whenever I pleased.
Jaxon looked stunned as if he couldn’t believe I had the nerve to talk back. Then he sneered coldly. “I’d like to see how long that stubborn mouth of yours lasts. Don’t come crying to me later, begging me to take you back!”
“Don’t worry. I’ve promised to marry into the Montgomery family. I won’t go back on my word. I won’t pester you again.”
Without another glance, I turned on my heel and pushed open the Aldridge family’s doors under the weight of countless gazes.
I walked out, head held high, not once looking back.
Mocking voices rang behind me like sharp thorns:
“Leave her! Let her go! She dared to hurt Sister Arabelle; breaking her legs would be doing her a favor.”
“Young Master Jaxon, don’t worry. She’ll be back, crying within three days.”
But as I stepped into the sunlight, the world ahead seemed to shimmer. I thought of Callum’s warm smile, and for the first time in a long while, my eyes filled with hope.
This time, I didn’t need to look back.
Callum, once I finished this final task, we’d meet again.
The pain from the wounds on my forehead and hand flared up with each step as I left the Aldridge estate. I gritted my teeth, the blood staining my skin, but I didn’t stop. I had to go to the hospital.
The nurse took one look at me, bruised and battered, and then glanced toward a distant, luxurious ward, shaking her head.
“Comparisons will kill you,” she muttered.
Following her gaze, I saw Arabelle had also arrived. The doctor was removing glass shards from her skin. She had gone all out to frame me, willing to sacrifice her own flesh to see me suffer.
Each time the doctor touched her, Arabelle’s soft cries filled the air, and she clung to Jaxon as if they were the only two people in the world. Their affection for each other was sickening to watch.
The nurse pressed alcohol onto my wounds, the sting sharp enough to make me flinch. My hand, where Arabelle’s heel had stomped, was raw; a deep gash and ugly purple bruises marked the spot, a clear sign of her intent to destroy me.
Once my wounds were bandaged, I grabbed the bill and turned to leave. But as I rounded the corner, I ran straight into Arabelle.
