Chapter 2

"Who were you talking to?" Jake asked.

Turning off my phone screen, I waved it off. "It was a spam call."

Noticing my lack of enthusiasm, he lowered his head and kissed me, only to find my whole body burning.

He scrambled downstairs to get medicine for me. I took a photo of the scene and sent it to the family group chat.

While Jake was giving me the medicine, he answered a call that just came in. He immediately panicked, so much so that he accidentally spilled hot water onto me.

He seemed to have forgotten all about me as he rushed out without so much as a glance back.

We were just a single floor apart. Soon, he came back with Michelle in his arms.

I stood at the entrance, staring at them in bewilderment.

Jake looked at me, his gaze filled with hatred. "Why would you send a photo like that in the group chat? Do you have any idea that Chelle swallowed sleeping pills?"

Just then, Michelle slowly came to. She said in a sobbing tone, "Jake, it's not Lilian's fault. I couldn't fall asleep, so I took more sleeping pills than usual.

"Back when we lived under the same roof, Jake had always been the one to put me to bed. Now that he's married, I still haven't gotten out of the habit. I just felt a little sad when I saw the photo you sent, Lilian."

Jake said in a low voice, "Apologize to her."

Curving my lips into a smile, I stared straight at Michelle. "Do you also take sleeping pills every time Jake gets his 'treatment' from women at night?"

The two froze. Then, Jake flew into a rage. "Lilian, this is between us. Why would you mention that to Chelle? She's just my sister!"

Michelle looked even more wounded. "Lilian, why would you say something like that? Jake got poisoned because of you, you know."

I remained smiling. "Is that so? Are you sure it was because of me and not you?"

Michelle was stunned. Then, she looked at Jake in a panic.

Jake walked over to me and gripped my wrist. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Lilian, what's the matter with you? I've already explained it to you countless times! Those women are just antidotes to me. They pose no threat to your position. There's no need to vent your anger on Chelle!"

I raised my head, forcing back tears.

I recalled the night of my wedding. I was abducted and brought to a desert island, where I was tortured by different men all through the night.

By the time I woke up, my whole body was broken, and I was bleeding from the lower part of my body.

When the doctor declared that my womb had to be removed, Jake held my hands tightly and said with deep sorrow in his eyes, "It's okay. You're the only one I need. I don't need any children."

However, I disregarded my pain as I hastily examined his wounds. "What did you do? How could they have let me go that easily?"

Jake's gaze was filled with sadness. "I drank the wine they poisoned."

Beside him, Michelle sobbed pitifully. "Jake, that was a toxic aphrodisiac! If you don't get 99 virgins to cure you, you'll die!"

The searing pain on my face pulled me out of my thoughts.

Jake had slapped me. He threw a large bouquet of roses at me, and the roses' thorns sliced my face.

He was furious. "Chelle is allergic to pollen! Why did you put flowers in the living room? Are you trying to kill her?"

Just then, the ambulance finally arrived.

Like a madman, Jake carried Michelle in his arms and rushed outside. He was about to step through the door when he turned around and glared at me. "Lilian, Chelle and I grew up together. If anything happens to her, I will never forgive you."

I was in a daze as I reached up to touch the rashes on my face. Bending over, I picked up the card that came with the bouquet. There was bold lettering on it that read, "Happy birthday, Lily. I love you."

I let out a bitter laugh as I stared at Jake, who was getting further away.

We had been married for so long. He kept claiming he loved me, but he had no idea that I was allergic to pollen, too.

Back then, I just couldn't bring myself to throw away the flowers he gave me.

With my fever still burning, I went to pack up my luggage.

It had only been six months. A single suitcase was more than enough to fit all my belongings.

For some reason, I opened the door to the room that originally belonged to Michelle.

A wall full of close-up selfies came into view. Gifts from Jake seemed to fill up the whole room.

On the bed, a patch of liquid they hadn't managed to clean had already dried up.

In the closet, their underwear was stacked together just like that.

I couldn't stop my fingers from shaking. No wonder he told me never to enter this room.

I went to the living room and burned the only photo I had taken with Jake. Then, I took off my bracelet and wedding ring.

I had just walked through the door when a group of men in black clothing dragged me into a van.