All Chapters of His Heart Is My Cage: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I stared at the video until my eyes burned.My nails dug crescents into my palms. The pain brought me back to reality, and I clicked 'Continue'.The man on screen moved with rough urgency. He was relentless, causing the woman to cry out in pain.Though his face stayed hidden, the jagged scar peeking beneath his cuff seared my vision.Unable to bear it anymore, the woman pleaded for mercy.Ethan Cooper leaned in and whispered in her ears, "Chiara, do you know how much I want to make you cry like this? You never listen to me. I wish I could break your legs so you'd never leave me."The reality hit me hard. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.Suddenly, memories flooded back. Whenever we were in bed, he'd always kiss me gently, whispering my name over and over.It seemed like I was just his hidden woman—the scapegoat he used to protect his true love.I couldn't help but laugh at myself. But as I laughed, my tears fell again.I wiped them, telling myself not to cry for som

Chapter 2

Three days used to feel like it passed in the blink of an eye. Now it seemed so long that I almost wished I could just disappear right now.Ethan returned sooner than I expected. He stumbled through the door, dust-streaked and disheveled, droplets clinging to the tips of his hair.Outside, the sky was calm, not a single cloud threatening rain. I knew exactly where he'd been.He pulled me into his arms as always, murmuring sweet nothings while dragging me beneath the sheets. His familiar citrus scent wrapped around me.It hit me then that every late night at the office and every rushed shower afterward were just his lies to scrub away the traces of her.Bile rose in my throat. I gagged, clapping a hand over my mouth.Ethan panicked, summoning the family doctor.My tear-swollen face and flushed cheeks must've looked alarming. The doctor diagnosed a mild fever.Ethan's eyes reddened as if he were the one suffering. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, his lips brushing the

Chapter 3

Ethan's posture was submissive. His voice trembled with desperate longing as he said, "Clara, marry me. I swear on my life. I'll never hurt or fail you. If I could, I'd give you my very breath."His words dragged me back to the past when he was 17."Clara, I'll protect you with my life. Just promise you'll stay with me forever, okay?" he had said to me.He'd kept that promise. He'd charged into a blazing inferno against all reasons and carried my unconscious body to safety.I couldn't tell which of his words were sincere. But with two days left before my planned escape, I forced a brittle smile. "Yes."Ethan's face lit like a child handed the stars. He crushed me against his chest, fingers digging into my back as if I might dissolve."We'll get the license now," he breathed, grabbing my hands.I stiffened and fabricated a lie. "But I have something to do today. Let's get it another time."His smile dimmed but didn't die.Later that evening, before he could warm my milk, I took

Chapter 4

Ethan and I were both orphans. We had been clinging to each other for survival.We fought stray dogs for scraps of food and slept under bridges with nothing but burlap sacks to keep us warm.As we grew older, he sent me to school while he worked in a dingy restaurant.When bullies cornered me, Ethan stepped in, fists swinging even as his pinky snapped under their blows. He stood there, blood dripping down his face, until they ran off.When I got my first period in high school, he bought pads for me, sprinting away from the girls' bathroom as someone screamed, "Pervert."In college, he worked double shifts, but no matter how exhausted he was, he'd wait for me after night classes just to hear about my day.From 5 to 21, we were inseparable. I never imagined he'd been hiding someone else in his heart all along. Worst still, his love for her was so possessive and twisted.I thought our bond could withstand time and hardships. I was wrong. Chiara was the only softness in his heart.

Chapter 5

The car sped through the night, and I quickly boarded the ship.I didn't breathe easy until the horn blared and the coastline vanished into the horizon.Finally, I ran away from that lunatic. But my mind kept circling back to the handcuffs Ethan had carried all day.'Did he plan to chain me too?' I wondered.The image of Chiara's broken body flashed before my eyes, and I shivered.Ethan might love her, but his love was twisted. Just because he got jealous, he had brutally broken her leg.The sight of the bruises on her body had blown my mind in that basement. His possessiveness was extreme, as if he wanted to carve his presence into every inch of her.The salty sea breeze tangled my hair, pulling me from the memory.Seven days and eight nights on the open ocean finally brought me to Noswood.The operations team worked miracles, giving me a new name, a new identity, and a fresh start.I immersed myself in work, watching the aurora together with my colleagues.Everything felt

