I was placed under complete house arrest. She confiscated my phone and all my documents.
Every day, I was locked inside the villa with nowhere to go.
She went to the office during the day and came home at night to torture me in new and creative ways.
At meals, she had the housekeeper prepare dishes she knew made me sick. At night, she cranked the air conditioning down to its lowest setting and let me freeze.
Eventually, she started bringing Simon home.
They'd hold each other, kiss, touch—right in front of me.
"Sarah, Mr. Kaufman is watching," Simon murmured, nestling against her.
Sarah spared me a passing glance.
"He's just a disobedient toy. Ignore him."
I sat on the couch and watched their little performance. It didn't stir a single ripple inside me.
If anything, I found it laughable.
In my previous life, I'd been kept in the dark, drowning in agony. Now all I felt was disgust.
I stood up to head back to my room.
Simon called out to me.
"Mr. Kaufman, could you pour me a glass of water?"
I didn't bother acknowledging him and kept walking.
Sarah's voice cracked like a whip.
"Stop."
"Simon asked you to pour him water. Are you deaf?"
I paused and turned around.
"You dragged me back to marry you. Was it so I could be your servant?"
Sarah closed the distance in two strides, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and wrenched my head back.
"Husband?" she sneered.
"You think you deserve that title?"
"Roland, I married you for one reason—to make you suffer."
"Your father destroyed Simon's family. Ruined everything he had. That debt falls on you."
I froze.
My father destroyed Simon's family?
That was absurd. My father ran a clean business. He would never have hurt anyone.
"That's bullshit!"
I thrashed against her grip.
Sarah shoved me away.
"Deny it all you want."
"Either way, you'll spend the rest of your life paying for it."
She turned to Simon, her voice softening instantly.
"Simon, how would you like to punish him?"
Simon stared at me.
"Sarah, I've been getting dizzy a lot lately. The doctor says I'm anemic."
"Why don't we have Mr. Kaufman donate some blood?"
Sarah agreed without hesitation.
"Done."
She called in a private doctor. Several people pinned me down on the table and drew a full eight hundred milliliters of blood.
My vision went black. Cold seeped through every inch of my body. I collapsed on the floor, too weak to even lift a finger.
Sarah looked down at me. There wasn't a shred of pity in her eyes.
"This is just the beginning."
"Roland, everything you owe Simon—I'm going to take it back from you. Piece by piece."
For days after the blood draw, my fever refused to break.
Sarah wouldn't allow a doctor. She only had the housekeeper force bitter herbal concoctions down my throat each day.
I was too weak to get out of bed.
Simon, on the other hand, made a habit of coming to my room to gloat.
"Roland, you really are pathetic right now."
He traced a finger along my cheek.
"Sarah doesn't love you. She never did. Every time she touches you, it makes her skin crawl."
"Your wedding night? She actually..."
He paused on purpose, covering his mouth as a giggle slipped out.
"She actually hired a streetwalker to keep you company."
"Too bad you ran off before you got to enjoy it."
I opened my eyes and fixed them on him.
Even though I already knew the truth, hearing it spoken aloud still turned my stomach.
I forced myself upright and slapped him across the face.
"Get out!"
Simon yelped and tumbled to the floor.
Footsteps sounded outside the door. Sarah rushed in.
The moment she saw Simon on the ground, the color drained from her face. She dropped to her knees beside him.
"Simon, are you okay?"
Simon clutched his cheek, tears streaming down.
"Sarah, I just felt sorry for Mr. Kaufman. I only came to check on him."
