Chapter 3

“Yvonne, you weren’t like this before.

“You should be making a huge scene, making sure everyone knows about it, not calmly accepting everything like this.”

I forced a faint smile.

“Shouldn’t you be happy that I’m like this?”

He froze for a moment.

Then his phone rang.

Vivian was crying on the other end.

“Felix, I had a nightmare that Yvonne was going to kill me. She even said she would strip me naked and parade me through the streets…”

Felix’s expression softened as he coaxed her gently.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll come back and stay with you right away. As long as I’m here, no one can hurt you.”

Vivian sobbed.

“I’ve been too afraid to tell you this, but Yvonne hired men to harass me online. She even had them photoshop naked pictures of me. I really can’t take it anymore.

“If Yvonne hates me because she thinks I took you away from her, then please let me leave. I really don’t dare compete with her…”

She sounded so sincere that, in an instant, she painted me as a woman who appeared to be backing down but was secretly vicious.

Felix looked down at me coldly.

“So your calmness was nothing more than a tactic to make me lower my guard.”

His voice fell lightly, but every word pierced my heart.

“I should have known. You were born cruel.”

His gaze was ice-cold.

Every word he said stabbed straight into my heart.

When he loved me, I was spoiled and adorable.

When he stopped loving me, I was apparently born cruel.

I suddenly no longer had the strength to argue with him.

He lowered his voice as he spoke to Vivian.

“Vivian, don’t even think about leaving me.

“From now on, she won’t appear in front of you again.”

He hung up.

Then he took my phone.

“You like this place so much, don’t you? Then stay here. Without my permission, you’re not leaving.”

I immediately stood up and tried to snatch my phone back, but he easily dodged me.

My phone contained every little memory I had of that man.

The voice messages he had left me.

Every single one was precious.

My eyes reddened with panic.

Felix, however, smiled in satisfaction.

He gently patted my head, his voice soft.

“Yvonne, I like seeing you lose control. You look especially like her when you’re like this.”

But now, I didn’t want to resemble his first love at all.

I only wanted my phone back.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll never abandon you. Once Vivian isn’t so afraid of you anymore, I’ll come back to see you.”

With that, he shut the door and locked it from the outside.

No matter how hard I pushed or pounded on it, it wouldn’t open.

I sank to the floor.

All the strength drained out of me.

The villa fell completely silent.

Someone came in briefly to deliver my meals before leaving again.

It wasn’t until evening that Vivian pushed open the door.

When our eyes met, the corners of her lips curled upward.

She seemed pleased by the state I was in.

“What are you doing here? Tell Felix to let me out.”

She was holding my phone.

I immediately got to my feet, my voice sharp.

“How did you get my phone? Give it back!”

She raised the phone high above her head.

“Looks like this phone is really important to you. You don’t have anything shameful on it, do you?”

She looked at me and spoke casually.

“What do you think will happen if I smash it? Will Felix blame me? He gave me the phone to keep for you. I was actually planning to return it so you could escape…”

Before I could react, she tightened her grip and slammed the phone against the floor.

I froze for a full three seconds.

I stared at the shattered phone, completely stunned.

All the things that had helped me survive one lonely night after another had been destroyed by her in an instant.

I looked at Vivian.

Only then did she seem to realize what she had done.

Fear began to flicker across her face.