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.

After what felt like an eternity, I began to develop a fever. My throat grew parched and burning.

I croaked weakly, "Water… Need water…"

However, nobody responded at all.

This time, I heard a conversation from upstairs coming through the vent.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Mike."

It was Victoria's voice. "I only just realized how stupid I'd been in the past, giving up my future and happiness for a half-witted idiot."

"It's not too late yet, Vicky. You still have a whole life ahead of you," Mike replied gently.

After a short pause, Victoria spoke again. "I've already thought things through. I promise that I'll marry you. Let's do it next month. It's… It's about time that I lived for myself now."

A while later, the sounds of crying and embraces drifted out from inside.

I lay on the ground, tears flowing silently down my face. So, Victoria would only be happy once I disappeared from her life.

It was a sad and horrible truth, but I felt comfort in it. The pain in my body didn't feel that terrible anymore, either.

Eventually, I lost consciousness and passed out.

…

A few days later, Mike sent someone to take me to a pig farm in the suburbs far away. He chained my ankles with an iron chain that was just long enough for me to move between the sty, the feeding trough, and the haystacks.

The air was thick with the stench of pig feed and shit.

"This place is perfect for you. You're nothing more than just an animal, after all."

Victoria watched everything without saying a single word. I guessed that she'd already given him permission to do this to me with her silence.

I began living with the pigs from then onward. Victoria never came back to see me after leaving that day.

One morning, I woke from a deep sleep to the sound of footsteps approaching from afar. When I looked up, I saw Victoria—the person I had been thinking about day and night.

She was wearing a beautiful wedding gown, slowly stepping toward me in her high heels. Then, she crouched over and peered at me through the fence.

"I'm getting married to Mike today, Jo."

I looked at her blankly.

She really was a very beautiful woman, even more than I remembered.

"I'm sorry to have let you suffer for so long. I'll come back right after the wedding to pick you up," she said in a very light voice.

I nodded as if I understood what she meant, reaching out through the fence to try to touch her dress. However, I quickly noticed how dirty my hands were and withdrew them right away.

She got back to her feet and gave me one last look.

"Wait for me."

Then, she turned around and left in a car.

I watched as the car drove farther and farther away. I didn't beg her to stay. Instead, I just repeated under my breath, "I'll wait, Vicky…"

Sometime later in the evening, the fence leading into the pig sty was suddenly opened. I thought that Victoria had come for me, but I soon realized that it was a man I'd never seen before.

"Howdy, dumbass. Mr. Tate specifically instructed me to send you on your way," he said coldly, before beginning to douse the sty with a horrible-smelling liquid. It was so pungent that the smell made me cough and choke uncontrollably.

It then dawned on me that he was pouring gasoline all over the sty.

"You've got nobody to blame but yourself for being such a burden and getting in the way of everything. Mr. Tate can't ever get a day off as long as you're still alive.

"So, it's better for you to just die and get out of his way. People like you deserve to die anyway."

Moments later, flames began licking every corner of the sty. The pigs were startled and began squealing and trampling over one another in panic, trying to escape.

The fire spread quickly, and I felt the painful burns on my skin. The heavy smoke was also stinging my eyes and making me choke. I wanted to run, but I was still chained up, and there was nowhere I could go.

Was I finally going to die this time?

But maybe it was for the best.

The pig sty began to collapse, its support beams falling, and I looked at the blue sky outside the tiny window.

I remembered how Victoria looked in her wedding dress.

"I hope you'll always be happy, Vicky…"

I wasn't going to continue dragging her down with me anymore.

While on the verge of passing out, I suddenly heard the sound of car brakes screeching, followed by Victoria's heart-wrenching scream.

"Jordan!"

Right before losing consciousness, I heard someone else say in a deep, regretful voice, "His heart stopped beating, Ms. Chandler."