I met his furious gaze.
I didn’t understand. I was complying. Why was he still angry?
He stared, then started to laugh.
“Fine. If you won’t drink it, then give us a live
reenactment of the video.”
I still didn’t react. I just wanted to leave.
My defiance enraged him. He gestured. The
guards grabbed me.
く
He ground my face into the floor. I choked
out, “Get off me!”
“Finally talking! Too late!”
He let me go after one last stomp, ordering
the guards to pour the broken glass and
spilled liquor into my mouth.
My eyes burned. I tried to scream, but
couldn’t.
Peter watched from the sofa. “Ready to give
up yet?”
This was his usual tactic.
I’d begged for mercy before, just to make it
stop.
<
Not today.. I closed my eyes.
The glass tore at my throat. When the guards
paused to refill the bottle, I coughed up blood
and alcohol.
Sarah looked at Peter.
He frowned. She strutted over to me.
She crouched down, spitting venom. “Think
playing dead will work? Trash like you should
just die.”
I ignored her. She kept pushing.
“Your real parents love me, the fake. Your
foster mom’s probably dead from kidney
failure. Your husband loves me. Why even
bother living? Let me help you out. It’ll be
<
She grabbed the bottle, ready to continue.
I looked at her and smiled. “You know the
owner of Enterprises‘ wife is a real piece
of work, right?”
Her hand shook. Her eyes went wide. “What
do you know?”
Before I could answer, Peter pulled her away.
“What the hell are you waiting for? Pour it
down her throat!”
The world went dark again. The paint
intensified.
I stopped fighting. I closed my eyes and
passed out.
く
Peter thought I was faking.
Then he saw the blood coming from my
mouth and between my legs. He dropped his
sunglasses, scooped me up, and ran to the
hospital.
Through the haze, I heard doctors yelling
orders, Peter screaming for them to save me.
I was so tired. I slipped away again.
I woke up three days later.
Peter looked relieved.
“Thought you were so tough. It’s just some
booze. Took you three days to wake up.”
I closed my eyes. He softened his voice. “Rest
up today. My surgery’s Monday. I need you
there.”
I opened my eyes and looked at him.
I was finally free.
Chapter 2
Peter was nowhere to be seen that day.
I wanted to visit my foster mom. She was in
the ICU of the same hospital. No one knew
she was there, no one cared, except for
Patrick.
I pulled out my IV and slowly got out of bed.
Just that simple movement sent waves of
pain through my abdomen.
く
My phone buzzed insistently. A sense of
dread washed over me.
It was Patrick. His voice was urgent.
“Your foster mother is fading fast. Where are
you? I’ll send a car.”
My heart dropped. I ran barefoot to the ICU.
Doctors were working frantically.
Patrick stood by the window.
“What happened to you?”
Tears streamed down my face. Grief, anger,
resentment… it all came pouring out.
“This is all Peter’s fault! And you helped him!
く
His eyes flashed. He gestured to his
assistant.
A pair of soft slippers appeared by my feet.
He helped me up. “Put these on.”
I didn’t move. I stared at my foster mom.
Time stretched and twisted. Every second felt
like an eternity.
Thirty minutes later, the doctor stopped. A
white sheet covered her.
I fainted.
I dreamed of swirling gray, a bright light in
the distance. My foster mom waved.
<
I ran toward her. “Mom! Don’t leave me! Take
me with you!”
The light seemed to hesitate, then brought
her closer.
I hugged her tight, sobbing. “Mom, take me with you!”
She sighed, stroked my hair like she used to. “Be good, Summer. Live your life.”
I woke up.
Patrick sat beside my bed, a signed check on
the pillow.
“I’ve taken care of everything. Your mother’s
ashes are at Green Hills Cemetery. This is for
<
I looked at the number.
“Three hundred and fifty thousand? For three
years as Peter’s plaything? You’re cheap, Patrick.”
He didn’t answer, just studied me.
I’d always been afraid of him, of his shrewd
gaze.
But not this time. I met his eyes.
He looked surprised.
He glanced at my chart, then wrote another
check, for a million dollars.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the miscarriage…
L
that it would… affect your ability to have
children.”
“You and Peter are family. No need to apologize. Just pay up.”
I took both checks and tucked them away.
He seemed to want to say more, but I didn’t respond. He left, telling me to rest.
As soon as he was gone, I finally let myself
cry.
Peter was back in the hospital that night, prepping for surgery.
He didn’t get to bed until ten.
He’d had a single bed added to his private
I didn’t want to talk, so I turned my back to
him.
I could feel his eyes on me.
I waited for some cruel prank.
Instead, he said, “Get some rest.
I almost thought I’d imagined it.
I waited, but he didn’t say anything else. I listened to his breathing even out, finally
believing he really meant it.
I didn’t sleep. The doctors woke him early.
He went through the pre–op routine, glancing
at me every now and then.
く
When I looked back, he’d quickly look away.
Sarah strutted in, gushing fake concern.
Peter ignored her. The doctor shushed her.
I followed his gurney to the operating room.
He kept looking back at me. The cruelty was gone from his eyes.
I looked away, uncomfortable.
Right before they wheeled him in, he called out to me. “Summer, when I get out of here…
I’ll get your eyes fixed. You’ll see again.”
The doctor leaned down. “Mr. Knight, we
need to begin. Please try to stay calm.”
<
He mumbled something and kept his eyes
locked on mine.
I glimpsed a vulnerability I didn’t want to explore. I murmured something back.
As soon as he was gone, Sarah cornered me.
“How did you know about me and the guy from? Tell me!”
I was too weak to deal with her. Patrick
appeared, rescuing me.
He led me to a waiting car, handed me a card
with the cemetery information.
“You’re really leaving? No regrets about the
Hayes family?”
く
I laughed bitterly.
I’d endured three years, signed two
agreements, all to get away.
One to sever ties with the Hayes family after the wedding.
The other to care for Peter while he funded
my foster mom’s treatment.
My foster mom was gone. There was no one
left to miss.
Patrick saw me thinking. “I know you
struggled. But the Hayes family gave you a better life, didn’t they?”
He didn’t understand.
