A Public Humiliation

I stood frozen, my hands and feet icy cold.

They were right in front of me, doing the most shameless things without a hint of restraint.

After a low, breathless sound, Theo looked at me with open contempt.

"Catherine, did you get a good look? This is what a real woman is like. Cheap tricks like drugging someone and crawling into their bed only make people sick."

Humiliation burned through me. Without realizing it, my nails dug into the back of my hand, leaving red marks behind.

"Where did you learn that little habit?" Theo suddenly spoke, his eyes fixed on my hand as I kept scratching at my skin.

I jolted and stopped at once.

The year we were kidnapped together flashed through my mind. Every time he tried to protect me, he was beaten until his body was covered in wounds.

All I could do was cry and claw at myself like this. I hated my own helplessness. I hated that I dragged him down with me.

He would always grit his teeth through the pain and grip my wrist firmly. "Don't scratch, sweetie. I'm fine. It doesn't hurt at all."

But when we met again years later at the blind date banquet arranged by our families, the way he looked at me was as cold as if I were a stranger.

"I just got some paint on my hands. It's a little itchy." I lowered my eyes, my voice flat and calm. "It's nothing."

Theo studied me for a few seconds.

He didn't press further. To him, someone like me wasn't worth even a bit of extra thought.

Before leaving with Hannah, Theo tossed me a new order. "There's a business dinner tonight. I'm taking Hannah. Go back to my house and deliver the supplements my mom wants."

…

That evening, I carried the expensive supplements to the Bennett Residence.

When my mother-in-law saw it was me, the smile on her face faded at once.

"Put them there," she said coolly, signaling a maid to take them.

"I heard Hannah's pregnant. You finally did something right. Since you can't have children, at least you didn't stop someone else from giving Theo an heir."

I stood there in silence.

"Oh, and the diamond jewelry set you brought when you married Theo—it looks nice. You don't make good use of it anyway. It'll be a perfect reward for Hannah."

A dull ache spread through my chest. This was the marriage I had struggled to hold together for so many years.

In their eyes, everything I owned could be taken at will, used to please Theo's new favorite.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Theo. "Did you deliver the supplements? If you're done, hurry back and work on the model. Hannah's waiting for it."

"I understand."

I ended the call and fled that suffocating place.

…

Back in the studio, I threw myself fully into my work.

I didn't know how much time passed before the model was finally finished. I packed it carefully, called a courier, and had it sent to the hotel Theo had named.

Once everything was done, the last bit of strength holding me upright collapsed.

The prolonged focus and crushing pressure made my vision go black, and I fell hard to the floor.

When I came to, noisy voices filled my ears.

"Isn't she the wife of Theo Bennett?"

"Yeah, that's her! Doesn't her husband flaunt that actress Hannah Moore everywhere? She probably got sick from the stress."

It turned out a kind passerby had found me and called an ambulance.

Reporters who caught wind of it snapped photos of me lying weakly on the stretcher.

The story spread fast, and online discussions exploded about this wealthy family's love triangle.

The hospital room door was shoved open. Theo strode in, his expression dark. He slammed his phone down in front of me.

"Catherine, you're really something. Trying a new trick now? You were quiet for two days, and now you can't wait to fake being sick and push Hannah into the spotlight to get torn apart online?"

Hannah followed behind him, crying so hard her eyes were red and swollen. "Theo, everyone online is calling me a homewrecker. I'm really upset…"

Theo pulled her into his arms, full of tenderness. When he looked at me again, there was nothing but coldness in his eyes.

"Look at the mess you've made! Catherine, know your place. You're nothing more than my wife on paper—just for show!"

He pulled out a document and tossed it in front of me. "The divorce agreement. Sign it."

I almost found it funny.

After all, I had already prepared a divorce agreement of my own. I just hadn't expected Theo to be the one to bring it up first.

No Way Back

Without hesitation, without a single question, I picked up the pen and signed my name.

After I finished signing the divorce agreement, I didn't ask Sebastian to come get me right away.

The final sculpture exhibition was entering a critical stage of preparation. It was my farewell ceremony to the past few years of my life.

Before I left, I wanted to see it through.

By the time I headed to the studio, night had already fallen.

As I passed through a narrow alley, several people suddenly rushed out. A piece of black cloth was yanked down over my head.

"Shameless bitch, you just won't stop clinging to Mr. Bennett!"

"You think you're worthy of bullying Hannah? If you had any sense, you'd have stepped aside long ago!"

"Guys, teach her a lesson!"

I curled up on the ground, both arms shielding my head.

Pain spread through my body, wave after wave. Yet inside, I felt only bitter absurdity. I had already signed the divorce agreement, and Hannah's fans still refused to let me go.

When they grew tired of hitting me and finished cursing, they quickly dispersed.

The alley was left with nothing but my broken sobs.

I struggled to pull the black cloth off my head and used the wall to steady myself as I stood. My lip was split, bruises bloomed all over my body, and a sharp pain throbbed near my ribs.

I returned to the empty studio and cleaned my wounds myself.

There was still work to finish. I swallowed a few painkillers and forced myself back into creation.

I didn't know how much time had passed when Theo stormed in, wrapped in raw hostility.

"Catherine, are you stupid? Why didn't you tell them we're already divorced when you got beaten? Come on, we're going to the hospital!"

I ignored him and kept working.

My indifference seemed to anger him. He paced back and forth across the studio, restless, his eyes sweeping the room before stopping on a dusty wooden carving in the corner.

It was a crude little rabbit.

