On the day of the international painting competition finals, I was kidnapped by criminals and my tendons were cut, so I could no longer hold a paintbrush.
My best friend won the competition and announced it publicly on the podium with my fiancé.
In despair, it was my best friend’s brother who saved me from slitting my wrists in the bathtub.
He pursued me crazily, expressed his love to the whole world and married me n a lavish wedding of the century.
But in the fifth year of our marriage, I overheard his conversation with his family doctor.
"As usual, replace the pills she uses to treat her hand with vitamins and the injections with glucose."
The doctor hesitated to speak. "Mr. Gillard, if she doesn't receive systematic treatment for her hand, I'm afraid she won't even be able to lift cutlery in the future."
"Before, you hired someone to cut your wife's tendons in order to help Ms. Gillard win the championship. But now Ms. Gillard is already a world-famous young painter, so why do you to ...."
"Stop talking and do as I say." Joseph interrupted him with a cold and stern tone.
"Since I can't be with Joana, I will protect her for the rest of her life. I will never allow her happiness to be threatened in the slightest!"
——
Hearing these words, my body froze in an instant and the teacup in my hand trembled.
I never expected that the person I thought was saving me in the dark, was actually the culprit who pushed me into the abyss!
My heart ached, as if a knife had been stabbed deep inside.
I heard footsteps approaching from inside the door and I ran away in a panic, lifting my skirt.
The hot tea in my hand spilled on me, but my whole body felt cold.
The door closed and the family doctor hurriedly left.
Joseph Gillard walked into the room, held my face and gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead.
"My Dear, why are you standing at the door?"
"I was just about to bring you a cup of tea, but it ended up spilling on my body."
He had a gentle smile on his face as he wiped away the remaining water stains on my skirt.
"Just let the maid do this kind of thing. It's inconvenient for you to do it and I will feel bad if you do this."
As he spoke, his kisses fell delicately, from the forehead to the corners of the mouth, his movements were as gentle as if he was treating a rare treasure.
But I could no longer feel any warmth or tenderness.
I avoided his intimacy without making him suspicious.
"It's been cloudy lately and my hands are a bit uncomfortable. I want to rest early."
He was stunned for a moment, then took a warm towel and put it on my hands.
He started massaging my fingers carefully.
It was something he did every day before going to bed. It was said that it could help my hand recover soon.
I lowered my eyes and watched his movements, so gentle and delicate.
If I had not heard his conversation with the doctor, I would never have suspected that he was the culprit who caused my hand to be broken.
At night, lying on the bed that I once thought was full of love.
I could hear the man's even breathing behind me, but I felt no sleep at all.
After hesitating for a long time, he quietly got out of bed barefoot and walked to the door of the storage room on the top floor.
It was a restricted area in the house.
Joseph said that it was full of family secrets and he never allowed me to take even a single step inside.
I took a deep breath and tried the combination just once, then the combination lock opened.
As soon as I saw what was inside, I was so shocked that I covered my mouth, afraid that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from screaming out.
The wall was covered with paintings and photos of Joana Gillard, from childhood to adulthood.
Every single one of her works had been bought by Joseph, carefully framed and put on display on the wall.
The photos of her at every age were also recorded and arranged in chronological order, fully depicting the process of a girl from a toddler to a graceful young lady.
Next to each photo, there were time and date markings.
There was one stood out photo. It was taken five years ago, on the day of the international painting competition finals.
He wrote a line. [All stumbling blocks will become stepping stones for Joana.]
And the stumbling block he mentioned was me.
A man's love was both subtle and explicit.
Hidden in every photo on the wall.
It made my heart ache.
There was also a document in the middle of the room, which specified Joana's identity.
She was the daughter of Joseph's father's mistress and had no blood relationship with Joseph.
There was a line in the lower right corner of the document, which was Joana's handwriting.
[We are destined to be brother and sister in this life, but I will be Joseph Gillard's wife in the next life.]
Beside her handwriting, Joseph also left two words. [Same wish.]
Staring at these lines of words, my hands could not stop trembling and the pain of having my tendons cut was still vivid in my mind.
The anger and despair in my heart erupted like a volcano.
It turned out that all the suffering I had endured was due to his twisted and unspeakable love for Joana.
I laughed at myself and had no intention of reading more lines.
I appointed a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement and also made an appointment for myself to have my death faked three days later.
Three days, say goodbye to five years, that was enough.
The next day, when I opened my eyes, Joseph was no longer by my side.
The slightly cool sheets indicated that the person who slept on them had left long ago.
There was a beautifully packaged breakfast on the table.
He knew I liked the cuisine of a star hotel in this city and ordered breakfast for me at his house for five years.
But now I had no appetite, so I just threw my breakfast into the trash can and went out.
Today was the opening day of Joana's Gallery.
Since my hand was injured five years ago, I had never set foot in any place related to painting again.
