###Chapter 4
"It's just a broken ring, Bella."
The cold words made me realize how unfamiliar the person before me was.
The boy who once knelt beside me at my mother's grave.
The man I'd known for 20 years—how could he utter such chilling words?
A metallic taste suddenly rose in my throat; I forced it down. The bodyguard grabbed my arm and threw me into the basement.
Bang!
The door slammed shut, darkness engulfed me and fear instantly spread, like countless monsters closing in on me.
I banged on the locked iron door, but no one outside listened.
Gradually, my consciousness began to blur and many images flashed before my eyes.
When I was little, I was trapped in a broken elevator, shaking with fear. Victor stayed with me, talking until rescue arrived. After that, he always left a light on for me.
At summer camp when I was ten, I fell ill and Victor carried me, feverish, for several blocks to the hospital.
Every birthday, I received a homemade cake from him, ugly yet sweet.
Every anniversary, my favorite Chanel limited-edition clothes, bags and jewelry are always quietly placed on my bedside table…
Everything he had done for me weren't fake. He once poured his heart out to me.
But then, he fell in love with someone else.
The person who protected me with his life became the one who hurt me the most.
“Victor, let me out, please!”
Darkness swallowed everything. His cold face played out again and again and I was in excruciating pain.
Just a door away, Victor held a shard of a ring in his hand and ordered his men.
“No matter the cost, fix it.”
Uncle Sam pleaded, “Please let Miss Bella out. She has claustrophobia!”
Victor knew how terrified I was alone in the dark. But when he saw Brielle sobbing uncontrollably on the sofa, his face turned cold.
“If I don’t teach her a lesson, who knows how she’ll bully Brielle in the future! I’m only doing this for her own good.”
Uncle Sam tried to plead for me, but he had him locked in the bedroom.
I cried until my voice was hoarse, my fingers digging into the door until they bled, finally collapsing to the floor.
In a daze, I saw my mother’s smiling face, her fingers gently stroking my tear-streaked cheek. So warm.
“Mom, I miss you so much…”
I opened my eyes, my vision blurred by tears, to the dim light.
Victor sat on the edge of the bed, letting me clutch his hand tightly. He wiped away the tears from the corner of my eye with his other hand, sighing.
“Why so stubborn? Is it really that hard to say sorry and give in just once?”
I was in so much pain that my breathing was trembling. I threw his hand away, turned over and remained silent.
“What exactly do you want from me? Do you know that there are rumors going around that the eldest daughter of the Whitmore Family is bullying her illegitimate sister? I’m already trying my best to suppress these negative headlines.”
Help me? Or help his mistress?
"You're just afraid people will dig deeper and uncover your secret affair, right?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "Victor, do you really think I'm stupid?"
Victor's heart skipped a beat.
He might think did I know about him and Brielle?
No, impossible.
Knowing my stubborn nature, if I knew, I would have already come to make a scene.
Composing himself, he assumed I was just jealous.
"You know Brielle has mental health issues. If I don't keep her calm then she dies, those people outside will blame you again."
"Besides, she donated bone marrow to me. I can't abandon her."
"I promise you, once Brielle recovers, we'll have the most luxurious wedding on an island."
My heart clenched. She donated bone marrow to him?
Then what about the donation surgery agreement I secretly hid and the wound that still aches from time to time?
