Half-threatening and half-coaxing, he squeezed my injured wrist.
"This time, you had better please Jenna properly and earn her forgiveness. Do you understand?" His voice dropped lower. "If you mess it up again, I really will hand you over to that buyer."
He just grabbed me and tossed me in the car, bridal shop bound, before I knew what was happening.
I said nothing. I only meant to retrieve the keepsake my mother left me, a piece of jewelry I had stored there so I could wear it on my wedding day.
Clinging to that thought for strength, I followed him silently.
When we arrived, Jenna stood there exactly as she had the first time we met, her head lowered shyly and her posture soft and frail. I looked closely for any sign of triumph or guilt after everything she had done to me, but her expression stayed perfectly composed.
Clinging to Michael's arm, she half-hid behind him and whispered, "Zoey, I'm so sorry. Are you glaring at me because you hate me?"
She looked up at him for protection.
"Zoey," Michael snapped sharply.
He pinched my injured wrist, lightly but with enough pressure to make my entire body flinch.
Pain shot through me.
I bit down and forced out, "No."
Only then did Jenna smile sweetly, her voice softening. "Zoey, let's go try on wedding dresses."
At her request, the clerk brought out the gown Michael had explicitly ordered for me. Jenna let out a delicate gasp and snuggled even closer against his arm.
"Michael, can I try on Zoey's wedding dress?" she asked, her voice trembling with rehearsed fragility. Her eyes turned red with fake sorrow. "I am already dirty. I may never have the chance to get married. This might be my only shot at wearing a wedding dress."
Michael's expression softened immediately, heavy with pity.
"Of course you can."
He turned to me then, a sharp warning in his eyes. I lowered my head and nodded silently.
"Great," Jenna chirped, her gaze drifting toward the necklace displayed next to the gown.
"Michael, this necklace is beautiful. Can you give it to me?" she asked sweetly.
Before he could respond, I stepped forward and picked up the necklace.
"I am sorry, this—"
"Of course," Michael cut in coldly. "Anything you want, I will give you."
He extended his hand toward me, his expression hard as stone.
"Hand it over."
A dull ache spread through my chest. I pressed my lips together and swallowed the pain.
"Michael, that necklace is my mother's keepsake," I whispered.
"So what?" He yanked my hand aside and ripped the necklace from my grasp. "Do not forget, you owe Jenna. Consider this necklace compensation."
My heart lurched. I reached for it again, desperate.
"Michael, punish me however you want. She can have anything else, but not this necklace."
The moment I raised my hand, Jenna screamed and fell backward.
"Zoey, why did you push me?"
"Jenna!" Michael shouted.
He shoved me aside to catch her.
My foot slipped. The world tilted violently around me.
I tumbled down the stairs.
Pain detonated through my body. My bones screamed as if everything had cracked apart. My vision flickered, fading in and out. A metallic taste filled my mouth, and I choked up a mouthful of dark blood.
Then everything went black.
When I woke again, I was lying in a hospital bed.
My colleague stood beside me, her eyes full of sorrow.
"Zoey, your pelvis was shattered," she said quietly. "We managed to save your legs from amputation, but paralysis was unavoidable."
I stared at the still lower half of my body as grief overwhelmed me with crushing force.
I broke down and sobbed.
If I were paralyzed, even if my hand healed, I could never step onto an operating table again.
My colleague wiped her eyes, her voice trembling with anger.
"Michael is a bastard. You are hurt like this, and he still doesn't care. But that woman sprained her ankle, and he called every available doctor to treat her."
She squeezed my shoulder gently. "Zoey, you do not deserve any of this."
