Emily moved to the window, desperately hoping for an escape route, only to find it bolted shut. Outside, she spotted several men in black stationed around the villa. Her heart sank. “Am I really going to be trapped here and… violated?”The doorknob rattled, and panic set in. She frantically searched for a place to hide, her wide eyes darting around the room. But there was nowhere—no closet, no corner that could shield her.In another room, an obese man sat in the shadows, a cigar perched between his yellowed teeth. He exhaled thick plumes of smoke, his eyes glued to the monitor displaying Emily’s panicked attempts to conceal herself. A low, vile chuckle escaped his throat, dripping with satisfaction.The rattling stopped, and the door creaked open. Emily held her breath, her body rigid with fear. But instead of the kidnapper, two maids stepped inside.Without a word, the women grabbed her by the arms and led her into the bathroom. One began filling the bathtub with water, while t
“Well, well, Miss Yates,” the man sneered, his voice dripping with satisfaction. “It’s been a few days, and you’re still as defiant as ever. Trying to escape, were you? I guess you don’t realize just how hidden this place is.”He had been watching her through the surveillance cameras the entire time she was rummaging around the room.He had grown tired of submissive women. What thrilled him now was taming someone like a wild horse.When Emily saw Jack walk through the door, the anxiety and fear that had gripped her heart turned into dread.“Jack, how dare you kidnap me? Aren’t you afraid Justin will come after you for this?” she shouted.Jack burst into laughter, as if she had just told him the most absurd joke. “Do you think you can fool me? If I didn’t know the two of you are just in a contractual relationship, I might’ve fallen for your tricks again, like last time.”His expression shifted from mocking to menacing as he took slow, deliberate steps toward her. Emily instinctive
The pain was overwhelming—searing lashes from the whip, the burning cigar pressed against her thigh, and now, sharp cramps wracking her lower abdomen. Tears slid down Emily’s face, pooling at the corners of her eyes as despair threatened to swallow her.“Babies,” she thought, her mind flickering to the tiny lives growing inside her. “I once wanted to get rid of you, but not this time. If we survive this together, I swear I’ll keep you. No matter what happens.”Jack’s beady eyes gleamed with twisted satisfaction as he watched her writhe in pain, her screams feeding his sick enjoyment.“Scream louder! Come on, louder!” he taunted, but something about her cries still didn’t satisfy him, not like that night in Justin’s office. Frustration flickered in his expression as he tossed the cigar aside.“Why go through all this pain? Wouldn’t it be easier to just let me have my fun? Then I’d let you go,” he said, smirking as he stripped off his robe.Emily glared at him with pure hatred, re
“Ugh… cough…” Emily couldn’t breathe as Jack’s hands tightened around her neck. Her bloodied mouth was forced open, and she felt like she was on the brink of death. With a loud bang, the door was violently kicked open from the outside. Justin burst into the room first, and the sight before him made his blood boil with rage. Without a second’s hesitation, he charged toward the bed, veins bulging in his clenched fists. He grabbed Jack’s wrist with such force that it snapped, prying his hands off Emily’s neck and freeing her.Emily gasped for air, coughing violently as she spit the blood from her mouth. “Cough… pfft…” Justin grabbed her arms, pulling them from around Jack’s neck, then swung a punch that landed squarely on Jack’s head. “You dare lay a hand on my woman?” Justin growled. Grabbing Jack like he was nothing more than dead weight, he yanked him off the waterbed and threw him to the floor. Without hesitation, he delivered a furious stomp between Jack’s legs.“Ahhh
Among the videos, there was one of Emily, but it only showed her being beaten and tortured, as Jack hadn’t succeeded in assaulting her. Fortunately, the video hadn’t been uploaded yet, as the police had arrived just in time to prevent it.When Justin saw the footage alongside the police, his expression turned icy, and a dangerous glint appeared in his narrowed eyes, betraying the storm brewing within him. The Griffin family would likely disappear from Lincourt City completely.“Police Chief Leonard, could you help me ensure this footage is permanently deleted?” Justin asked.The police chief nodded and, in Justin’s presence, instructed an officer to permanently erase Emily’s video from their records.A police officer approached Emily to take her statement. Justin immediately tried to refuse, eager to take her to the hospital, but Emily overheard and chose to cooperate. She didn’t want to make another trip to the station or have the police come questioning her later. The female
