After patching up my wounds, I threw myself into my mother’s arms and sobbed uncontrollably. I had endured too much over the years.

I had kept all the bitterness, the betrayal, the loneliness buried deep inside my heart with no one to confide in. However now, my mother, Madam Luxton was awake. I was no longer alone. I finally had someone I could lean on again.

“Mom.” I choked out through my tears, “Let me take you to the Gaul Nation, okay? I’ve paid off all our debts. We can leave this place for good and never look back.”

My mother raised her arm with difficulty and caressed my face. “Wherever you go, Janey, I’ll follow.”

That very day, I made all the arrangements. I filed the paperwork to transfer my mother to a hospital in the Gaul Nation and hired professional caretakers to accompany her on the flight.

Everything was finally falling into place. For the first time in what felt like forever, I could breathe.

However, on my way back to the hospital to meet her, something went wrong. The taxi driver did not follow the usual route.

Then came the sharp sting of a chemical stench. Before I could react, my limbs went limp and darkness swallowed me whole.

When I woke up, I found myself tied up inside what looked like an abandoned factory.

Panic surged in my chest.

The noise caught the attention of a group of men lounging in the distance. They looked up from their game of cards and slowly approached, their eyes glinting with sick amusement.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to yell hoarsely, “I paid off my debts! Who sent you? If it’s money you want, let me go! I can get you more! However, if you hurt me, you’ll get nothing!”

They didn’t respond. One of them casually picked up a baseball bat and tapped it against his palm, his gaze fixed on my legs.

"People say she used to be a model," he sneered. "Shame if something happened to her legs, huh? Wonder how she’d strut the runway then.”

Realizing what they intended to do, horror and rage twisted in my heart. "Who sent you?" I snapped, my voice shaking.

“That’s not your concern,” another one smirked. “After tonight, you’ll be lucky if you can even walk, let alone talk. Before we wreck those pretty legs, we’re going to have a little fun.”

Two of them laughed and exchanged a glance. One of them stepped closer. His eyes were leering at me with a disgusting light.

Disgust churned in my stomach.

After getting a nod from the leader, he stepped forward, groped my face and began tearing at my clothes.

I struggled violently, screaming at the top of my lungs, but a hard slap cut me off.

"Shut up!" the man snarled. "Scream again and we’ll make this even worse for you."

Just when desperation crushed what little strength I had left, a loud engine roared outside.

Simon burst through the entrance like a hurricane. He swung the golf club he’d grabbed from the backseat of his car with savage fury.

I stared in a daze at the crazed Simon, watching him smash the golf club into the kidnappers without any hesitation, like a man possessed.

However just before I blacked out again, a chilling thought flickered across my mind …

Kelly must have been the mastermind behind this. She hated me enough to want to see me destroyed.

What made this thing even worse... it was possible Simon had been involved too.

Maybe this whole kidnapping was something they had planned together.

The trauma and stimulation turned me into someone who suffered from mutism and panic attack disorder.

Night after night, I woke in horror, trapped in one nightmare after another. Only when my gaze landed on the familiar furniture did I begin to calm down.

I was trying to get out of bed to go to the bathroom when I heard raised voices drifting up from downstairs. It was Simon arguing with someone.

“Who the hell gave you permission to touch her? If I hadn’t gotten there in time, she’d never be a model again! What the hell were you thinking?” he yelled furiously.

I pressed my hand against the cold door and hid in the shadows. So… he wasn’t the one behind it?

Yet, it didn’t matter. If Simon hadn’t turned a blind eye to Kelly and his so-called “brothers,” they would’ve never dared lay a hand on me in the first place.

A quiet, bitter laugh escaped me. They were all cut from the same rotten cloth.

“I told you, this was between me and her. I’ve told you, no one was to touch her!”

Kelly’s sobs filled the air. They were sweet, sorrowful and manipulative. “Simon, how could you yell at me because of her? I thought you hated her! I was just trying to help you get revenge. What did I do wrong?”

Someone snapped indignantly, “Simon, she left you for money and fame. She’s the reason you lost everything. Do you really not hate her? Kelly did it because she loves you so much. What’s wrong with that?”

“Jane broke your heart, man. You can’t seriously still be into that heartless woman, right?”

“Enough! I’m not in love with her. I’m marrying Kelly. She’s the only one I love.”

The crowd looked at each other in disbelief. Anyone could see that Simon was out of sorts, but none of them said anything …

Upstairs, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I quickly returned to bed and shut my eyes, though my tightly furrowed brows betrayed my unease.

