"If you leave... something bad will happen to me... please…"
Renald froze in his tracks. He turned to look at Lorraine, her eyes hazy and pleading under the dim light.
After a long moment of hesitation, he clenched his jaw, then hung up on my call.
Turning back, he gently helped her onto the bed.
"I'll stay with you until morning."
The video went dark after that. The only sounds left were a low, guttural groan and Lorraine's soft, satisfied laughter.
I felt as if I'd plunged into an ice-cold abyss. My fingers trembled as I clutched my phone, dialing his number again and again.
All through the night, I made over four hundred calls. But he didn't answer a single one.
When dawn finally broke, a message appeared on my screen. [I handled an emergency last night.]
A hollow laugh escaped me.
So this was his "emergency"—spending the night by another woman's bed.
...
The day I was discharged happened to be my birthday.
Renald came in person to pick me up. He even booked a private hall at an upscale restaurant for a small birthday celebration.
The venue was beautifully decorated, and he stayed by my side the entire evening.
After the cake was cut, he fastened a custom-made gold necklace around my neck, drawing murmurs of admiration from the guests.
To everyone else, I must have looked like the luckiest woman alive.
But to me, that necklace felt as heavy as a shackle pressing down on my chest.
Halfway through the banquet, I felt suffocated and excused myself to the restroom.
The moment I turned into the hallway, someone blocked my path.
"Well, if it isn't Mrs. Montgomery—the happiest woman tonight."
Lorraine leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed, mockery twisting her lips.
I didn't want to engage. I turned to leave, but she stepped forward, blocking me again.
"Renald must really adore you—throwing you a party, gifting you that expensive necklace. You must feel so proud."
"But when you called the police on me, didn't he force you to sign that forgiveness letter just to bail me out?"
"Do you even know how much he depends on me? Everything we've been through together... and yet you still cling to him shamelessly. Tell me, shouldn't I hate you for that?"
Each word was like a dull, poisoned blade, slicing deeper into a heart already scarred beyond repair.
My face was drained of color. I only wanted to get away. But she wouldn't let me.
In one swift motion, Lorraine grabbed my wrist, her nails digging deep into my skin.
"You survived last time... let's see if you're that lucky again!"
Before I could react, two burly men in work uniforms stepped out of the shadows. They grabbed me—one on each side—and dragged me down the hallway, ignoring my frantic struggles.
They shoved me into the top-floor lounge and locked the door.
Terror clawed at my throat. My strength was useless against theirs.
Lorraine's eyes gleamed with venom and twisted triumph.
"Danica, since Renald loves you so much, I'll destroy you completely! Let's see if he still wants a filthy, used-up woman after this!"
One of the men—a leering brute with a greasy smile—started to advance toward me.
I fought desperately, but despair swallowed me whole.
Lorraine lifted her phone, aiming the camera at me, preparing to record everything.
Just as that disgusting hand reached for my clothes—
BANG!
The door burst open, slamming against the wall.
Renald stormed in like a wild beast, fury radiating from every inch of him.
When he saw me pinned to the bed, my clothes torn, his eyes went bloodshot.
In one swift motion, he grabbed the man by the collar, hurled him over his shoulder, and slammed him to the floor. The man didn't even have time to scream before losing consciousness.
"Danica!"
He rushed to me, tearing away the restraints and pulling me into his arms.
"Don't be afraid! I'm here now—it's over."
Terror and humiliation surged up all at once, and I broke down sobbing against his chest.
He scooped me up, wrapping his jacket carefully around me, and headed for the door.
As we passed by Lorraine, he stopped.
His gaze turned cold—so cold it could kill.
