Chapter 2

Jason wanted to pat me on the shoulder, but I instinctively flinched.

He retracted his hand and said, "Madeline, you're being a little strange."

I lowered my gaze, not knowing how to respond to him.

How could I not be strange? If only he knew how I spent my days at the mental asylum.

We arrived at Jason's mansion, the same place I used to live in the past.

I only ended up that way because I was foolish enough to think that I could one day be the mistress of this mansion.

I no longer had such thoughts.

No more.

That man only made my life hell.

I walked behind Jason. As we approached the mansion, I found it harder to breathe.

I had lived there for six years. Everything was still the same as I remembered. Perhaps because it was so familiar to me, every memory I had in the past instantly flooded my brain.

I felt a sudden rush of dizziness.

Camila, in a custom-made dress, came out of the mansion, walked over to me, and affectionately hooked her arm with mine.

"Madeline, you're finally back!"

I looked extremely ugly standing next to her.

Camila was Jason's first love. He had liked her for many years. In this aspect, Jason and I were similar.

Camila had always treated Jason as a backup. Two years ago, the man she wanted to marry was sent to prison due to embezzlement of funds. It was only after that did she started to open up to Jason.

"It's only been a year. Look at how thin you've become!"

She furrowed her brows and grumbled, "The mental asylum must have been treating you badly."

When I heard the mental asylum being mentioned, I started to feel dizzy once more.

Camila looked sorry as her tears fell. "I'm sorry, Madeline. If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have let Jason send you in. Please don't blame me."

The only person who bought her pitiful act was Jason.

He said, "Come on, Camila, how could it be your fault? You were looking out for Madeline too."

He wiped away her tears and added, "Madeline has recovered. It's all thanks to you."

I secretly sneered.

That was right. I had only become the way I was all thanks to her.

Camila nodded demurely and smiled. "We'll fatten her up."

A feast was laid out on the dining table. Camila claimed that she had done it for me, but there was not a single dish that I liked.

"Madeline, eat up. You're too thin. You'll have to eat more."

Camila kept putting food onto my plate. She placed some grilled pork belly on my plate as she said, "Jason said that this is your favorite."

I picked up my cutlery, but I did not know where to start.

I did not like pork belly at all. It was because Jason used to only eat lean meat, so I would always take away the fatty parts and leave the lean part for him.

After some time, he believed that I loved the fatty parts.

My stomach churned badly.

I developed a terrible stomach condition from the mental asylum. They constantly starved me, only feeding me once a day. Sometimes, there was no food at all.

The doctor told me that my liking Jason was immoral. It was a big sin, so I needed to be punished.

Being starved was one of the punishments.

I lowered my head and wolfed down my food. I ate so quickly that the veins on my neck popped out.

Camila looked at me in disgust and moved slightly further away from me.

Jason merely frowned at me. He seemed to be unhappy with my behavior.

I could not care less. Filling up my stomach was the main priority.

I learned how to eat fast at the mental asylum. Every meal, I was only given five minutes to finish. Sometimes, even two or three minutes.

If I did not eat it quickly, I would not know when the next meal would come.