Paying a Debt With My Life

That day, I accompanied my husband, Ethan Sadler, to his check-up and found out he would soon be able to see again. That was also the day my mother, Roxanne Miller, asked me to go home.

With a frosty expression, she ordered, "Heidi, divorce Ethan so that Rosie can marry him."

I said nothing, surprised at how she could actually say that.

When I didn't agree, my father, Richard Talbot, pointed a finger at me. He growled, "Don't forget, Heidi Talbot, he was initially Rosie's fiancé. You don't deserve to be his wife. Don't even think of holding onto the marriage!"

I stared at them and my younger sister, Rosalie Talbot, who was leaning in their arms, looking fragile.

It felt so ridiculous to me.

It was true that Ethan was engaged to Rosalie. However, my parents couldn't bear to see her marry a blind man when he accidentally lost his sight. That was why they called off the engagement.

Unexpectedly, the Sadler family's business flourished while ours started going downhill. Two years ago, our family encountered a debt crisis and had to ask the Sadler family for help.

Due to losing his sight, Ethan started having severe allergic reactions to women. If a woman was within six feet away from him, rashes would develop all over his body, and it would feel extremely uncomfortable.

The only women he wasn't allergic to were Rosalie and me. As the three of us grew up together, he wasn't allergic to our presence.

When the Sadler family requested my family to adhere to the engagement, my family sacrificed me without hesitation.

I was forced to sign the prenuptial agreement. Ethan and I then registered our marriage.

Dad's company received 20 million dollars from Sadler Group. Meanwhile, I received nothing from either side of the family for my marriage to Ethan.

Just like some sort of merchandise, I was packed up and delivered to the Sadler residence.

What was more ridiculous was I had so few belongings that a suitcase was more than enough for me, even though I lived in that house for 20 years.

As our family once called off the engagement with Ethan, my parents-in-law, William Sadler and Brianna Ford, despised me.

To them, I was just a tool they bought from the Talbot family to bear Ethan's children, while Ethan merely saw me as Rosalie's substitute. But his beloved Rosalie refused to marry him because he was blind!

Even when we were being intimate, he kept calling out her name.

At the Sadler household, I was just like his full-time maid, who had to take care of his daily needs.

Because of his condition, his mood fluctuated greatly. He preferred staying in his bedroom the whole day and smoked to make himself numb.

As I waited on him, he would suddenly aim his cigarette at where I was and press its end on my body. Sometimes it'd make a hole in my shirt, at worst, it'd leave scars on my body.

Not even I could keep count of how many scars I had, as sometimes the newer scars would overlap with the older ones and form new scars.

Was I resentful? Of course, I was, but I dared not say anything about it because no one was on my side.

Had I thought of putting up a fight? I would love to, but if I did, the Sadler family could crush my family in no time.

Wasn't that the reason I'd been sent to them? To appease Ethan and his family?

I remembered the first time Ethan scorched me with his cigarette. Crying, I called Mom, telling her I was afraid and it hurt badly.

However, she scolded me over the phone. "Heidi, Ethan's just feeling down. Put up with it and it will pass. Don't you dare offend the Sadlers, I'm telling you."

Fine. I put up with it. Without complaints, I played my role.

To the public's eye, I was the much-admired Mrs. Sadler. However, where no one else could see, I was a puppet that Ethan could torture to his liking.

As I hadn't conceived even after being married to him for so long, Brianna kept mocking me for being infertile.