Chapter 2

Back then, the fragile sanity I had only just managed to piece back together shattered once more. I lost control and lunged at Jolene, grappling with her.

I had recorded a video and was ready to send it to Jolene's mother-in-law.

Donald slapped me and stopped me. "I was just in a bad mood. I'd had too much to drink. If you can't accept it, then let's get divorced!"

In a bad mood?

Back then, nothing frightened me more than the thought of him being unhappy. Unhappy with how tainted my body had become. Unhappy about the cursed child growing inside me.

I dropped to my knees and begged him bitterly.

I refused to divorce him. I even pounded frantically at my own stomach.

Pathetically, I convinced myself that Donald's affair was the cursed child's fault.

It was my fault.

Donald pulled me into his arms as I fell apart. "Nia, don't do this. You've already had one miscarriage. If you miscarry again, you might have trouble getting pregnant afterward."

That was his reason for urging me to keep the child.

Only now did I understand that he had never been concerned about my health. He simply had not wanted his foster sister's dream of becoming lady of the house to die stillborn in my womb.

When my face turned ghostly pale, Donald assumed the word "divorce" had frightened me again.

He softened his voice. "Nia, as long as you behave, the three of us can live a good life together. You're tired today. Get some rest. I'll take care of the baby."

That night, Harold cried and fussed three or four times in the next room.

Donald soothed him alone. He did not come to me, and I did not go to him.

The next day was Harold's one-month celebration.

I sat in the room and listened to the guests gush over how adorable the baby was. I felt nothing at all.

The bedroom door suddenly opened, and a sweet, delicate voice rang out. "Nia, why won't you come out?"

Jolene walked in with five-year-old Benjamin by the hand.

The moment Benjamin saw me, he ran straight over and threw himself into my arms. "Auntie, Benny missed you so much!"

His small face looked almost exactly like Levi's, but his eyes bore a striking resemblance to mine.

I had never been able to understand why. Now, I finally did.

My stomach churned violently.

I shoved Benjamin away as if I had seen a ghost and screamed, "Get away from me! Don't touch me!"

Benjamin landed hard on his backside and froze in shock.

Meanwhile, Jolene smiled.

In the past, whenever she saw Benjamin getting close to me, she would needle me with one snide remark after another.

Last Mother's Day, Benjamin had given me a gift too.

Jolene had flown into a rage and deliberately kissed Donald right in front of me. "You steal my son, I'll steal your husband!"

I had tried to lunge at her and tear into her, but Donald had held me back. "You already accepted her son's Mother's Day gift. I just got kissed once. It's nothing!"

All I could do was lose control and smash everything in sight.

But Jolene seemed to find my breakdowns amusing. Whenever Benjamin showed me affection, she would become intimate with Donald.

Then she would hide behind Donald's protection and smile as she watched me lose my mind again and again.

Jolene glanced at Benjamin on the floor but made no move to pick him up. "What's wrong with you, Nia? Benny loves you so much. He just wants to be close to you.

"While you were in confinement, he begged every single day to come see you."

Just then, Donald walked in with Harold in his arms.

He frowned at Jolene in displeasure. "Didn't I tell you not to bring him?"

After Jolene coaxed Benjamin out of the room, she looped her arm affectionately through Donald's and pouted. "I thought Nia would want to hold her own son!"

So she already knew what Donald had confessed to me. She had brought Benjamin here on purpose to torment me.

With a roar, I grabbed the vase beside me and hurled it at her.

Donald yanked Jolene out of the way, his eyes blazing with fury. "Begonia, have you lost your mind?"

"Yes, I've lost my mind!"

I lunged at Jolene and grabbed her by the throat.

The next second, Donald kicked me away.

Whether he did it on purpose or by accident, I could not tell. His foot struck me squarely in the stomach. My barely healed womb felt as though it had torn open all over again.

Cold sweat drenched me from the pain.

"Nia..." A flicker of pity crossed Donald's eyes, and he started toward me.

Suddenly, thick smoke billowed through the doorway and flooded the room.

"Fire! There's a fire!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Donald grabbed Jolene and ran for the door.

I had only recently finished my recovery, and Donald's kick had left me with no strength to run.

The smoke choked me. I was on the verge of passing out when a figure rushed into the room. "Begonia, where are you?"

I forced my eyes to focus on the man's face.

The moment I recognized him, my entire body went rigid. Every agonizing memory crashed over me at once.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" I screamed like a madwoman and fought with everything I had.

But Levi Sinclair pinned my arms and legs down without mercy, just as he had in that dark little room. "Stop moving! Do you want to die?"

His touch was worse than death.

I struggled and screamed until I had no strength left. Then I retched over and over.

Once we reached safety, Levi, furious after I had clawed at him the entire way, threw me to the ground.

I hit hard. Everything went black, and I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, Donald was nowhere by my side. He had only called me once.

"I'm sorry. Jojo was closest to me at the time, and I had Harold in my arms… But once I got outside, I told Levi to go save you...

"I've been busy lately with Harold and the aftermath of the fire. While you're in the hospital, I'll have Levi look after you."