The door creaked open. Simon entered quietly, stepping softly. He knelt beside my bed and he reached out his hand. It seemed he wanted to feel my forehead.

However, I snapped my eyes open and tilted my head, avoiding his touch.

Seeing the hollowness in my eyes and how distant I was toward him, Simon’s heart clenched.

His hand hovered mid-air for a long moment before slowly falling to rest on the edge of the bed. With a gentle voice, he said, "Janey… don’t be afraid. Those men are gone. I took care of them. No one’s going to hurt you again.”

I didn’t respond to him. My gaze stayed locked on the ceiling, blank and unreachable.

“Please…” Simon’s voice cracked. “Janey, I’ll find the best doctors. I swear I’ll help you speak again. However, please… don’t shut me out like this.”

He sounded so heartbroken and humbled, his voice trembling with unshed tears.

At last, I moved. I raised my finger and pointed to the door. Without making any sound, my mouth formed the words, “Get out!”

Seeing this, Simon knew I didn’t want him there.

When I saw him standing frozen in place, my control snapped. I grabbed an object on the table and hurled it toward Simon.

“Okay! Fine! I’ll go!” Simon was too worried sick about upsetting me, about making me even more ill, so he backed out of the room. I could see it through his eyes that it broke him to do so.

Over the next few days, Simon stayed by my side almost around the clock, tending to my every need.

One evening, after seeing that I appeared calm and composed, Simon gently brought up the topic of our wedding. “The ceremony is in three days,” he said cautiously. “I’ve taken care of everything. You won’t need to worry about a thing. You just need to show up and be the most beautiful bride in the world.”

I didn’t say anything. I just lowered my head and took a small sip from the glass of milk in my hands.

Simon let out a quiet sigh of relief, “You didn’t say no, so I’ll take that as a yes… my bride.”

After he left, my phone buzzed with a flood of messages. I stared blankly at the group chat on the phone screen, my face devoid of any expression as my eyes scanned the words.

[Congratulations, Simon and Kelly. You're finally getting married.]

[Congratulations, Simon. You finally have your revenge. I can't wait to see Jane's face when she realizes Simon is getting married to someone else when she arrives at the venue. I bet she’ll collapse on the spot!]

[Honestly, I’m living for that moment. It’ll be epic!]

In the darkness of my room, I quietly sent a message to Chris. [Chris, I’ve booked a flight to the Gaul Nation three days from today. I might need you to come and pick me up from the villa before then.]

If they’re so eager to watch me break down in public, then I would make sure they never get that satisfaction.

The night before the wedding, Simon had someone deliver a wedding dress to the villa, along with a framed photo of the two of them from happier times.

He walked up behind me while I was seated at my vanity, gently wrapping his arms around me. “Technically, I shouldn’t be with you the night before the wedding,” he murmured. “So I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning. The makeup artist will be here early. Sorry, you’ll have to wake up a bit earlier.”

Moments later, I heard the sound of an engine starting as he drove away.

As soon as I was sure he had gone, I made my move. I stood up, grabbed a pair of scissors and without hesitation, began shredding the wedding dress to pieces. Delicate fabric that once symbolized dreams and promises now fell in limp, crumpled piles at my feet.

Next, I yanked the framed photo off the wall and hurled it to the ground. The glass shattered with a loud crack and sprayed its shards across the floor.

I reached down, tore the photo out of the broken frame and ripped it apart with trembling but determined hands. Piece by piece, I let it fall. With each tear, I felt the weight on my chest grow lighter, the knot inside my heart slowly coming undone.

By the time I finished, there was less than an hour before the wedding entourage would arrive to “pick up the bride.”

I inhaled deeply as my gaze landed on the destruction on the floor and without a second thought, I turned and walked out the door.

Chris was already waiting outside the villa. “Janey, where’s your luggage?” he asked when he saw me.

I shook my head and answered him, “I’m not taking anything. I’ll just buy new stuff once we get there.”

Chris nodded without pressing further and helped me into the car. Together, we headed for the airport.

After passing through security, I sat quietly at the departure gate. Then, without a flicker of hesitation, I opened my phone and left the group chat. One by one, I deleted their contacts, Simon included and then blocked them all.

Finally, I pulled out my old SIM card, snapped it in half and tossed it into a nearby trash bin. I then put the new SIM card, that I had prepared before, into the phone.

I whispered, “Simon… whatever this twisted fate between us was… it ends here!”