My half-sister, Edwina Carpenter, miraculously recovered after two years of paralysis. I went to her celebration party, holding flowers in my hand.
But as I walked outside the banquet hall, I overheard Edwina and her sisters chatting and laughing.
"Deana's mother truly lives up to her reputation as a dancer; even in her forties, her legs are still so beautiful."
"Yes, if it were not for Auntie's 'sacrifice' of her legs, how could Edwina have stood up so quickly?"
My mind went blank and my feet froze on the spot.
Edwina sweetly chimed in, "I have to thank Renaldo for this. If it were not for him, I would never have been able to dance in my life."
Through the crack in the door, I saw my fiancé sitting comfortably on the sofa. He pulled Edwina into his arms, his eyes tender, his tone suffocatingly calm, "Edwina is only twenty. These legs are more valuable to you than to anyone else."
"But you faked a car accident for me. What if my sister finds out?"
"The person was burned to ashes. Deana will never find out. I only wanted those legs.”
“Who knew the driver would accidentally kill her?" Renaldo Robbins spoke casually, as if discussing the weather. "Besides, if she had not drugged my drink two years ago, how could I have married a woman more boring than a block of wood?"
Every word was like a poisoned knife, cutting my heart raw.
So, my mother's car accident a month ago was not an accident, but a carefully orchestrated conspiracy by the person I loved most.
So, what I thought was two years of knowing and loving each other was just wishful thinking on my part—drugging him.
Then I'll grant them their wish.
But I will never let my mother die in vain.
Wiping away my tears, I dialed my uncle's number. "Uncle, Mom's death was not an accident. I want them... to pay for their crimes in blood."
***
"Okay, I'll pick you up in five days."
After hanging up, I glanced at Edwina in the private room and saw her eyes suddenly redden.
Her fingers clutched helplessly at the white dress at her chest, her voice choked with sobs, "But Auntie died because of me, Renaldo, I'm so heartbroken."
Renaldo placed his right hand on the back of her hand, gently rubbing that skin, his eyes full of pity, "Silly girl, I will never stand by and watch you suffer for the rest of your life.”
“Her death has nothing to do with you, do not think such things."
I clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging deep into my flesh.
You could not bear to see her suffer, but my mother deserved to die?
How noble was your love that you have to use someone else's life as a sacrifice, Renaldo?!
Besides, how exactly did Edwina break her leg?
Two years ago, she and some male classmates went into the mountains late at night for some "wild sex."
They got carried away and she fell off a cliff, shattering both her legs. Yet Renaldo still firmly believes her lie that she was "heroically injured while saving her classmates."
He pulled her onto his lap, lowered his head and kissed her trembling lips, comforting her gently, as if handling fragile porcelain.
"Mr. Robbins really dotes on Edwina!" one of his girlfriends exclaimed enviously. "Two years ago, it was because Edwina was paralyzed that Mr. Robbins was afraid she could not handle it and could not bear to touch her, which is why he got engaged to Deana."
Another chuckled and added, "Now that Edwina's legs are healed, that bitch who got ahead by drugging him should know better and leave, right?"
A sharp pain shot through my chest, but two years ago I did not drug Renaldo at all.
That night, in the party corridor, I bumped into a disoriented Renaldo. Before I could react, he dragged me into a nearby room.
The Robbins and Carpenter families were old friends and I had long admired this man. When his burning kiss landed, I did not push him away.
The next morning, Renaldo looked at the dark red stain on the sheets, remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I'll go to your house to propose in a couple of days."
The ecstasy I felt then transformed into the sharpest ice pick, piercing my heart.
It turned out he could not bear to touch the recently paralyzed Edwina, so he chose me as a substitute.
A bitter, rusty taste rose in my throat. I turned to run away, but Edwina's sweet voice drifted over again, "I heard my sister is pregnant again. Are you going to 'dispose' of her this time?"
My feet froze on the spot.
Renaldo's voice was distant and contemptuous, so cold it chilled me to the bone, "I won't let that kind of woman bear my child. I will compensate her for her mother's death.”
“But to give birth to the Robbins family heir? She doesn’t deserve it."
I covered my mouth tightly, my whole body trembling violently.
Two years of engagement, five miscarriages.
I thought it was my body that was failing me and I cried countless times in the dead of night, feeling so sorry for Renaldo.
A few days ago, I found out I was pregnant again. Seeing the shock flash across his face, I foolishly thought it was a happy surprise.
But it turned out he never intended for me to keep his child. Yet he never used contraception.
Once, I cautiously brought it up, but he frowned and said it would be uncomfortable, so I had no choice but to let him be.
Renaldo had already carried Edwina into the private room within the VIP suite, their laughter continuing.
"Ugh, they cannot even wait a night at a hotel."
"Mr. Robbins is so passionate and Edwina's leg has just healed. They're like dry wood meeting a raging fire; they won't stop until the whole night."
"Who told Deana to only have such a pretty face? She has not satisfied Mr. Robbins in the past two years."
My phone rang. It was a message from Renaldo, [I'm entertaining clients tonight and I don’t want to disturb your rest by getting home too late, so I'll stay at the company.]
My stomach churned. I collapsed into a corner and gagged violently, but nothing came up; only bile burned my throat.
Suddenly, some scenes I once considered "warm" resurfaced like a nightmare.
