Chapter 2

Liana's POV

When Zane heard Vanessa taunting me, he lost what little restraint he had left and spat out a curse.

He pinned her down and went at her even harder, shutting her up completely.

From where I stood, I could clearly see the scar across his chest, now smeared with lipstick.

My stomach couldn't take any more, lurching and cramping violently.

During all the years I was sick, I kept hurting myself, no matter how hard I tried to stop. And every time I hurt myself, Zane would hurt himself twice as badly.

Over time, he ended up with even more scars than I had. More than once, he took it too far, losing so much blood that he had to be rushed to the ER.

Even at his weakest, barely lucid, he'd hold my hand tight and murmur through his tears, "Lia, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I failed to protect you. If you hurt, I'll hurt along with you. Don't leave me all alone."

As I remembered those heartfelt promises and apologies, my crutch slipped from my grip and clattered to the floor.

I couldn't hold it back any longer. I gagged and threw up violently.

The sounds from inside the room abruptly stopped.

The next second, the door flew open.

Zane opened his mouth to curse at whoever was outside, but the moment he saw me, every trace of lust vanished from his eyes.

"Lia?!"

Seeing me retching so hard that I could barely stand, he instinctively stepped toward me. But before he could reach me, Vanessa walked out behind him, pulling on a robe.

He quickly pulled his hand back. Instead of steadying me, he shifted in front of Vanessa, shielding her with his body.

"What are you doing out here? Get back inside!"

Seeing how guarded he was, I looked up into his eyes, my own bloodshot from throwing up. A dull ache throbbed through my chest with every breath I took.

"Zane, is this what you meant when you said you'd make her pay?"

Back when I was rescued, my injuries were so severe that I spent two full months in the ICU.

Zane had knelt by my hospital bed, his eyes bloodshot as he swore he'd make the scum who'd hurt me pay.

While I lay in a coma, he'd gone after them like a madman, showing them no mercy at all.

I'd always believed he was getting justice for me.

But now, the truth hit me like a slap in the face.

The Baileys hadn't been ruined at all. They had simply been sent overseas to enjoy their retirement. And Vanessa had never gone to prison. She'd been kept comfortable right under my nose for five whole years.

It turned out that all these years, I'd been the only one trapped in that pain.

Helplessness and resentment hit me all at once. I was just about to pull out my pregnancy test results and confront him with everything when Vanessa beat me to it. She shrugged as if it were nothing.

"Who says I haven't paid? Ever since you got crippled, Zane's been pent up, so he comes here to let it all out. Even after I got pregnant, he couldn't get enough. A few times, he went so hard that I ended up in the hospital. I've been paying with my body. Isn't that enough?"

"Pregnant?"

Zane whipped his head around, staring at her in disbelief.

Vanessa rubbed her belly and gave him a coy, pouty look. "Yeah. I'm just two months along. I kept telling you not to go so hard. What if you hurt the baby…"

Her lips kept moving, but I couldn't take in another word.

Only one thought echoed in my mind—Vanessa was pregnant.

I didn't even remember passing out.

When I came to, Zane was sitting by my hospital bed, holding my hand. He brought a glass of warm water to my lips and asked if anything still hurt, taking care of me just like he always had.

Judging by his expression, he didn't know that I was pregnant either.

Expressionless, I turned my head away from the glass.

Zane paused, then sat back in his chair.

After a long moment, he finally broke the silence. "Lia, it's been five years. You still can't let it go?"

His voice was hoarse, weariness creasing his brow.

"I kept Vanessa locked up in the chapel all these years to make her pay for what she did to you. She kept you prisoner for five months back then, and now she's been punished for five whole years. She's already paid for it many times over. Can't we just call it even?"

Call it even?

I stared at Zane in disbelief.

Maybe he'd forgotten. Right after I was rescued, that psycho Vanessa was so furious that she sent videos of me being assaulted straight to my family.

Mom couldn't take the shock. She immediately had a heart attack, followed by a stroke that left her in a vegetative state.

And Dad was killed in a car crash on his way to get justice for me. His body wasn't even intact when they brought him back.

I'd done nothing to deserve any of this.

Yet, my entire family had been destroyed, and I'd been living in hell ever since.

Zane actually believed that five years of something that barely even counted as punishment could make up for everything I'd suffered.

Thinking of Mom, still lying in a hospital bed, I laughed through the tears streaming down my face. Whatever hope I had left for Zane died in that moment.

"If you want to call it even, either I die or she dies."

After a brief pause, I added, "Let's get a divorce. I'll get justice for myself."