Izzy’s POV
When I woke up again, I was tied up in an office.
Gavin was sitting in front of me, holding Frankie in his arms.
She was crying her eyes out. When she saw that I was awake, she shrank back into his chest like she was scared of me.
“Gavin, I really don’t know what to do anymore,” she sobbed. “Even though you saved me this time, what those monsters did to me… I’ll never be able to forget it. Never….”
She cried uncontrollably, her tears falling nonstop.
He lifted his hand and gently wiped away her tears, his eyes filled with pain and pity.
“Stop crying. I’ll get justice for you. This time, Izzy was the one who did wrong. You can decide how you want her to apologize.”
Frankie shot me a smug look, then pretended to be innocent as she said, “I want her to kneel down and apologize to me… a hundred times.”
Gavin glanced at me and frowned slightly.
“Frankie, apologizing is fine, but kneeling is unnecessary. And doing it a hundred times is too much.”
Her eyes instantly turned red.
“I knew it—you still care more about her. I almost got assaulted. When those men touched me, I wanted to die right there. I only asked her to kneel and apologize. Is that really worse than what I went through?”
“If you’re going to take her side,” she added, “then we shouldn’t see each other anymore. Otherwise, she might hurt me again.”
With that, she stood up and acted like she was about to leave.
He immediately pulled her back into his arms, helplessness flashing in his eyes.
“Alright, alright. I’ll do whatever you want.”
The bodyguards moved fast, forcing me down onto my knees. I stiffened my neck, refusing to bow my head, refusing to apologize no matter what.
Gavin only glanced at me coldly and said in a flat voice, “Izzy, if you’ve done something wrong, you should apologize. For every apology you skip, your parents will suffer one more minute.”
The moment I heard that, all the strength drained from my body. I let the bodyguards slam my head down hard against the floor.
Frankie gave the bodyguard a subtle look. He understood immediately and pressed down even harder on my head.
After only a few blows, my forehead split open, blood pouring down my face.
As I stared at Gavin’s indifferent expression, his past words suddenly echoed in my ears.
“Baby, even the smallest injury to you breaks my heart. You have to protect yourself, and I’ll protect you, too. No one is allowed to hurt you.”
Those promises still rang clearly in my ears.
Yet the man who said them… was now the one hurting me the most.
I lowered my head weakly, my ears ringing.
Blood covered my face. I had already lost count of how many times I’d begged for forgiveness.
When the bodyguards finally let go, I couldn’t hold on anymore and collapsed to the floor.
Just before the world went completely dark, I heard Gavin’s assistant shout in panic.
“Sir! Something’s wrong! Ma’am Izzy’s parents… They’ve stopped breathing!”
Gavin’s eyes widened. His grip on Frankie’s hand tightened unconsciously.
She cried out in pain, but he didn’t notice. His eyes were locked on the assistant.
“Keep this quiet. Don’t let Izzy find out. If anyone tells her, don’t blame me for what happens next.”
Frankie opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she immediately fell silent under Gavin’s dark, threatening stare.
I weakly reached out, trying to stay conscious.
But in the end, I was swallowed by endless darkness.
