Chapter 3

For the next couple of days, Laura would receive provocative photos from Jessica almost every day.

In the photos, James was playing with his daughter, and he had a gentle look in his eyes. As for Jessica, she would lean against his shoulder with a sweet smile on her face.

Laura flicked through the photos with trembling fingers.

There were photos of James sitting by Jessica's bed in the middle of the night, of James feeding her, and of James carrying their child with the gentlest look ever in his eyes.

Every single photo made Laura's heart ache.

But as time progressed, Laura suddenly realized that her heart didn't ache anymore.

Perhaps, she was completely disappointed with James the moment she was locked in that cold storage.

Just when she was about to blacklist Jessica, her phone vibrated again.

It was another photo.

Jessica was playing with the bracelet that Laura's mother had left her.

"Do you want the bracelet that your mom left you? Come alone if you want it back."

Laura immediately stood up. The sudden movement caused her to almost black out, but she didn't really care. She grabbed her coat and rushed out of the room.

Inside the VIP ward, Jessica was carrying the baby in her hands and was humming a song. "Who's Daddy's most beloved baby? Daddy's going to come see us every day..."

When she raised her head and saw Laura, the smile on her face became wider. "Laura, you're here. There's something I want to tell you. During the days that I've been hospitalized, James didn't even go to work. He just stayed here with my daughter and me."

Laura clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into the palms of her hands. She didn't want to hear anything that Jessica was saying. "Where's my bracelet?"

Jessica slowly picked the bracelet up from the side of her pillow and waved it gently. "You mean this bracelet?"

She curved her lips into a cruel smile. "How about this? I'll give you this bracelet back if you get on your knees and beg me."

Laura trembled in anger. "Don't go too far."

"So what if I did?" Jessica's eyes were full of disdain. "You're just a fish seller, Laura, and I am the heiress of the Rane Group and the future daughter-in-law of the Lawson family! Do you think you're worthy to be my equal? Get on your knees and beg me to give you this bracelet back! It's the least you can do!"

She pretended to throw the bracelet away. "I'm going to count to three. If you don't get on your knees, then I'll throw this out the window! One... Two..."

Laura bit her lip, her eyes turned red as she went to her knees.

She begged Jessica to give her the bracelet back.

Jessica laughed. "The way you look right now is so pitiful."

She stood up and looked down at Laura. "However, there's no way that I'll give you this bracelet back."

With that said, she raised her hand and threw the bracelet out the window.

Laura's whole body was trembling. She was just about to go after the bracelet when the ward door was suddenly pushed open.

James and his parents were standing at the door, all with dark looks on their faces.

"What are you doing?" John asked in a sharp voice.

Jessica's face changed instantly as she cried in James's arms, "James! I don't know what's got into her. She suddenly barged into the ward and started beating and strangling the baby..."

She unbuttoned the baby's clothes and a couple of bruises could be clearly seen.

Laura couldn't believe what she was seeing. "It wasn't me!"

She shook her head in horror as John walked towards her angrily.

Slap!

John had slapped her and it made her feel like the whole world was spinning. Her head was ringing and there was blood at the corner of her mouth.

"How can you be so ruthless as to hurt a baby?" John's voice sounded like it was from a distance.

Sophia said coldly, "Looks like you haven't learnt your lesson the last time. Someone, get this bitch out of here and whip her 20 times!"

James clenched his fists and took a step forward. "Mom..."

"Are you still going to protect her?" Sophia interrupted. "Who she hurt was your own daughter! Even if you're going to abandon her at the old residence and leave with Laura, she's still your own flesh and blood!"

Laura was trembling all over. She instinctively looked at James.

He was still standing there. He was clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

He looked at her and there was an obvious struggle in his eyes. He looked as if he was in pain at first, but then he gradually calmed down.

He slowly turned his head away.

Laura looked at James in a daze. She felt as if someone had ripped her heart in pieces.

But the next second, her lips slowly curved into a smile and she laughed.

She was laughing at herself for being such a fool and actually believed that James was going to take her away.

She was also laughing at herself for actually believing that James would put his promises to her before his own flesh and blood, and hoping that he was still choosing her at such a critical moment.

Laura was dragged to the open corridor of the hospital. The bodyguards pinned her down on her knees.

When the first whip landed on her, the pain caused her to almost black out. She remembered when the Lawson family did all they could to separate her and James.

She broke up with James with red eyes. It was raining heavily that night, but James stood outside her house for an entire night. The next day, he started burning up with a fever and nearly had pneumonia.

When she went to check on him, he was in a daze, but he still grabbed her hand and said, "Keep this in mind, Laura. You're the only person I love, even if the whole world is against us."

When the second whip landed on Laura, she bit her lip. She could taste the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

She remembered the day when James went on the next flight home just because she sent him a message saying she missed him.

Laura was whipped time after time. Every whip made her heart ache way more than the actual pain on her back.

When the 15th whip landed, she seemed to have heard James asking her what happened and wanted to check on her.

By the 19th whip, the pain caused Laura to almost lose consciousness.

She felt as if someone was calling her name, but she couldn't tell if she was hearing things or if someone was actually calling her name.

By the 20th whip, Laura blacked out and lost consciousness.