When I was 17 years old, I got hit in the head by a falling beam just to save Victoria Chandler, who was stuck in a blazing place. Since then, I become a dummy.

In order to save up money for my physical therapy, Victoria gives up on pursuing her studies. Instead, she starts taking up all sorts of odd jobs and manual labor.

Ten years have passed since then. Victoria is now the youngest businesswoman of Jeronich. Meanwhile, I'm still the dummy who still needs her to help tie my shoelaces and feed me.

But later on, Victoria begins going home later at night. There's only disgust in her eyes when she looks at me.

One day, I accidentally break the music box her assistant, Mike Tate, has gifted her. That's the first time she loses her temper at me and drags me all the way to the rooftop. Then, she orders me to jump off the 50-floor building.

I have no idea why Victoria wants me to do this. All I know is that I'll get rewarded for being a good boy.

Since young, I've been terrified of tall heights. But now, I'm even more terrified by the idea of Victoria abandoning me.

With a smile on my face, I back away from Victoria slowly.

"Please don't be mad at me, Vicky. I'll always obey your orders."

The moment my body leaned back toward the void, a sudden force yanked me back to the front.

I stumbled into Victoria Chandler's arms. Before I could even steady my footing, a hard slap landed on my face.

"Are you out of your mind, Jordan Hurley? You'll die if you fall from here! Do you even know what it means to die?" she roared at me in a choked voice.

I trembled belatedly at the realization, feeling the sharp sting on my cheek. I didn't know whether I was trembling from the fear of nearly falling or from her yelling.

However, I still instinctively raised my hand, wanting to wipe away the tears in the corner of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Vicky."

Victoria instantly shoved my hand away. "What else do you know aside from apologizing all the time, you damn idiot?"

Just then, the iron door to the rooftop was kicked open, and Mike Tate rushed in. He caught sight of the two of us and immediately paled.

"Are you crazy, Victoria? Why did you even bring him to a place like this? What do you think you're going to do if anything happens to him? You do know that you'd be charged for instigating suicide and be thrown into jail, don't you?"

His voice was hoarse, and he grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her into his arms. "And what do you think I'm supposed to do if you do end up in jail?"

Finally, Victoria crumbled in his arms, burying her face into the crook of his neck and breaking into loud sobs.

"I don't know… I just… I'm just so exhausted…"

I stared at her trembling back. Suddenly, it all dawned on me. It seemed as though I was the source of all her pain and suffering for the past ten years.

By the time Victoria finally calmed down, she noticed the large red scrape on my knee. A flicker of guilt flashed across her eyes.

"Does it hurt, Jo? I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell at you just now."

She helped me to my feet and went down the stairs with Mike.

When we got home, she fetched the first-aid kit and began meticulously tending to my wound, just like how she always did countless times in the past.

Yet, even though she was still as gentle as ever while treating my injuries, as if on autopilot, there was nothing in her eyes but weariness and frustration.

After my wound was patched up, she gave me a lollipop and told me quietly, "Stay home and be good."

Then, she pulled Mike out of the place and left.

I was a little curious, so I went up after them and heard them talking at the door.

"I'm so tired, Mike… I feel like I'm never going to have a single day of peace as long as Jordan is still alive… Did you know? I actually thought earlier that I'd jump down right after him. That would probably be for the best."

Hearing that, Mike immediately frowned and chided her. "Victoria! What nonsense are you spouting? You've already sacrificed ten years of your life for that half-witted dumbass, yet you're still thinking of giving up your life as well?"

Victoria replied weakly, "But what else can I do? He only turned out like this because he saved my life back then. It's on me for owing him too much."

Mike suddenly noticed me hiding behind the door and eavesdropping on them. He rushed up to me and grabbed me by my collar.

"Don't you feel ashamed of yourself, even if you're nothing but a dimwit, Jordan Hurley? Are you seriously going to continue dragging Victoria down for the rest of her life as a parasite? Can you even live with your conscience like that?"

