My head slammed hard against the wall before I finally snapped back to my senses.
Leland rushed over and scooped Shanna off the floor, holding her tight as he stared at the red marks on her face with heart-wrenching concern.
Then he turned to look at me—his eyes cold, as if he were staring at a stranger who’d lost her mind.
“Charmaine! Are you crazy?”
It was the first time he had ever snapped at me because of another woman.
I was still dizzy from hitting the wall when Shanna’s sobs rang out first.
Curled up in his arms, she clutched his shirt with teary eyes. “Leland, this is the fiancée you chose?
“I just saw Hawkeye dragging something in his mouth. I was afraid it was something dirty, so I tossed it aside. I swear I didn’t mean it!
“But Charmaine attacked me without even asking what happened. No matter how I tried to apologize, she just kept hitting me…”
Leland held her even tighter. When he looked back at me, his eyes were even colder.
The back of my head throbbed, and the cut on my calf burned like fire.
I forced myself to ignore the pain and tried to defend myself, but the moment I opened my mouth, he cut me off impatiently.
“Did I tolerate you too much? Is that why you’ve become so entitled and out of control?
“Charmaine. I’m really disappointed in you. Today, you will give Shanna an explanation.”
Before I could react, he was already shouting for the bodyguards outside.
Two of them rushed in immediately, grabbing my arms with hands as hard as metal clamps.
It was so tight it felt like they were going to crush my bones.
“Hit her. However many times she slapped Shanna, hit her ten times more. When you’re done, lock her in her room, and make her reflect on what she did. No one is allowed to interfere!”
After giving the order, Leland carried Shanna in his arms—like something precious—and headed straight for the hospital.
Meanwhile, the dull thuds of the blows raining down on me echoed through the empty hall. Yet, he never once turned around or even glanced my way, as if none of what was happening behind him had anything to do with him.
I stared at his disappearing figure, and the cold despair inside me kept spreading.
One blow. Two blows… It was fifty full-force slaps. Even the bodyguard’s hand had started to ache, but I just gritted my teeth and endured it, not even letting out a cry for mercy.
By the final slap, my face was swollen beyond recognition. My vision blurred, a buzzing filled my ears, and my legs could barely hold me up.
The next second, the bodyguards tossed me into the room like they were dumping trash.
I hit the freezing floor hard, my back slamming against the corner of the wall. A sharp, biting pain shot through me, forcing a muffled groan from my throat.
Curled up on the cold floor, I muttered, “Six more days… I never want to see you again, Leland.”
My eyelids grew so heavy that I couldn’t lift them anymore, and soon, everything went black.
That night, I had the longest dream.
In it, my dad hadn’t betrayed our family yet.
My mom was still in the kitchen, smiling as she called me to dinner.
And I was still the little girl everyone held in their palms like something precious.
But that happiness was too light, too fragile. Before I could hold onto it, a bucket of ice-cold water crashed down over my head and yanked me violently back into reality.
I shot upright, choking and coughing. When I opened my eyes, I realized—I wasn’t in the locked bedroom at all.