Chapter 6

Chiara crumpled to the floor and sobbed dramatically. Yet no comforting words came from Ethan.His mind had spiraled into a whirlpool of memories."I wish I could break your legs so you'd never leave me.""Don't cry. It hurts me to see you like this.""Can't you only have eyes for me? If you look at another man again, I'll gouge them out.""Do you know how much I want to make you cry like this?"But those words had never been meant for Chiara. They were for Clara Melton, the woman who had been his everything.Chiara was just a stand-in. Yet she had the audacity to act like she was his true love and confront me with her lies.Ethan unleashed his fury on Chiara. She screamed, but it couldn't evoke any sympathy.To him, she was nothing more than an object.I had been his partner through thick and thin, the one who had endured so much for him.He had never dared to hurt me, but yearning and jealousy festering inside him had twisted into something dark.So, he found Chiara, a gi

Chapter 7

[I'm sorry, we have to prioritize our safety.]No matter how many messages I fired back, the other end stayed silent.I wanted to scream, but there was no time. I rushed back into the house and started packing up.If Ethan found me, the consequences would be unimaginable.The tour bus to the station was my only way out, but the moment I stepped on it, I felt predatory gazes from a group of people.I clutched my bag tighter, shrinking into my seat. As the bus neared its final stop, they struck.Hands grabbed at me from every direction, tearing at my bag, my clothes, and even the cheap gold-plated earrings I wore.Blood trickled down my neck, staining my collar. A gun barrel pressed against my forehead.I regretted it immensely. I should have escaped under the cover of the night, when no one was around.A large hand, carrying an unpleasant odor, reached toward me. I wanted to dodge, but there was nowhere to run. I could only squeeze my eyes shut and brace for the worst.Suddenl

Chapter 8

Ethan's expression twisted in agony.He dropped to his knees. Just like the day he proposed, his entire body tensed with anxiety."You've got it all wrong. Chiara was the substitute," he explained. "I love you. I love you so much that I've lost my mind. I wanted to chain you to me and break your limbs so you couldn't leave me. But I couldn't bear to see you in pain or tears, so I locked Chiara away and tortured her in your place. Everything I said to her was meant for you."His explanation didn't make any of this right. If anything, his desperate form only filled me with deeper dread."A month ago, when you went out drinking with that guy from your company, I lost control and broke Chiara's leg. But I would never do that to you. Forgive me, please," he added.A wave of nausea rolled through me. My voice shook. "That was our marketing director. I was out with him for a client dinner. I told you about it. Afterward, he got into a car accident and quit his job. Were you behind that?"

Chapter 9

Chiara's face, pale as the sheet from years without sunlight, had lips as red as blood. She looked as terrifying as she always had.I remembered the first time I'd asked her if she wanted to leave. She had innocently asked back just like this.An odd term popped into my mind—Stockholm Syndrome.After spending seven years in the basement, she had likely grown to love the twisted affection that came from it.My teeth chattered. These two people were both insane.I had once hoped that if she managed to escape, she might come back to rescue me. Now my last hope was dashed.My heart felt as cold as ashes, and my hand dropped slowly at my side.Suddenly, a cold glint caught my eyes. I instinctively raised my hand to shield them, but an intense pain spread from my chest.A dagger was driven deep into my chest. Chiara twisted it cruelly, and I could feel my heart being torn apart.The pain surged like an overwhelming tide, making it hard to breathe."Die, you bitch. Don't even think

Chapter 10

I never expected to have a chance to open my eyes again.The white ceiling loomed before me, as if everything were just a fleeting dream. The soft beeping of the machines echoed around me at regular intervals.The door opened. A doctor stepped in, a look of surprise and relief on his face. "Ms. Melton, you're finally awake. The surgery was a success, and there are no signs of rejection so far."'Surgery... Rejection?' I instinctively touched my chest.The anesthesia must still be wearing off as I felt no pain, but the stitches were unmistakable.What Ethan had said before I passed out flashed across my mind. I shot up in bed, panic rising within me.The doctor rushed over and tried to push me back down. I struggled, ignoring his desperate attempts to stop me. In a panic, he pressed the emergency call button, and soon, a whole team of doctors and nurses rushed in, holding me down.They injected me with a sedative. Slowly, my emotions began to settle, but a deep ache throbbed in

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