Chapter 3`
In front of me, Veronica pretended to act all responsible. “Ruben, I really didn’t know about this. But since it was someone close to me who did it, I should give you an explanation.”
She wiped her eyes and sighed. “Actually, the bodyguard saw me being yelled at and just couldn’t stand it, so he taught Elise a lesson.
“But in the end, it’s because Elise just lost her baby and her emotions are unstable…”
The more she talked, the more pitiful she sounded, and Ruben’s eyes slowly softened.
She pushed her two bodyguards forward and made them apologize to
- me.
I could not stand to watch anymore, but Ruben grabbed my chin and forced me to accept the apology. His cold voice whispered in my ear.
“Remember your place. You’re just a dog your family sent here to say sorry. No one else can touch you but me. Understand?”
I nodded a little. I understood.
He did not want to lose me because he did not want to lose control over
- me.
Because I was too weak to get out of bed, Ruben did not come to see me for a few days.
For the first time ever, he had people feed me all kinds of nutritious
DOOD OTONDOCADO
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food to help me heal. He even showed up to watch me put medicine on my wounds himself, saying if I did not get better, no one could calm his restless mind and body.
Under his watch, I had no choice but to eat everything and take all the medicine. Slowly, I could finally stand up again.
With just one day left before I could escape, I stayed as quiet and low- key as possible. I did not say a word all day unless I had to.
Still, it could not stop Veronica from coming to cause trouble one more time.
When I woke up that day, she was suddenly standing at the end of my bed. “How have you been resting lately? Feeling any better?” she asked sweetly, but her smile was sharp like a snake’s fangs.
I felt a chill down my spine and asked stiffly, “What do you want now?”
Veronica suddenly started crying. “Elise, why are you so mean? Are you guarding yourself against me?”
At that moment, the door flew open and Ruben walked in.
She threw herself into his arms and sobbed, “Ruben, Elise ripped the photo we took when we were 18!”
My eyelids twitched.
“Ruben, I just came to visit Elise and chat a bit. I didn’t expect that when I took out the photo, she…‘
”
My face went pale. “I didn’t do it!”
Two torn pieces of paper hit the floor. I looked closer, and it was a
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photo of Veronica and Ruben celebrating their coming–of–age ceremony
in San Francisco.
Now it was split right down the middle.
I stumbled out of bed and forced myself to stand in front of Ruben, trying to stay calm. “Mr. Errard, I know my place. I’ve never tried to marry above my station.”
When Ruben heard that, a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes. However, before he could say anything, Veronica’s driver suddenly stepped up and said, “Mr. Errard, I saw it myself. Ms. Elise grabbed the photo from Ms. Veronica’s hand and ripped it in half. She also said… She also said…”
He hesitated, then added loudly, “She said since Veronica was already married, she should stop dreaming about being Mrs. Errard. She also called her fickle and shameless.”
Hearing that, Ruben’s face darkened. He glared at me and clenched his jaw.
“So this is what you mean by ‘knowing your place‘? By ‘never trying to marry above your station‘? Hah!”
He scoffed. “I guess I’ve been too nice lately. You really think I can’t live without you, huh?”
He turned to the assistants behind him. “Slap her until she admits it. The louder the slap, the bigger the bonus.”
The assistants jumped at the chance. They swung at me as hard as they could, trying to make the loudest sound possible. It was as if they were testing how loud they could go.
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My face swelled up fast. Blood and tears hit the floor, mixing together.
However, I just clenched my teeth and said nothing.
The room echoed with sharp, dull smacks. After every hit, Ruben would ask, “Do you admit you were wrong?”
Each time, my mouth filled with blood, but I forced out, “I’m not wrong. I didn’t do it…”
Ruben’s face turned pale with rage. Anger burned in his eyes as he turned to leave.
“Fine. Then I’ll have them keep beating you until you say you’re wrong.”
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