Victoria hurriedly pulled him back. "Why are you arguing with him about this? He doesn't even understand what you're saying.

"Alright, alright. Let's not argue anymore. Just… Come with me on a walk to clear our heads. I've got some things about the company that I need to discuss with you anyway."

Victoria glanced at me, told me to stay put at home, and then left with Mike.

I remained standing at the door for a long time even after they'd left. A few neighbors walking past our door saw me there, and they began whispering among themselves.

"I must say, Victoria is such a pitiful young woman. She already has her hands full taking care of things at the company during the day, and then, she has to come home to take care of this mentally-challenged idiot at night."

"I heard that the guy, Mike, had tried proposing to her a couple of times, but she kept turning him down because she couldn't bear abandoning that idiot."

"Really, Victoria is just too kind. In times like this, it's only right that she sends him to the mental hospital to be taken care of."

"Or it would be even better if he died. I'm sure that her days would be much better and her future would be brighter without him."

I felt a shudder in my chest when I heard them. I couldn't stop myself from approaching them. However, the moment they saw me walking toward them, they quickly backed away, fear evident in their eyes.

I blinked at them and asked anxiously, "Is it true? Will Vicky not be sad anymore if I go to the mental hospital?"

When they didn't answer, I pressed them for answers and asked again, "Also… will Vicky be happy if I'm dead?"

They still didn't answer my question. Instead, they just walked around me and left hurriedly, as though I was some kind of plague to be avoided.

I stared at their disappearing backs and suddenly recalled how Victoria once brought me to a park very, very far away on my birthday last year. She told me to sit on the bench before petting me gently on the head and said, "Wait for me here, Jo. I'll be right back."

I waited at the bench from morning till night, until the streetlights turned on, one by one, but she still never came back for me.

In the end, I relied on my vague memories to slowly find my way back to the apartment. I even thought back then that she must be very anxious because I'd been gone and missing for hours. But when she opened the door and saw that it was me, there wasn't an ounce of happiness on her face—just sadness and disappointment.

I finally understood it all now. She had planned to abandon me back then, hadn't she?

I felt my nose tingling all of a sudden. I crouched and buried my face between my knees as tears trickled down from my eyes.

But I quickly remembered what the neighbors said. According to them, Victoria would be happier and have an easier life if I disappeared. Would that mean she would smile happily, too?

At that thought, I stood back up, wiped the tears away from my face, and mustered the courage to leave the apartment building.

I wandered aimlessly down the road for a long time, paying no attention to where I was going or whether it was safe to cross the street. I didn't know how to find my way to the mental hospital the neighbors had been talking about.

While distracted in the middle of the road, a speeding car suddenly approached me. I froze on the spot, unable to move my legs.

Right at that moment, a pair of arms yanked me back onto the sidewalk.

I looked up in shock and saw Victoria's worried and frightened face staring back at me.

"Jordan! Did I not tell you to stay put at home? What the hell are you doing out here on your own? You idiot, can't you just let me stop worrying about you for just a single day? Are you only happy if I were to die, worrying about you every single time?"

I watched her break down and finally say in a shaky voice, "I just wanted to go to the mental hospital… I just wanted to—"

She was shocked when she heard me say that. A hint of remorse appeared in her eyes. However, it quickly disappeared as she raised her voice at me.

"What the hell are you talking about? Did those damn neighbors start talking shit about you again?"

I quickly shook my head and tried to defend myself.

"No. I was the one who wanted to go there. Can't you bring me there, Vicky? Please?"

Just as the words rolled from my mouth, she suddenly cupped my face in her hands and yelled at me, "I will never abandon you, Jordan Hurley! Never!

"I will always protect you and take care of you for the rest of my life! So stop thinking nonsense like this."

I looked at her red-rimmed eyes and nodded obediently. However, I knew very well in my heart that it wasn't the case.

Because when the car had been about to hit me earlier, I had already seen her standing on the sidewalk, hesitating for several seconds over whether she should save me.

