Jason wanted to pat me on the shoulder, but I instinctively flinched.

He retracted his hand and said, "Madeline, you're being a little strange."

I lowered my gaze, not knowing how to respond to him.

How could I not be strange? If only he knew how I spent my days at the mental asylum.

We arrived at Jason's mansion, the same place I used to live in the past.

I only ended up that way because I was foolish enough to think that I could one day be the mistress of this mansion.

I no longer had such thoughts.

No more.

That man only made my life hell.

I walked behind Jason. As we approached the mansion, I found it harder to breathe.

I had lived there for six years. Everything was still the same as I remembered. Perhaps because it was so familiar to me, every memory I had in the past instantly flooded my brain.

I felt a sudden rush of dizziness.

Camila, in a custom-made dress, came out of the mansion, walked over to me, and affectionately hooked her arm with mine.

"Madeline, you're finally back!"

I looked extremely ugly standing next to her.

Camila was Jason's first love. He had liked her for many years. In this aspect, Jason and I were similar.

Camila had always treated Jason as a backup. Two years ago, the man she wanted to marry was sent to prison due to embezzlement of funds. It was only after that did she started to open up to Jason.

"It's only been a year. Look at how thin you've become!"

She furrowed her brows and grumbled, "The mental asylum must have been treating you badly."

When I heard the mental asylum being mentioned, I started to feel dizzy once more.

Camila looked sorry as her tears fell. "I'm sorry, Madeline. If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have let Jason send you in. Please don't blame me."

The only person who bought her pitiful act was Jason.

He said, "Come on, Camila, how could it be your fault? You were looking out for Madeline too."

He wiped away her tears and added, "Madeline has recovered. It's all thanks to you."

I secretly sneered.

That was right. I had only become the way I was all thanks to her.

Camila nodded demurely and smiled. "We'll fatten her up."

A feast was laid out on the dining table. Camila claimed that she had done it for me, but there was not a single dish that I liked.

"Madeline, eat up. You're too thin. You'll have to eat more."

Camila kept putting food onto my plate. She placed some grilled pork belly on my plate as she said, "Jason said that this is your favorite."

I picked up my cutlery, but I did not know where to start.

I did not like pork belly at all. It was because Jason used to only eat lean meat, so I would always take away the fatty parts and leave the lean part for him.

After some time, he believed that I loved the fatty parts.

My stomach churned badly.

I developed a terrible stomach condition from the mental asylum. They constantly starved me, only feeding me once a day. Sometimes, there was no food at all.

The doctor told me that my liking Jason was immoral. It was a big sin, so I needed to be punished.

Being starved was one of the punishments.

I lowered my head and wolfed down my food. I ate so quickly that the veins on my neck popped out.

Camila looked at me in disgust and moved slightly further away from me.

Jason merely frowned at me. He seemed to be unhappy with my behavior.

I could not care less. Filling up my stomach was the main priority.

I learned how to eat fast at the mental asylum. Every meal, I was only given five minutes to finish. Sometimes, even two or three minutes.

If I did not eat it quickly, I would not know when the next meal would come.

After dinner, Jason and Camila left the dining table as usual.

"Madeline, clean up."

I used to be the one cleaning up after them.

"Madeline, thank you for doing the dishes. We'll head to bed."

Camila ordered me around as if she were the mistress of the mansion and I was a servant.

I might be adopted, but I was truly treated like a servant. In the past, I used to like doing it because I could look after Jason because I loved him.

However, I did not love him anymore. Naturally, I did not want to do it.

"Don't you have a housekeeper?" I asked Jason icily.

Jason was a little stunned as he replied with a little irritation, "You used to do this in the past, didn't you?"

I looked at him as he spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He clearly did not care about my feelings at all.

"That was the past. Let the housekeeper do it now."

I headed upstairs to my room. I could hear Jason and Camila talking in the distance.

"Jason, did I cross a line?"

"No. Madeline's the immature one here."

"I can sense that she doesn't like me. Why don't I move out?"

"No. This is your home. Why should you move out? Don't worry, Camila. I'll talk to Madeline."

I shut the door, blocking their voices out. Whatever they said made me dry heave, but I really wanted to puke.

I bent over the toilet bowl, puking violently until all I could puke out was stomach juices.

I had not eaten that much food in a year. Since the food was so rich and fatty, my stomach could not take it.

Jason knocked on the door. I opened the door and retreated a few steps back, trying to stay as far away from him as possible.

He said frostily, "Madeline, let's talk. I'm going to marry Camila. She's going to be your future sister-in-law. When our parents were alive, they should've at least taught you proper manners."

Two years after I was adopted, Jason's parents died in a car crash. He was forced to take over the company when he was only in his twenties, but he did it excellently, even much better than his parents.

I said nothing, pursing my lips.

Jason frowned once again. "Why the hell are you acting this way? You've had that expression ever since you returned. Are we monsters or something?"

I shook my head.

They were not monsters. They were demons.

"If you don't want to do the chores, I won't force you to do them. You can rest however long you want, but you can't upset Camila."

Every single sentence Jason said revolved around Camila. I truly wondered how that woman managed to get him in her grasp.

He approached me. My breathing started to get shorter and shorter.

"Stay away!"

I felt suffocated. I subconsciously grabbed my own neck with both hands and yelled, "I was delusional! I was wrong! I shouldn't have loved you! I'm a terrible person! I'm the worst!"

Jason was baffled. He stopped in his tracks.

I felt much better when he gave me some distance.

I stood up to take my top off in front of him, but he thought I was about to seduce him.

With an icy gaze, he said condescendingly, "Madeline, it looks like your sickness isn't cured yet. Do you think I'll like you if you strip off your clothes? Do you think—"

Once I took off my top, he suddenly stopped.