Years ago, when he had developed a severe infection and a burning fever, I carved it bit by bit to comfort him.

I had stuffed the ugly little rabbit into his hand and told him that if he held it tight, the pain would fly away.

Theo picked up the wooden carving. For a brief moment, confusion flickered in his eyes. Then it vanished, swallowed by rage.

"You investigated me, didn't you? And you dare make such a lousy imitation just to trick me? I knew it. You deserved that beating. You must have gone to provoke Hannah again, right? Otherwise, why would her fans come after you?"

"It wasn't—" I tried to explain, but he was no longer listening.

With a cold laugh, he pulled out a lighter and flicked it on, bringing the flame close to the little wooden rabbit.

"No. You can't burn that!" I screamed and lunged forward, desperate to snatch back the last thing that meant anything to me.

He shoved me away hard. I staggered backward, my lower back slamming into the edge of the table.

A piercing pain tore through my body. The old surgical scar split open again. The agony was so intense that I nearly blacked out.

Theo saw the scar exposed at my lower back. He froze for a moment, then broke into a cruel smile.

"Whose idea of bedroom fun is this? I thought you said you couldn't live without me. And yet you're so desperate you're sleeping with other men? Are you really that starved?"

He tossed the wooden carving aside and advanced on me step by step. "Fine. Then I'll satisfy you."

He yanked me up and slammed me down onto the worktable.

Realizing what he was about to do, terror flooded me, and I struggled wildly.

"No, Theo, you can't! Let me go! Please… I'm leaving right away. I'll disappear. I'll never show up in front of you and Hannah again…"

"Begging now?" His voice was icy as he pinned me down. "Too late."

The unbearable pain that followed made my entire body tremble. My vision darkened in waves.

I felt as if I had been dragged back to that rainy night when we escaped. He had carried me on his back, every step heavy, yet he still tried to comfort me.

"Don't be afraid, sweetie. We'll be safe soon."

Pain and memory tangled together, my consciousness slipping.

"Sweetie… don't cry. The pain… the pain will fly away…"

The rough movement stopped abruptly.

Theo froze. He grabbed my face and forced me to look at him, his voice shaking. "What… What did you just say?"

The Edge of Ruin

Blackness swallowed me, and I lost all sense of time.

When I came to, Theo's coat was draped over me. He stood a short distance away, his back stiff, as if carved from stone.

"You really are cunning," he said, his voice tight with restrained anger. "You actually eavesdropped on what Hannah said back then to trick me."

He turned to face me, his expression cold, unyielding.

"Catherine, put an end to these thoughts you shouldn't even be having. Stay in your lane from now on, and don't provoke Hannah. Maybe… just maybe… I'll spare you a shred of mercy now and then."

I pushed myself up, my heart hollow.

What did I need his mercy for? All I wanted was for Sebastian to finish arranging everything and take me out of this nightmare.

Just then, Theo's phone rang.

Hannah's whiny, panicked voice came through. "Theo! Our child is gone! It's Catherine! The doctor said that the model she delivered was made with toxic materials. The fumes killed our baby!"

Theo's face turned an instant, terrifying shade of gray. His eyes snapped to me. "Catherine Wolfe!"

He bared his teeth and grabbed my throat, crushing me with a force that stole my breath. "How dare you! That was a life! You witch!"

I clawed at his arms, my hands useless against his grip.

"If anything happens to Hannah, I swear I'll make you pay with your life!"

There was no room for my protests. Like dragging a heavy, broken sack, he hauled me to the hospital entrance.

Reporters swarmed outside, cameras flashing like strobe lights on a battlefield.

"That's her! She poisoned Hannah's baby!"

"Oh my God, that's cruel… How can adult grudges fall on a child?"

"Bitch, go die already!"

Shouts and curses swallowed me whole.

Then Theo looked at the angry crowd and something twisted in his mind.

He didn't take me inside. Instead, he turned sharply and dragged me to the gallery where I'd been preparing my sculpture exhibition for months.

The hall was nearly ready. At the center, on the most prominent pedestal, stood the piece I had poured my soul into: a hollow human figure.

"You value these sculptures so much, don't you?" he sneered, gesturing to his bodyguards. "Put her inside. Right here. Let everyone see what happens to a woman with a heart of venom."

I struggled, terror clawing at me, but it was useless.

They forced me into the narrow, suffocating cavity of the sculpture.

Then red spray paint hissed across the outside, scrawling vicious words over the work of my heart and hands.

My masterpiece, my blood and sweat, transformed into a public symbol of shame.

The air inside the sculpture was thin. Each breath burned. Dizziness hit fast, my mind swimming in faintness.

Outside, the whispers and stares of the crowd pierced me. Humiliation and suffocation wove together, choking me from both sides.

Theo looked at his handiwork, expression cold, then turned and left to tend to his beloved Hannah.

As my vision blurred, and I felt myself nearing death in the body I had sculpted, a sudden, frantic pounding of footsteps echoed through the hall.

"Cathy!"

Sebastian's voice.

He lifted me out of the sculpture, concern etched deep in every movement. "It's okay. I'm here. I've got you. We're leaving."

…

Meanwhile, Theo had just finished soothing Hannah, yet an unreasoning irritation gnawed at him. He felt his punishment had been sufficient and was about to have someone release me.

Then one of his men rushed in, clutching several reports, face pale and urgent.

"Mr. Bennett, the anonymous donor who gave you a kidney after you escaped the kidnappers… We compared the records with Ms. Catherine Wolfe. The data shows the kidney matches her exactly."

Theo snatched the papers. His face drained of color in an instant.