The burn mark on her thigh was quite severe, and the doctor mentioned that it would most likely leave a scar, though it could be treated with corrective surgery.“Thank you, Doctor,” Emily replied politely.Emily wanted to return home, but Justin and Helen were adamant that she stay in the hospital for observation overnight. Unable to convince the two, she reluctantly agreed to remain.Later that evening, Justin and Helen got into an argument over who would stay with Emily. Both insisted on staying to watch over her and refused to leave. Unable to reach an agreement, they both stayed—Helen in the hospital room and Justin in the attached suite. Fortunately, Lichfield Hospital was private, and the bed in the room was large enough to accommodate both Emily and Helen. Before they went to sleep, a nurse came in to administer a sedative to Emily. Justin had suggested it, worried that the trauma of her kidnapping might cause her to have nightmares or restless sleep.“No, I’m fine,”
It turned out that the text Emily sent never went through. Justin, noticing that she hadn’t returned home, initially thought she had left and gone on the run. He went to block her at Helen’s house, but when she wasn’t there, he realized she had gone missing. Justin contacted the police chief, while Helen reached out to Richard. Together, they scoured surveillance footage across the city to locate Emily. Richard, being quicker than the police, hacked into the surveillance system and tracked down the car Emily had been taken in. He informed Helen, who then relayed the information to Justin. This led to their timely arrival at the villa, where they rescued Emily just in time. “You don’t know how worried Justin was,” Helen said, growing emotional as she recounted the events. “Before he even came to find me, he was already searching for you at the airports and train stations. In just a few hours, he practically turned Lincourt City upside down.”Helen added with a sigh, “And that
At first, Emily found Evelyn’s chatter pleasant, but as time went on, she began to feel it was a bit much. She glanced at Helen with a look that clearly signaled for help.Helen picked up on Emily's silent plea for help and quickly stepped in, grabbing Evelyn’s arm. “Mom, my sister needs rest right now, not your endless questions.”Emily, being older than Helen, didn’t mind being called “sister.” She assumed Helen was simply behaving herself in front of her parent and refraining from her usual antics.Evelyn shot a disapproving glance at Helen and scolded her. “And you, running away from home at your age without so much as a phone call? Do you know how worried I was?”“Yes, yes, I was wrong,” Helen admitted quickly, nodding as if to pacify her mother. “But see? I’m fine now, and I even brought you a surprise.”Finally finding a chance to speak, Emily looked at Richard and said, “Thank you, Richard. I’ve heard from Helen what you did.”“Thank me for what?” Richard grinned cheerful
Haley shook her head quickly, flustered. “No… I mean—no.” Then she realized how that sounded and corrected herself. “Actually, yes. I’m just hot.”Helen blinked in confusion. “Hot? The classroom has air conditioning. Was the sunlight from the window hitting her seat?” Helen wondered.Without missing a beat, she rushed over and tugged the curtains tighter, making sure her bestie didn’t get “sunburned.” She still needed Haley to hold onto that top spot. Otherwise, she would lose her excuse at home for going out to “study” with Zac.The pressure and tension of senior year finally came to a close. On the day of the college entrance exam, when everyone stepped out of the test hall for the last time, their faces lit up with genuine smiles—relaxed, free, and full of relief.Haley tossed aside her textbooks. Her summer break was filled with makeup shopping trips with Helen or third-wheeling her and Zac on their study-dates-turned-real-dates.That routine came to an end the d
Haley’s eyes shifted as she thought quickly. “But… I don’t really like guys who rank higher than me on exams.”She gave a light shrug and continued, “I mean, I think we should be focusing on school right now. Relationships can wait until after we get into college, right? What if we don’t even end up at the same school? Long-distance never works, and after a while, we’d probably drift apart. Don’t you think?”Was that a gentle rejection? It seemed like it. Haley wondered if she had been too blunt. Had she left him any dignity at all?They still had a whole year of high school left together. She didn’t want things to get awkward between them. A harsh rejection would only make everything more uncomfortable.Justin furrowed his brows, thinking for a long moment before giving a single reply. “Okay.”Then he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked off.Haley stood there, completely confused.“Okay? What did he mean by that?“Did he understand what I was trying to say?
