My husband White Moonlight set fire to me. After I disappeared, he regretted it.
When the man came to pick me up, I lay naked on the bar table.
He saw the wine stains and scars on my body, yet his eyes showed no pity.
I picked up my torn clothes from the floor and numbly followed him.
I took my sister’s place to marry Gideon, trying to please him for five years.
During the worst of my depression, he brought home the woman he was seeing.
He forced me to confess and serve a girl who looked exactly like my sister.
The tenth time I cut my wrist, Gideon sat by the bed and told me he hated me.
“Vera, don’t use such means to get my attention. Seeing you only makes me hate you more… If only it hadn’t been you who survived back
then…”
A sharp pain pierced my heart, and once again I asked for a divorce. But Gideon still wouldn’t let me go. Until a fire, reminiscent of the past,
trapped both Nora and me.
Before the pillar of fire collapsed, I exchanged my life for Nora’s escape.
Everyone blamed me for my sister’s death. This time, I paid with my life. But Gideon went mad.
01
“Divorce?” Gideon sneered without mercy. “Every time you ask for a divorce, don’t you come back the next day crying for forgiveness? Vera, these pains are nothing compared to what she went through. You’ll never escape.”
Gideon didn’t mind speaking in front of the family doctor. I bypassed him, apologizing to the doctor with regret, “Sorry to trouble you again.”
Gideon impatiently interrupted, “Stop pretending here. The trouble you’ve caused is far beyond this. Cold–blooded beings like you are a nuisance just by existing.”
Pain flashed in my eyes, and after a moment, I met Gideon’s hateful gaze. “Gideon… then why won’t you let me die?” My words seemed to sting Gideon, and he gritted his teeth, “Want to die? It’s not that easy! You used every means to survive back then, so I’ll satisfy you. I’ll make you live well, or better yet… a life worse than death.”
I gave a bitter laugh. I’ve wanted to leave this world more than once.
But they hate me, won’t let me live well, and won’t let me die. I have a debt I can never repay.
“Can my sister, in her current state, still entertain for me at tonight’s dinner?” Nora spoke with a slightly proud voice while holding Gideon’s
arm.
I looked at the girl in her early twenties, who looked just like my sister, and felt a bit dazed. I pressed my lips together, wanting to refuse, “Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t go…”
But before I could finish, Gideon coldly interrupted, “Vera, who said you could refuse? It’s just a cut, what are you pretending for? Didn’t you run fast even when your leg was burned back then?”
My face instantly turned pale, painful memories resurfacing. The abandoned building devoured by flames, thick smoke filling the air.
I covered my nose and mouth, stumbling out of the fire. But suddenly, a burnt wooden beam fell from above. My trapped left leg was instantly
charred.
I struggled to push away the burning pillar. But why… why can’t I push it away… why couldn’t I be a bit faster, just a bit faster…
I snapped back to reality in terror. Nora, nestled in Gideon’s arms, stoked the fire again, “Brother Gideon, maybe we should just forget it.
9:26 AM .
<
a s d
If my sister goes unwillingly, others might misunderstand that I’m bullying her.
“Gideon’s aura turned icy, “Vera, it’s just drinking. What are you afraid of? Afraid your frail body might drink itself to death? But don’t you want to die? This is exactly what you wanted, isn’t it?”
I heard every word Gideon said clearly, and my breathing trembled. Nora didn’t need to attend any dinners to get the abundant resources Gideon threw her way.
But Gideon insisted I drink myself into a stupor to please the investors. He just wanted to humiliate me.
I accepted it. “Fine, I’ll go.” I bowed my head to Gideon. But for some reason, his face turned even darker.
