That diamond watch finally ended up on Timothy’s wrist.
“Ah, Stephanie, this isn’t right,” he said shyly. “That was supposed to be for Johnny…”
“It’s fine,” Stephanie interrupted softly. “They’re right. It really suits you. I must have chosen the wrong gift for John. Take it as a reward.”
A reward? For Timothy helping her save face, she meant?
Then a guy from the audience looked at me with open disgust. “Why is this man still here? Director Bloom, someone that ugly will only ruin my mood for our business occassion.”
Stephanie walked over to me and whispered, “John, please go home for now. I’m sorry, but this deal is too important. Just bear with it this time and I’ll explain everything to everyone later, okay?”
Before turning away, she hesitated and added, “Also… don’t wear sleeveless shirts or open collars anymore.”
I didn’t miss the hint of disgust in her eyes. It was almost funny. Didn’t she know these scars on my body exist because of her sending me to prison?
That night, I was woken by the sound of Stephanie kicking open my door. She dragged me out of bed, furious.
“So just because I didn’t admit our relationship today and gave the watch to Tim, you had to hurt him like this?!”
Before I could respond, she pulled me toward Timothy’s room.
Inside the bed, the blanket had been cut open — dozens of leeches were writhing underneath it. It was disgusting to say the least.
“Johnny,” Timothy cried weakly, “I didn’t mean to take your watch or your status. But it was about Steph’s reputation! I couldn’t explain it at the time. Why are you so cruel and put these blood-sucking things in my bed? I was born anemic! I was lucky to check on my bed in time… I’ll return the watch! Just please don’t hurt me…”
I looked at Stephanie. “I didn’t do it. If you don’t believe me, check the CCTV.”
But she didn’t even consider it. “There's no need. I know you too well, John—you always take revenge for every little thing. I thought prison might have changed you, but you’ve only gotten worse! You should have stayed in there a few more years!”
"No matter what, I'm going to teach you a lesson today. Don't ever dare hurt Tim again!"
Half an hour later, Stephanie’s men came in, covering their noses while carrying a half-human-tall metal barrel. Inside the barrel were countless squirming leeches. They then dumped them all into a bathtub.
“Hold Johnny down,” she ordered coldly.
I lifted my head and glared at her. “Stephanie, you’ll regret what you’re doing today.”
“I’ll only regret it if I don’t teach you a lesson!” she retorted.
They forced me into the bathtub. Hundreds of leeches wrapped around me and soon covered my entire body. In seconds, the water turned bright red.
Not long after that, I lost consciousness.
When I woke up again, I was lying on the living room sofa, receiving a blood transfusion. Then I remembered... Stephanie and I have the same blood type.
She looked at me for a while before sighing. “Do you have to be this stubborn? If you’d just admit your fault, if you’d just be gentle, I wouldn’t have treated you that way.”
What was she even trying to do? Did she plan on hurting me then coax me with comforting words?
I yanked the needle from my hand and staggered upstairs.
Behind me, I heard her embarrassed, angry voice, “John, take this as a lesson! I don’t want to see it happen again!”
At the top of the stairs, I ran into Timothy holding a bowl of porridge. “Ah, Johnny, you’re awake! I made this porridge just for you to recover. Eat it while it’s warm.”
I looked at him coldly. “So this is how a little slut climb to the top. You've staged everything, right?”
Hearing that, Timothy finally dropped his act and smiled mockingly.
“I really didn’t expect you to walk out of prison alive. But so what? When it's about love triangle, the one who isn’t loved… is always the third wheel, right?”
