Chapter 3

"Does Bran hate Summer because she's pregnant with my child?" Jordan asked. "Does he hate Rachel too now?"

He hurried forward and grabbed my arm. His voice was thick with tears when he blubbered, "What happened between Summer and me was an accident, Bran. I'll give you the child after they're born. So, don't be mad and don't cut ties with Rachel, okay?"

Although his voice was soft and gentle, there was a malicious glint in his eyes. When his hands brushed against the scars on my arm, he intentionally dug his fingers into them.

Black spots exploded in my vision from the pain. Unable to help myself, I shoved him away.

Jordan let out a sharp cry as he staggered backward and stumbled to the floor. "Why did you push me, Bran?" he asked, looking at me with innocent eyes that were wide with shock.

I was slapped hard across the face in the next second. Half of my face immediately turned numb, while the metallic taste of blood permeated my mouth.

Rachel berated me with a darkened and pained expression. "How dare you push Jordan when you know that he has a weak constitution? It seems that you've become even crueler now compared to five years ago."

Summer shot a cold look at me. Her eyes were devoid of warmth when she spat, "You want to get a divorce, right? I'll grant your wish. But you have to attend Jordan's celebratory party first. Also, you have to admit to everyone there that Jordan is a more talented designer than you."

Immense pain radiated from the places where my amputated legs were connected to the prosthetics. My first instinct was to reject her suggestion, but Noelle entered the room with two bodyguards before I could even open my mouth.

"What are you waiting for? Take Mr. Brandon to change his clothes," she said.

Unable to fight back against them, I had no choice but to allow the bodyguards to haul me upstairs. They were already planning to slack off, so they just shoved me into the bathroom before slamming the door shut behind them with a bang.

A sour sensation spread through my chest when I stared at my gaunt face in the mirror. Rachel and the others would feel heartbroken if I lost just a single pound in the past. They would then hastily feed me nutritious food so that I could regain the weight that I had lost.

However, although I was practically skin and bones at that point, they didn't seem to notice. They only had eyes for Jordan, after all.

One of the bodyguards entered the bathroom. A look of disdain crossed his face when he saw the scars all over my body. He picked an ill-fitting shirt and pulled it over my head.

I dragged my prosthetics down the stairs.

Jordan was dressed in an expensive suit. He had one arm wrapped around Summer's waist as he let out a hearty laugh. Rachel and Noelle looked rather relieved as they gazed at them.

Everyone gasped in surprise when they noticed me.

"Is that the famous designer, Brandon Sharpe? Why is he so skinny now?"

"He has bruises under his neck."

"Don't tell me that he caught some nasty disease by fooling around with other people?"

All the guests stepped back with disgusted looks upon hearing those words, as if they were terrified of catching a disease from me.

Powering through the pain, I descended the stairs, one step at a time.

Rachel and the others looked rather impatient as they stood there in their extravagant gowns. Jordan stepped forward and grabbed my hand when I finally made it to the last step, saying, "Thank you for attending my celebratory party, Bran."

I had no interest in entertaining him. I was just about to push him away when he suddenly grabbed my collar and ripped it open, exposing the zigzagging scars on my chest for everyone to see.

I reflexively swatted Jordan's hand away and grabbed my torn collar. Meanwhile, he toppled back toward the champagne tower behind him in an exaggerated manner.

"Jordan!"

Rachel and the others rushed to his side with terrified expressions.

Jordan's eyes were bloodshot as he grabbed Summer's collar and whined, "It hurts so much, Summer."

He then looked at me and asked, "Do you hate me that much, Bran? Did you have to ruin my party?"

Rachel hugged Jordan close to her chest, while Summer stormed toward me and grabbed my collar. "You've got some nerve for bullying Jordan in front of so many people, Brandon. It looks like you haven't learned to behave yet. I should send you back to the mountain tomorrow."

Fury burned in her eyes, giving me the impression that she wanted to swallow me alive.

My body trembled upon hearing her mention the mountain. My overwhelming fear for that place was carved into my very being. However, my fear subsided when I noticed the countdown timer in my vision. There were only two hours left.

"Do whatever you want," I said, closing my eyes.

Summer tightened her grip on my collar for a few moments before throwing me aside. "You can kneel outside since you haven't learned your lesson yet."

The old wounds all over my body throbbed painfully when I hit the ground. The prosthetics were also on the verge of falling off, making strange noises.

Rachel and Noelle noticed that something was amiss at the same time Summer's gaze strayed to my legs.