Two days later, in the early morning, Liam , drunk, dragged me out of bed.
" Vanessa is feeling unwell after drinking too much. Go to the kitchen and make her something to eat."
I was forced into the kitchen, and even though I told Liam I couldn't cook, he didn't believe me at all.
Left with no other choice, I simply made a simple egg drop soup.
Just then, Vanessa suddenly walked in. Seeing me working so diligently, a smug smile crept onto her face: " Clara , you should have just stayed in prison and died peacefully. Look at you, coming out here to compete with me for Liam 's affections, and you haven't even gotten a scrap of food. How pathetic!"
I remained silent and continued to cook the egg drop soup.
Vanessa's face turned sinister for a moment, and she suddenly waved something in her hand. I recognized it as the jade pendant that my parents had left me.
Seeing my displeasure, Vanessa was in high spirits and deliberately said, "Tell me, if I were to split this thing in half with a knife, what would it look like?"
"You dare!" I said, almost gritting my teeth.
That was the only memento my parents left me!
Vanessa 's smugness was evident in her eyes. "Why wouldn't I dare? Don't forget, Liam has always been on my side."
"If you don't believe me, how about we make a bet and see if he chooses to believe you or me?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Vanessa picked up a spoon and scooped up some hot soup. I watched her warily.
Under my watchful eye, Vanessa poured the hot soup over herself and then screamed in pain.
Liam rushed over upon hearing the commotion and picked Vanessa up almost instantly .
Vanessa leaned against Liam's chest, her face contorted and pale, and said, " Liam , it's my fault. I shouldn't have come back to bother you. I should leave."
“My sister said I was a scourge and didn’t deserve to live. She told me to die and even threw soup at me.”
"If I hadn't covered my face with my hand, my face would be ruined, sob sob sob..."
Liam gave me a cold look, and I frantically shook my head, explaining weakly, "It wasn't me, it really wasn't me..."
"If my sister says no, then no. Liam , don't make things too difficult for her. Maybe she just doesn't like me..."
With a gloomy face, Liam took Vanessa to the hospital for treatment without saying a word.
That evening, he came back carrying a kettle of boiling water into my bedroom, and then poured it down without any mercy.
The boiling water, reaching a temperature of 90 degrees Celsius, instantly woke me up, prompting me to scramble and crawl away from the place.
But I am disabled in both legs, and wherever I go, Liam spills water on me.
Finally, I collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. My body was covered in sores, with many areas peeling and even blisters.
noticing Liam had left, I struggled to make a call for help.
When I heard the ambulance arrive, I scrambled down from the bedroom to the stairwell, only to hear the man downstairs say to the paramedics, "It's all a misunderstanding. My wife and I were just joking around. Who knew she would be so inconsiderate and accidentally make this call? Thank you for coming all this way."
My last glimmer of hope was gone.
When I woke up, I was locked in the basement, and Liam came to see me.
He said, " I'll let you out as long as you're willing to go out and apologize to Vanessa ."
I nodded blankly, "Okay."
After I left, I sincerely apologized to Vanessa . Liam was very pleased with my obedience, so he took pity on me and took me to the hospital.
After waking up from surgery, I picked up the phone next to me and made a call.
The call was answered quickly, and I choked up as I said, "Brother, could you come pick me up in four days?"
"If you want, I can come and pick you up tomorrow—no! Right now!"
Hearing my brother's familiar accent, I burst into laughter through my tears.
Just then, Liam pushed open the door and walked in. When he saw the smile on my face, he was momentarily stunned.
Noticing someone come in, I hurriedly left a message saying, "I have something to take care of, I'll hang up now."
Liam was followed by a little tail, and I watched silently as the two of them walked up to me.
Seeing the bandaged wounds on my body, Liam hesitated for a moment. He reached out to me with concern, but I dodged him.
Vanessa seized the opportunity, "Is it possible that your sister knows someone else, which is why she doesn't let Liam touch her?"
Liam's expression shifted from pity to disgust: " Clara , you were indecent five years ago, and I can't believe you're still unrepentant after five years in prison!"
"I don't know what my mother was thinking, she kept insisting that I marry a slut like you! It disgusts me."
After saying that, Liam turned and left.
Vanessa, however, did not leave.
She looked at me with a smug expression and said, "The wedding in three days will be Liam and I 's show. As for you, you can just go cool off somewhere else."
Seeing that I remained silent, Vanessa felt a pang of displeasure and suddenly took out the jade pendant.
My lifeless eyes finally regained a little light.
" Clara , are you really that concerned about this jade pendant? If you want it so badly, then I'll give it back to you."
After saying that, Vanessa smashed the jade pendant to the ground without hesitation.
The jade pendant broke.
Along with it, the last shred of my feelings for Liam were completely burned away.
I fell off the bed like a dead dog, completely ignoring the needle in the back of my hand, and desperately tried to pick up all the jade pendants.
The jade pendant cut through the skin, and the blood stained the floor and soaked into the jade pendant.
Vanessa left happily after succeeding.
The next day, I received a call from Liam .
" Clara , go to the police station tomorrow and turn yourself in. Just say you accidentally stabbed someone again."
Liam spoke with such confidence and conviction.
Seeing that I didn't reply, Liam sighed and explained, " Vanessa was with a client yesterday and she acted impulsively again. You know how it is when you've been drinking that you're more likely to act impulsively, so you should turn yourself in tomorrow."
"What about the wedding?" I asked in a flat tone.
"As for the wedding, I will hold it as planned. Anyway, your legs are useless. I will have Vanessa attend the wedding banquet in your place, and you will still be on the marriage certificate."
“I’m not going,” I refused.
Liam was probably taken aback by my refusal. He was speechless for a moment, then laughed angrily, "I know you really want to attend your own wedding, but you stabbed someone, so you have to take the blame, right?"
“ Vanessa attended the wedding in your place, and you went to turn yourself in for Vanessa . What’s wrong with that? In the end, Vanessa is the one who suffers. After all, you know how important a girl’s reputation is.”
I was shocked by the extent of his shamelessness.
Before I could even refute him, Liam had already hung up on me.
I glanced at the small box next to me; inside was the jade pendant that Vanessa had broken.
I closed my eyes, and tears welled up in the corners of my eyes.
Liam , this time I'm really letting you off the hook.
