Mia stared at the thick, dark-red liquid in the bottle. Her stomach churned violently as she stepped back.

“No… take it away! I do not want this cursed thing!”

Her voice was hoarse as she raised a hand to push it away.

“Be good. This is for your own good, for the good of the entire family.”

Zinnia’s expression darkened, carrying the authority of an elder.

In the struggle, the bottle slipped from her hand and shattered against the marble floor with a loud crash.

The dark blood splattered everywhere. The metallic stench filled the room.

Zinnia froze for a moment. She stared at the mess and her eyes instantly reddened.

She knelt slowly, using a silk handkerchief to painstakingly wipe the blood from her shoes and the floor. Her shoulders trembled as her voice broke with heart-wrenching sobs,

“I just… I only wanted what was best for you both… wanted the Yorick family to have a proper heir.

“Even if you don’t like it, there's no reason to trample on my feelings and disregard the family’s well-being.”

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she became. Tears streamed down her carefully maintained face.

James’s eyes darkened as he watched the tears fall. The cold, ruthless aura of the don enveloped him.

“Mia, apologize to Zinnia!”

His voice was low, but sharp as ice.

He stepped forward in long strides, clamping a hand around Mia’s slender arm, dragging her from the sofa without giving her the chance to resist, while his other hand grabbed the bottle opening with only a little blood left.

“James! Let go of me! No!”

Mia struggled violently as her nails raked across his arm.

“Drink it. Only then will the demon leave.”

James’s voice was flat, unyielding. He gripped her jaw and, ignoring her gagging and kicking, pressed the bottle opening to her lips.

“Cough… gag…”

Mia choked violently as the dark-red liquid dripped from the corners of her mouth and down her neck. It was a shocking sight.

James released her jaw, watching her curl up on the carpet in agony. A flicker of emotion flashed across his eyes, but it was quickly swallowed by deep indifference.

He knelt beside her and patted her back. His tone shifted into a rehearsed, gentle calm. “All done. Purification complete. Zinnia did this for the family. You have to understand.”

Zinnia finally wiped her tears, rose to her feet, and spoke with calm authority,

“Not a drop of the sacred blood used for purification can be wasted, or the demon will return.”

She glanced at James; her eyes filled with encouragement and unwavering expectation.

James’ body stiffened for a moment.

Mia suddenly lifted her head. Her bloodshot eyes blazed as she shouted, “James! Are you crazy? What kind of dark magic is this? If you force me again today, we are done for!”

James avoided her gaze. His Adam’s apple rolled.

After a long pause, he reached out, pressing the back of her neck. His voice was low and hoarse, “Mia, don’t throw a childish tantrum. Listen to Zinnia and clean it up.”

Mia’s pupils constricted. A cold wave ran through her veins.

“No… James… you can’t do this… you said you owed me a lifetime… ugh…”

She shook her head desperately, trying to break free.

Finally, he pressed her neck down with absolute control. His voice came out hoarse and husky, as though he was heaving a long sigh.

“Mia, do not be difficult. Do as Zinnia say. It is for our future.”

He increased the pressure, holding her down over the half-congealed blood.

Humiliating tears mixed with the remaining liquid blurred her vision.

Mia trembled as her face pressed into the iron-scented blood, coughing violently as saliva and mucus smeared across her features.

“The ritual is complete. God will bless you.”

Zinnia walked over to James, gently adjusting his collar. "James, don't spoil her too much," she advised before leaving the room in chaos and the stench of blood.

James's eyes followed her, and only after a long moment did he remember Mia. On the cold floor, Mia's body was curled up, completely still.

A dull ache stabbed her lower abdomen again, and a warm liquid seemed to seep from beneath her, mixing with the urine on the floor.

She was bleeding heavily.

“It hurts!”

James’s pupils contracted sharply. His gaze locked on the bright red before him.

His face went pale in an instant, and he nearly fell to his knees.

“Why are you bleeding? Did you cut yourself on the glass? I-I didn’t mean to…”

His words tumbled out incoherently. His face etched with genuine panic and anguish. It was as though the man who had pinned her down moments ago was not him at all.

“I’m sorry, babe, I’m so sorry… I am a bastard, I deserve this! We’ll go to the hospital immediately. Now!”

He scooped Mia up in his arms.

Her body was cold and limp, utterly powerless, letting him do as he pleased.

James ran out of the house, pressing his lips repeatedly to her sweat-dampened forehead.

He opened the passenger door and carefully placed her inside.

As he bent over to buckle her seatbelt, a folded slip of paper slipped from Mia’s pocket, floating lightly to the floor.

“What’s this?” James instinctively bent to pick it up. The moment his fingers touched the paper, a sudden, unexplainable pang seized his heart.

Mia tried to snatch it back, but her fingers lacked any strength.

He glimpsed the hospital’s red stamp and the words [Medical Report] on it.

He frowned as he reached to unfold it.

Then his phone rang sharply. The screen flashed Zinnia’s name, instantly seizing all his attention.

He immediately answered, not even bothering to secure the paper, shoving it into his coat pocket instead.

“James…” Zinnia’s voice trembled with tears. There seemed to be a faint sound of wind behind her. “I… I twisted my ankle while walking… it hurts so much… I can’t move…”

“What?! Where are you? Don’t move, I will be right there!” James’s voice shot up, brimming with unmasked panic and urgency. He even turned instinctively as though he was about to run in the opposite direction of the car.

“No, no, James, don’t come. It’s too much trouble. I can handle it myself…”

Zinnia’s voice grew weaker and pitiful.

“What nonsense!” snapped James, leaving no room for argument. “Stand still and send me your location! If you move on your own, just wait and see how I… punish you.”

