Chapter 2

When I returned to the Whitaker estate, the first thing that greeted me was Mrs. Whitaker’s face, twisted with rage.

"You still have the nerve to come back?" she screeched. "You husband-cursing bitch! Gavin has never even lost a single hair his entire life, and the moment you marry into this family, he ends up in the hospital! You’re nothing but a walking jinx!"

As she shouted, she ordered the servants to bring over the horsewhip that hung on the wall as decoration. It was made of oiled cowhide, dark and glossy.

I stared at the whip, my heart tightening violently.

I thought back to when Gavin and I first met. Back then, he had been just like this—spirited and high-strung, like a proud wild horse.

I followed behind him, believing that as long as I worked hard enough, one day I would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

Now, I was nothing more than an object in his home, something that could be beaten or scolded at will.

The television in the living room was still on, tuned to a financial news channel.

"Breaking news: Whitaker Group CEO Gavin Whitaker was rushed to the hospital today. His childhood sweetheart and top pop diva, Lydia Vale, arrived at the hospital immediately to visit him. The two stayed together throughout the visit and appeared extremely close, effectively dispelling earlier rumors that Mr. Whitaker had married an unknown civilian woman…"

On the screen, Lydia looked worried as she carefully tucked the blanket around Gavin. The way Gavin looked at her with that gentleness in his eyes was something I had never once received.

So he was not cold by nature. He had simply given all his warmth to someone else.

As for me, I could not even earn a shred of his trust.

A massive wave of grief and fury swallowed me whole.

Crack!

The first lash landed hard across my back. My skin split open instantly, and the pain was so sharp it nearly drove me to my knees.

"How dare you seduce my son, you little tramp!" Mrs. Whitaker screamed. "I’ll beat you to death!"

She went completely mad, whipping me again and again without restraint.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Gavin.

I used every last bit of strength I had to answer the call.

"Sienna!" His voice burst through the line, strained and furious, while laced with pain. "What kind of self-harm stunt are you pulling now to get my attention? I’m warning you, stop it immediately! Doing this will only make me hate you more!"

His voice carried clearly through the receiver. Mrs. Whitaker heard it too. She thought I was tattling.

Her expression grew even more vicious. "You still dare complain? Looks like you haven’t been beaten enough!"

She raised her arm and brought the whip down with full force again!

"Ah—!"

On the other end of the line, Gavin’s furious shouting turned instantly into a piercing scream. The sound tore through the ear, filled with unimaginable agony.

Mrs. Whitaker froze.

From the phone, Gavin’s cries continued, each one more tortured than the last.

Panic finally set in.

She dropped the whip, snatched my phone, and shouted desperately into the receiver, "Gavin? Gavin, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me!"

On the other end, Gavin’s breathing came in broken gasps. "Mom… my back… it hurts… it hurts so bad…"

"Your back?" Mrs. Whitaker turned toward me in confusion.

I was sprawled on the floor, my back a bloody mess.

She immediately shouted into the phone, "Don’t be afraid, Gavin! I'm coming right now! It must be that witch cursing you again!"

She hung up and rushed out in a hurry.

At the hospital, Gavin lay on the bed, cold sweat pouring down his back from the pain. He grabbed his mother’s hand as she rushed in and asked suspiciously, "Mom… did you just… hit Sienna?"

Mrs. Whitaker’s eyes flickered. She denied it at once. "Of course not! How could I hit her? She was the one acting crazy at home, crying and making a scene. I only scolded her a bit."

Standing nearby, Lydia immediately chimed in, her voice soft and aggrieved. "That’s right, Gavin. Mrs. Whitaker has always cared so much about Sienna. It was Sienna who seemed to be saying strange things on the phone just now. She even upset Mrs. Whitaker so badly that Mrs. Whitaker started feeling uncomfortable."

As she spoke, she gently rubbed Mrs. Whitaker’s back.

Gavin looked at his wronged mother and the seemingly understanding Lydia. Then he thought of the deathly silence on the phone from Sienna earlier.

The last trace of doubt in his heart vanished completely.

He became convinced that even if an Empathy System really existed, it had to be Sienna deliberately hurting herself to gain sympathy.

In his eyes, her scheming was truly unfathomable.