The next morning, Victoria brought me to the hospital for a follow-up. I didn't understand what the doctor said, but I saw her frowning very hard. I realized that my condition had most probably gotten worse at this point.

The realization weighed heavily on my chest. I couldn't continue dragging Victoria down with me anymore. So, I waited until she left me alone as she went to get the car, and I quietly slinked out of the parking garage, turning around to run out of the hospital building.

I had to succeed this time. I had to find that place they called a mental hospital, no matter what.

However, I'd only just gotten to the door when I bumped into Mike. His expression turned dark as soon as he saw that I was alone. He grabbed me harshly by my arm, and it hurt so badly that I cowered in fright.

"Jordan Hurley! Why did you sneak out by yourself again like this? Can't you stop creating trouble for Victoria?" he gritted through his teeth. "Why is it always you? Why does it always have to be you?

"It's all because of you that Victoria keeps rejecting me time and time again! Aren't you happy enough that you're ruining her future and that you also want to ruin mine as well?"

The look in his eyes suddenly turned sharp and cruel, as if he'd just made a firm decision. He glared daggers at me while mumbling to himself, "It's because you're too soft-hearted, Vicky, that you can't ever get rid of this liability…

"That's fine. Let me handle this for you, once and for all."

Mike then dragged me to a secluded corner and pressed me against the wall. He cackled coldly and grabbed my hand all of a sudden, using my nails to scratch himself on the face.

"No! Let me go!"

I was so scared that I screamed out loud while trying to draw my hands back, but I was no match for his strength.

Soon, Mike's face was covered in bloody scratches. However, he still didn't think it was enough. He took out his phone and hurled it to the ground, the screen shattering instantly.

Then, under my terrified gaze, he threw himself headfirst into the wall until he began bleeding from his forehead.

"You dipshit, I swear I'm going to get back everything you owe Vicky on her behalf!" he said, snarling at me.

A split second later, he suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Help! Save me! This lunatic is trying to kill me!"

Soon, hurried footsteps could be heard, and a few medical staff from the hospital saw the bloodied Mike and my frozen self standing there. They immediately rushed up to us and wrestled me to the floor, pinning me there.

"It wasn't me… I never did anything…"

I sobbed while forcing the words out of my mouth, but nobody paid any attention to me. Everyone assumed that I was a fierce and dangerous lunatic who'd gone out of control.

A short while later, Victoria also heard us and rushed over. She froze at once when she saw the scene, immediately running up to Mike and asking him shakily, "Are you alright, Mike? What happened just now?"

He leaned heavily against her shoulder and answered weakly, "Don't blame Jordan for this, Vicky… He just… He just had an episode and lost control of himself…"

He wasn't even done speaking when Victoria's gaze landed on the smashed phone on the ground. Her face turned dark at once.

"Jordan Hurley! Don't you know how many important documents were in that phone, you idiot?"

"It really wasn't me, Vicky…"

I kept shaking my head as I sobbed, but she saw the blood under my fingernails and cast me a cold glare.

"It's been ten years since I gave up everything for you, and this is how you repay me?"

Her voice suddenly turned loud and shrill, filled with despair. She began pounding her fists against me, each blow carrying deep hatred and resentment. In the end, she kicked me hard in the head.

The guards tried to stop her, but she shoved them all off.

"Don't you know how much I've lost just because of you?" she screeched at me while crying. "You don't think destroying me is enough? You even tried to destroy everyone around me? What have I ever done to wrong you, Jordan Hurley? Why do you always torture and torment me like this?"

I curled up on the ground, letting her take it all out on me. I shook and shivered from head to toe, but what hurt the most was still my heart.

In the end, Victoria seemed to have exhausted herself and stood back up to call someone to drag me away.

They brought me back and threw me into the dark, musty basement. The iron door was shut with a loud clang, and my entire world plunged into darkness.

The wounds on my body stung very badly, and I curled up in a corner, shivering in the dark.