Dorothea didn’t understand what Jimmy was talking about, but she still turned to face him.
“Jimmy, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His expression darkened, his voice cold as ice.
“Dorothea, I know you’re upset. But I’ve already made it up to you. If the Bel Air villa isn’t enough, just tell me what you want.”
“But you crossed a line going after my child! You knew Chrisette has a severe pollen allergy, and you still hid pollen under the sheets?”
“She’s three years old, Dorothea. Three! How could you do something so cruel to her?”
Before his words had even fully settled, a slender figure rushed into the room.
Kim lunged straight at her like she’d lost her mind. Her nails scraped across Dorothea’s cheek, drawing blood as she screamed hysterically.
“I know you don’t like me moving in. I get that. But why would you take it out on my child?!”
“My kids are everything to me! Were you trying to kill her?!”
Her emotions spiraled out of control, and her vision went black as she nearly collapsed.
Jimmy caught her from behind.
He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly like she was something priceless and fragile.
Meanwhile, Dorothea stood there with blood running down her cheek, and he didn’t even spare her a glance.
She pressed a hand to her face and said again, steadily, “Jimmy, I’ll say this one last time. I didn’t do it.”
“You used to sleep in that room. Who else would’ve done something like that on purpose, knowing it would trigger Chrisette’s allergy?”
Jimmy stepped closer, pressing her harder.
“Dorothea, the evidence is right there. I’ll give you one last chance—”
She lifted her gaze, her eyes cold as she cut him off. “Or what?”
Kim, pale and trembling in his arms, combined with Dorothea’s defiant attitude, finally snapped whatever patience Jimmy had left.
“Dorothea, you’ve really disappointed me. You’re being difficult right now.”
He lifted a hand and gestured behind him.
“Do it. Let her experience what an allergic reaction actually feels like.”
Two bodyguards stepped forward, carrying a large bowl of peanuts.
Dorothea was severely allergic to peanuts. Even a handful was enough to cover her body in hives and leave her struggling to breathe.
They forced her down without hesitation. Before she could resist, they shoved the peanuts into her mouth.
To keep her from spitting them out, they immediately poured water down her throat.
She didn’t know how many peanuts they forced into her. All she knew was that the world began to spin, her vision blurring as her consciousness began to slip.
Through the haze, a memory surfaced: her first date with Jimmy. She had accidentally eaten peanuts back then and gone into a full allergic reaction.
To get her to the emergency room, he had run three red lights.
After that day, there had never been a single peanut in the villa.
But now, he stood not far away, holding Kim in his arms, watching everything unfold with cold eyes.
Only when Dorothea’s body broke out in hives, her breathing turning shallow and strained, on the verge of suffocation, did the bodyguards finally let go.
Dorothea collapsed onto the floor, too weak to even sit up.
Through her blurred vision, she saw Jimmy supporting Kim as they walked out.
His voice softened as he spoke to her, “Let’s go. Chrisette just woke up at the hospital. She’s asking for you.”
Dorothea watched as his figure disappeared completely from sight.
No. She couldn’t die here from an allergic reaction.
She had to live! She had to get out of the Hemenways alive!
Biting down hard on her lip, she forced herself to stay conscious. With trembling hands, she dialed emergency services.
When she woke up again, she was in a hospital room, an IV drip feeding anti-allergy medication into her veins.
Jimmy sat beside the bed, carefully applying ointment to the exposed areas of her skin.
When he saw her eyes open, he said flatly, “You’re awake? Don’t move. I’m not done applying the ointment yet.”
He continued what he was doing as he spoke.
“I know you feel like this is unfair, but Chrisette’s allergic reaction was really bad. And Kim just had a baby. She’s not in a stable place right now. If I didn’t handle this the way I did, people would talk.”
“I’ve already called in the best specialists in New York. You’ll be fine soon.”
“Once you’re discharged and feel better, whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”
From beginning to end, all he ever wanted was to keep her confined, controlled, possessed, and toyed with.
It didn’t matter anymore. Soon, she would be gone for good.
She just nodded obediently.
“Okay. I understand.”
After a week in the hospital, her condition finally improved, and she was cleared for discharge.
She returned to the villa alone. But the moment she pushed open the guest room door, she found Kim standing right in front of her.
