I was quickly escorted into the morgue. The temperature was extremely low, yet it couldn’t mask the stench emanating from dozens of corpses. The stench made me retch uncontrollably and my body shivered uncontrollably from the cold.
An inexplicable fear drove me to pound on the door, screaming to be let out, “Let me out! Benedict, let me out!”
But my hands bled from the pounding and my voice grew hoarse from shouting. Benedict never appeared. He stayed by Dorothy’s side all night long, tending to her without a moment’s rest.
I huddled alone in a corner, enduring the cold and terror while spending the night among the corpses. It wasn’t until noon the next day that the morgue door opened. I was already frozen purple, barely clinging to life. Yet Benedict’s men still dragged me before Dorothy.
Benedict, who was tending to Dorothy, saw how weak I was. I looked as if I might pass out at any moment. A rare flicker of pity crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by reproach.
“Eugenia, you are the one I love most. I never wanted to hurt you. But Dorothy saved me. She gave me a second life. Yet you have repeatedly targeted her. I cannot stand by and let you get away with it forever.”
“If you kowtow to her a hundred times and help her bear a child, this matter will be over.”
My consciousness was already numb and cold, yet Benedict’s words still triggered an instinctive reaction. I replied to him, “Benedict, you’re a coward who won’t own up to your betrayal!”
“You’ve cheated and changed your heart, yet refuse to admit it. Mark my words, even if you kill me, I won’t let you have your way.”
Benedict lost all patience at this moment. He strode over to me, crouched down and gently cupped my face. His touch was tender, but his tone was icy. He said, “Eugenia, you’ve always been the one I love. I did this only to repay a debt. If you don’t believe me, I’ll kneel together with you.”
With that, he slammed my head onto the ground. He knelt before Dorothy himself, following my lead in kowtowing to her.
“Eugenia, I hope you understand my painstaking efforts. You still have me as your support, but Dorothy has nothing. So, I must protect her.”
I could no longer make out the man’s words. Only numbly, I was grabbed by the back of my neck and forced to kowtow again and again until blood flowed from my forehead.
It was the second time Benedict and I had knelt together. The first was on our wedding day in front of the altar.
We hugged my mother tightly. He then asked for her blessing, “Eugenia is the one I love most in this life. I will treat her well forever. Please trust me with your daughter.”
Perhaps he never imagined his own life would be so short. By the hundredth bow, I lay on the ground, covered in blood and barely clinging to life.
Benedict instinctively reached to lift me, but then heard Dorothy say, “Benedict, Eugenia’s condition is so weak. I think it’s the perfect time for surgery.”
“Quickly implant our test-tube baby into her womb. We can’t miss this golden opportunity.”
Benedict’s movements froze. The next second, his face hardened as he commanded his men, “Take this woman to the operating room immediately.”
With that, I was dragged into the operating room like a dead fish. Through my blurred vision, the overhead surgical lights flashed on. The doctor held a long, arm-length delivery tube that glinted with a harsh, blinding light.
I desperately wanted to escape, but my body was already immobilized. I could only watch helplessly as the doctor inserted that tube into my body. Just then, the operating room door burst open. My mother, Fabiola Miguez, stormed in, surrounded by her bodyguards.
“I want to see who dares to touch my daughter!”
Her arrival forced the surgery to a halt. She wrapped me up and carried me out of the hospital.
“That beast Benedict! How dare he mistreat you behind my back! Once I get you healed, I’ll come back and deal with him!”
Lying weakly in her arms, all the resentment pent up in my heart dissolved into a single tear that rolled down my cheek. Benedict, it was finally over between us! It was the right time for you to pay your debt!