Emma and her little clique of schoolyard mean girls had Justin completely surrounded.“I’ll ask you one more time,” she said, smug and unbothered. “Will you be my boyfriend or not?”“No,” Justin replied coldly, his face unreadable.“Hey!” one of Emma’s loyal followers stepped forward, cracking her knuckles and getting way too close. “Do you even know who our Emma is? She’s the heiress of the Xander Corporation. She’s giving you a chance, and you should be grateful. You better say yes.”“What, you want us to beat you up before you agree?” another girl sneered.Justin didn’t flinch. His icy stare locked onto the girl who spoke, completely unbothered by the threat.Emma waved a hand to hold her crew back, pretending to be generous. Then she turned to Justin again, cocky and bold.“I like you way too much to have anyone rough you up,” she said sweetly. “But I heard you’re trying to get into Altiplano University in the capital. Here’s the deal—if you go out with me, I’ll have my dad
As soon as Justin sat down and pulled out the textbook for the next class, a hand suddenly reached out from beside him.“Hey, I’m Zac White,” Zac said.Justin glanced up with a cold look, then went right back to pulling out his notebook and pen—completely ignoring the extended hand.Zac awkwardly pulled his hand back, speechless.“Man… this guy’s seriously cold. What a show-off,” he thought to himself.The class flew by. When the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, Haley and Helen linked arms and headed off toward the bathroom. Zac immediately trailed after them.“Where are you two going? Take me with you.”“You planning on going into the girls’ bathroom, you perv?” Helen smacked his hand away, not wanting their classmates—or worse, their teacher—to get any ideas about the two of them dating.Zac scratched his nose. “Fine, I won’t go in the girls’ room… but I can go to the guys’ one, can’t I?”“Hmph!” Helen huffed, scrunching her nose playfully.Zac clutched his chest
At a top-ranked high school in Lincourt City, the bell rang.Students still lingering in the hallways or restrooms were urged to hurry back to class.Outside, the summer heat simmered, accompanied by the steady buzz of cicadas. Inside, the air-conditioned classrooms offered a much more comfortable escape.In Class 2–1 of the junior year, students hurried back to their seats. Just as the final chime faded, the homeroom teacher walked in, holding a stack of freshly graded exam papers.“For this round of mock exams,” she announced, loud and clear, “the top score in the entire grade once again goes to our very own Haley!”A wave of murmurs and applause followed. “Let’s all work hard and try to catch up to her next time!”She began handing out the papers in order, from the highest score to the lowest.After Haley got her paper, the next few went to her seatmate, Helen, and the student sitting behind them—Zac.“Work hard and catch up?” Helen muttered as she slid back into her seat, s
But what did it matter, even if she still loved him? The pain he caused her in the past was still there, lingering beneath the surface.They had loved, they had hurt, they had been entangled for years. But not every love story had to end with forgiveness and reconciliation.Haley couldn’t pretend the past hadn’t happened. She couldn’t smile and pick up where they left off, as if nothing had ever gone wrong.She would always remember that street in Merika State, when Justin turned away, picked Emma up in his arms, and left her standing there alone.Even if he had mistaken someone else for her, the pain he caused and the love he failed to give were real.And that wasn’t something she could ever forget.She could make peace with the past, but she could never erase it.Her heart ached, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned and walked away.*Years later, Haley passed away peacefully in her bedroom at the estate.That same day, Justin had gone out to the grocer
It was just a shame that life rarely worked out the way people wanted it to.*Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.Chase and Alex had grown taller and older. Haley’s once-small jewelry brand had not only found its place in the industry—it had grown into a globally recognized luxury label, known for bespoke, high-end pieces.As for Justin, he split his time between Haven State and Merika State. Whenever he wasn’t busy, he would shamelessly camp out at the estate, claiming he was just there to “see the kids.”Eventually, no one even bothered to call him out on it anymore.One day, Haley had a business meeting with a potential partner—a widowed single father. Somehow, Justin caught wind of a rumor that the man had feelings for Haley and was actively pursuing her. Word had it that she was interested too, and they were currently having dinner together at a restaurant.The second Justin heard that, he canceled a company meeting, boarded his private jet, and flew straight to Mer
As soon as Haley stepped into the room, Justin followed right behind her.It was the first time he had ever set foot in Haley’s room—the space where she lived in Merika State.“Get out!” she snapped.“Haley, I just wanted to see you. Please don’t make me leave, okay?”His eyes scanned the room. The walls, the shelves—everything was filled with Haley’s photos. There was even a custom-built glass display case, clearly made with love, housing her pictures from childhood to adulthood. It was something Evelyn had put together just for her, and it overflowed with affection.There were portraits of her alone, family pictures, and right at the top—photos of Chase and Alex.Justin looked at each one carefully, as if he were trying to piece together a life he hadn’t been part of, but desperately wished he had been.Then his gaze landed on a particular photo: Haley in her teens, wearing a soft pink-and-white hoodie with little bunny ears on the hood. Her pale skin, big round eyes, and brig
“Haley…” Justin’s voice was weak. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t even know where to start.“I heard you’re sick?” Haley said.“I… I’m fine. I’m not really sick, I just—”“Take care of yourself. Heart problems aren’t like other illnesses. Just look forward. Let go of the past. Meet someone new. Live your life.”Justin fell silent. His head dropped, and the phone pressed against his ear was clenched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles turned white. He wrestled with the words for a long moment before finally managing to force out.“Okay.”But he knew. He wouldn’t meet someone new. Without Haley, what kind of life could he possibly call “living”?The call ended. Life went back to its quiet rhythm. Justin no longer clung to Haley or tried to find her. After one more day in the hospital, he threw himself back into work and took over the reins of RC Corporation.They had truly managed to part on peaceful terms.After returning to Merika State, Haley d