He hung up and gripped his phone. His panic over Mia’s bleeding was already replaced by concern for Zinnia.

It was not until the thick, metallic stench of blood reached him that he finally snapped back to reality, looking into the car.

Mia remained curled in the exact position he had placed her. Her face was ghostly pale, almost lifeless.

Dark-red blood had already soaked through the light fabric of her skirt, dripping onto the floor, one drop after another.

A flicker of hesitation crossed James’s face.

“Mia, Zinnia twisted her ankle. I’m her only support. I can’t ignore her.

“I’ll have Carl take you to the hospital. Just hang on a little longer.”

Hang on?

Had she not endured enough over these three years?

“And if I don’t agree?”

James did not pause in carrying her out of the car. “Don’t be stubborn.”

He placed Mia by the roadside, thoughtfully draping his suit jacket over her.

Then he sped off in the car.

The engine’s roar soon disappeared around the corner, leaving only the dead silence and the thick scent of blood.

Mia let out a low, bitter laugh. It was worse than any sob.

“James… you will burn in hell.”

She waited so long.

She waited until her consciousness faded and her entire body trembled uncontrollably.

A black sedan screeched to a stop at the roadside.

Carl slammed the door. His face showed no concern, only undisguised annoyance, and contempt.

He had long resented Mia.

The infamous woman who only brought chaos and scandal to the don and the family, now was lying there half-dead, holding everything up.

“Trouble, as always.”

Carl muttered under his breath. He grabbed Mia’s arm like she was a piece of trash and shoved her into the back seat.

The car lurched forward. Each jolt intensified her pain.

Mia curled up on the cold leather seat.

The faint scent of James lingering on his jacket wrapped around her.

It was sharp and crueler than any knife, slicing away the last shred of her miserable awareness.

‘James, I will never love you again.’

Mia lay in the hospital bed for three full days.

The doctors mentioned she had lost a lot of blood, and her uterus had suffered severe damage. They said it might be really tough for her to conceive again.

James appeared once after she woke. His eyes were shadowed with bruises. He tried to hold her hand, but she pulled away.

He stayed silent for a long while before finally speaking in a hoarse voice, “Zinnia… Her ankle was seriously injured that day. I had to take her. How are you? That day… Did you cut an artery? How did you bleed so much?”

The medical report sat on the bedside table, but he did not even glance at it.

Mia said nothing, turning her head to the side. “Get out.”

James froze for a moment. There was a hint of offense in his eyes.

After that, he did not come again.

However, the hospital bills were paid on time.

A private suite, the best medication, the most meticulous care.

This, apparently, was his version of making up to her and being kind to her.

Just then, her phone lit up. A silent notification appeared at the top of the lock screen.

It was a flight booking confirmation.

The departure would be three days later, two o’clock in the afternoon.

It was the only fragile thread of hope she could grasp.

On the day of her discharge, Mia returned home carrying the printed divorce papers.

However, she stumbled upon a scene that made her blood run cold.

On the large bed, Zinnia, clad only in a thin silk slip, was locked in a kiss with James.

The heavy, ragged sound of their breathing stabbed into her ears like needles.

Her surgical wound in the lower abdomen flared as if it had split open again. A piercing pain shot through her, sharp enough to make her dizzy.

James, hearing a stir at the door, turned around to look.

“Mia? You’ve been discharged? Why didn’t you say anything? I could have picked you up.”

His tone was casual. It was as though the utterly scandalous scene unfolding before her was completely normal.

She had just endured a hemorrhage that nearly took her life, lost her unborn child, and bore deep scars on her womb.

Yet her husband, while she hovered between life and death in the hospital, was in bed with another woman at home.

Zinnia’s eyes locked with Mia’s empty stare, and her lips lifted in the faintest of smirks.

She rose and brought a cup of hot cocoa.

“Mia, why do you look so pale? Haven’t you recovered yet?”

Mia looked up, noticing the fresh, red hickeys on Zinnia’s neck.

She didn't answer.

The next moment, the cup clattered to the floor, scalding hot cocoa spilling all over Mia’s hands.

“Ah!” Caught off guard, Mia jolted as the scalding heat seared through her. Pain spread instantly through her body.

“Mia!” James jumped up.

“The cup was too hot, I… I didn’t hold it right… James, check if Mia’s okay! It’s my fault, I’m so clumsy…”

James roughly wiped the cocoa from her face and neck.

After a few swipes, he paused for a moment, looking at her reddened face and hollow eyes.

After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly reached out, gently cupping Mia’s reddened cheek in his palm and rubbing it lightly.

His voice lowered, tinged with barely noticeable guilt.

“You didn’t even try to move out of the way.”

Mia turned her head sharply, dodging his hand.

James’s palm hung frozen as his expression darkened.

At last, seemingly to shatter tension in the air, he spoke to Mia,

“Your birthday’s tomorrow. I’ll make it a big celebration. Consider it an apology, and a way to chase away bad luck.”

Mia finally lifted her eyes and glanced at the bedroom drawer.

"No need to wait for my birthday," she said with a dry and hoarse voice. "There's something you need to do right now."

James raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Mia pulled out the documents she had prepared and handed them to him.

James signed the papers without even looking at them.

“Why go through all this trouble? Jewelry? Property? Just have my assistant handle it. You’re my wife. There’s no need for this hassle.

“The birthday party goes on as planned.”

He returned the signed papers to her. His tone regained its usual controlling edge. “Let’s have a proper celebration. Whatever you want, you’ll get it that day.”

Mia took the seemingly weightless papers that carried the weight of a thousand burdens. She stared at his familiar signature. She did not look at anyone else and turned around to leave the room.

In three days, she would finally be able to leave this place for good.