Chapter 3

The closer they drew to the end, the harder it was to escape their fate.

If this had happened back then, I would definitely have panicked if I had seen Kayla's countdown. I would have done everything I could to help her, even if it meant sacrificing my life.

But Kayla had done so much to hurt me. She manipulated my feelings, had me tortured, and took my family's entire fortune. She deserved to die for that.

Back then, when Kayla had me sent to the villa to be taught a lesson, the maids there beat me black and blue.

Once, I tried to scare them off by writing, "If Kayla finds out about this, you're doomed!"

At that time, I was naive enough to believe that Kayla had only sent me here to take out her anger on me, and that she wouldn't actually hurt me. After all, we had been married for years.

Besides, my family's fortune was already hers. I was no longer a threat to her. If she no longer loved me, she could have simply filed for a divorce, yet she didn't.

It wasn't until the maids showed me her Instagram posts that I finally lost all hope.

While these maids were holding my head underwater, nearly drowning me, Kayla was celebrating Sebastian's birthday aboard a giant yacht. She lay in his arms, wearing a bikini and looking completely satisfied.

"Mr. Reed, you're just a worthless nobody. Ms. Jebb has no time for the likes of you. The only man worthy of her is Mr. Miller."

"Stop kidding yourself. She'd never go for someone like you."

They even broke all my limbs with a hammer just to make sure I would never forget what they said. I passed out from the pain, only to be jolted awake by the scalding water. They did it over and over until I wished I were dead.

Later, I tried to slip away while the maids were asleep, but they caught me before I could even get far. Amid the chaos, I managed to snatch one of their phones and quickly called Kayla for help.

Even if she had never once loved me, I had never given her any reason to hate me. She would never let anyone torture me like that too. I suspected these maids must have been doing this behind her back.

The moment the call went through, I tried to yell, "Kayla, save me…"

The phone was snatched right out of my hands. The maids said a few words to Kayla, and her icy voice came through the phone.

"I asked them to teach you a lesson, and you had the nerve to escape? You're absolutely hopeless! If he keeps this up, beat him all you want!"

Before the call ended, I heard Sebastian's voice over the phone. "Kayla, I'm done with my shower. It's your turn."

At that moment, I felt something inside me go cold.

What happened after that was mostly a blur. All I remembered was the stench of the pigsty, the endless bowls of slop, and the numbness of being beaten until I lost my hearing.

I clenched my fists as my breathing grew heavier. At least I had made it through.

Kayla was about to get what she deserved. I was so close to getting out of this hellhole and making them pay for all the humiliation and injuries I had suffered, and all the hatred I had carried with me.

I was packing my things when the door suddenly swung open.

After being tortured for so long, I couldn't help but tremble. I turned around, only to find Sebastian staring at me with a smirk.

Sebastian was holding a bowl of herbal medication, and there was a new hickey on his neck. Clearly, he had been intimate with Kayla not too long ago.

"Isaac, why do you look so freaked out?"

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I could barely suppress my hatred for him. He definitely had been turning Kayla against me.

But I was really weak now, so anyone could just humiliate me whenever they wanted. I had no choice but to keep it to myself.

"How can I help you?" I wrote meekly, keeping calm as I looked down.

Sebastian's grin became wider. He set the bowl on the table and patted my shoulder. "I thought you were just putting on an act earlier. Looks like they really did break your spirit, huh? That's what I like to hear.

"At least all the trouble I went through to find the right people to train you wasn't for nothing. They have all sorts of ways to deal with you. Life hasn't been boring for you lately, has it?"

My heart lurched when I heard that.

So Sebastian was the one who hired those maids. That explained why the things they did to me had been so inhumane.