It was just because Joana said, "This is my first gallery and I hope to get the blessings of all my family."
Joseph had been persuading me to attend her precious moment for half a month with him.
He said that it was where Joana's dream began.
Unfortunately, he forgot that it was also where my dreams were shattered.
I smiled bitterly and my eyes just happened to meet Joseph who was feeding Joana a sandwich.
Before he could speak, Joana greeted me with a smile.
"Emily, the sandwiches my brother made are so delicious! I envy you so much for having such a good meal every day."
Hearing this, I was stunned for a moment.
In the five years of our marriage, my husband had never entered the kitchen for me.
Thinking of the breakfast I bought every day for five years.
I once thought it was his love language, but now I thought it was all just perfunctory.
If he did love and care about me, he would at least cook for me once in a while.
Sensing that my face was not right, he walked briskly over and said, "Dear, this little girl is too picky. She can't get used to eat something outside."
I did not care about what he said and nodded lightly.
Joseph wanted to explain, but the host announced the start of the opening ceremony.
Joana hurried over and took his arm.
"Joseph, the ceremony has begun. Can you accompany me to cut the ribbon?"
He smiled lovingly, then turned to me and said, "My Dear, wait here for me. I will come to you after the ceremony."
Without waiting for my response, the two of them went on stage together.
The man turned his face sideways the whole time, his gaze closely following Joana, full of warmth and affection.
Some guests whispered.
"Ms. Gillard is so beautiful, with both talent and appearance. If she and Mr. Gillard weren't brother and sister, they would be a match made in heaven!"
"They are not real siblings. If you ask me, the pseudo-orthopedics are the best ...."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Someone interrupted. "Mr. Gillard has already said that this must not reach the ears of his disabled wife."
I stood in the crowd and felt that the laughter and joy around me became harsh noises and the wound on my hand was aching again.
It turned out that everyone knew their true relationship, but I was the only one who was kept in the dark like a fool for five years.
Suddenly there was an exaggerated exclamations from the crowd.
"This is a natural pink diamond worth one hundred fourty million dollars. It was bought at a Paris auction house. It turns out that the mysterious buyer is Mr. Gillard."
"This is the largest transaction in the auction house in recent years. Mr. Gillard is really a man who dotes on his sister."
Following the gaze of most people, I looked towards the stage.
Joseph was taking out a top-grade pure natural pink diamond necklace to give to his sister as a gift for her grand opening gallery.
I remembered not long ago, he disregarded my advice and took a flight to attend an auction abroad in a high fever.
After two to three days, he came home with a pink diamond ring in his hand.
"My dear, I bought this specially from abroad. Do you like it?"
At that time, I was so moved that tears welled up in my eyes, thinking that he was trying so hard just to give me a gift.
Joana walked to me gracefully wearing the necklace and her eyes fell on the pink diamond ring on my hand.
"Emily, my brother is indeed a fool. He even gave you the gift ring from the auction house. Those who didn't know would think our family is bankrupt."
"That's too much. Wait, I will teach him a lesson for you."
It turned out what I received was just a gift Joana did not want?
I then turned the pink diamond to the palm slowly.
At this moment, it seemed to weigh four hundred fifty kilograms, making it hard for me to catch my breath.
On the stage, Joseph was only focused on putting the necklace on Joana. The two of them were so intimate that there was no room for a third person in between.
I took off the ring and threw it into the trash can.
I did not want the ring.
And I did not want Joseph either.
I did not wait for him.
I sent him a text message saying that I was not feeling well and went home first.
After a minutes later, he replied with only [Okay.] and there was no more news from him.
Suddenly, a notification popped up on my mobile phone.
I clicked on it and it was a post from Joana.
[My brother is really something. He got drunk and started calling me by my childhood nickname "Dear Baby". I’m not a kid anymore.]
In the video, Joseph's eyes were hazy and his head were leaning on her shoulder, then he muttered to himself. "Joana, you are my dear baby forever ...."
Just after the video finished playing, the man returned home with a strong smell of alcohol.
As soon as he entered the bedroom, he eagerly pressed me under him and kissed me all over my face.
"My Dear Baby, I love you so much. I really love you so much. Tell me you love me now, tell me now ...."
Even though I had a nickname, he always stubbornly called me "Dear Baby".
His voice overlaps with the voice in the video just now.
Soon, I realized that every time he called me "Dear" or "Dear Baby", he was thinking of his true love.
Did he treat me as a substitute for Joana?
A feeling of nausea came over me and I could not stop myself from throwing up.
Joseph regained his senses and his eyes regained clarity.
"My Dear Baby, what's wrong with you? Did I hurt you somewhere?"
He patted my back gently and the worry between his brows did not seem fake.
I forced a smile and replied, "It's okay, I'm just a little bit comfortable because of the smell of alcohol."
He showed guilt on his face as he brushed my hair behind my ear.
