Brigitta’s face burned with pain. She covered her cheek with her injured hand, but Damien grabbed it all of the sudden. Then, another agonizing pain ripped through her already torn wound.

“Irene said that you just scraped your fingers, stop acting, Brigitta! Stay here and serve Irene. You're not allowed to go anywhere else!”

A bitter laugh rose in Brigitta’s chest. She rushed into the living room, grabbed a fruit knife and aimed it at both of them. “Damien, let me out, or else… I’ll go down with you both.”

Her sudden defiance stunned him. Damien hesitated before pulling out his phone and unlocked the door.

Brigitta left and went straight to the Arkwright mansion, to meet Lucien and Lena—Damien's parents. She returned the agreements she had once signed—in which she was granted the shares in Arkwright Corp. and to terminate all financial ties with the Arkwrights.

Both Lucien and Lena were stunned by that. They immediately ordered their butler to investigate the matter thoroughly. Half an hour later, the butler returned and recounted everything he had heard from Damien’s bodyguard.

Lucien slammed the table so hard it shook. “That ungrateful son! He's so obsessed with that woman he's lost his mind—even treating marriage like a joke!”

Lena gently stroked Brigitta's head, looking at the bruises on her forehead and palms with heartbreak. She wiped away her tears. “Gitta, my poor child... Look at you—is your arm alright?”

Brigitta's nose grew a bit stuffy. Lucien and Lena had watched her grow up and the two of them had taken such good care of her, even more so than her own father. In her past lives, even after marrying Damien, they had never let her suffer. They had always protected her.

Lucien picked up his phone and dialed Damien’s number.

“I’ll drag that boy here myself and make him apologize! And he’ll take that woman to terminate the pregnancy. A child born of seduction and betrayal will never be recognized by the Arkwrights!” he said angrily.

But after several attempts, no one answered. Just then, Brigitta's phone rang—it was Damien calling. She accidentally pressed the speakerphone button when answering it.

On the other end, Damien sounded furious. “Brigitta, do you have no shame? You walk out on me one second and the next you’re running to my parents to tattle?"

"Irene’s pregnant—I’m already overwhelmed and instead of helping, you stir up trouble. Since your little push-and-pull games failed, now you’re hiding behind my parents? Pathetic!”

Lucien snatched the phone, roaring into it. “You ungrateful wretch! Try speaking to Gitta like that again! What’s this about the wedding being canceled? What's the deal with 'this' pregnancy? Get here now and explain yourself, or you’re no son of mine! I’ll name another heir!”

Brigitta didn’t want to stay there any longer. She thanked Lucien and Lena and said she didn’t need or accept Damien’s apology. Still, they insisted she stay.

Soon Damien arrived, clearly irritated. “Father, Mother, what is this about? I'm really busy right now.”

Lucien slammed the table again, pointing at him with disappointment. “Apologize to Gitta!”

Damien glanced at Brigitta. “She’s the one who keeps targeting my woman. Why should I apologize?”

Brigitta sighed. She no longer wanted to say anything to Damien.

Lucien’s rage boiled over. “Why? Because she is the only woman this family will ever recognize as an Arkwright. She is your wife. And this is how you treat her?"

"End your affair, take that woman for an abortion. We will never acknowledge her bastard. Don’t force me to deal with it myself!”

Damien’s brows knitted tight. “Father, that’s your grandchild. I’ll make sure Irene’s baby is born safely.”

His eyes went glacial as he looked at Brigitta. “If you try to harm her, I’ll make sure your so-called ‘perfect daughter-in-law’ suffers a fate worse than death.”

Just then, his phone rang. He answered, went in panic and spun toward the door.

Lucien barked, “Don’t you dare walk away from me!”

Damien’s eyes were bloodshot. He didn’t look at his father but glared squarely on Brigitta instead. “Irene tried to kill herself!”

Brigitta’s mind went blank.

So it had come early this time. In her past lives, Irene’s suicide had always come later—after the wedding.

Could it be that she doomed to repeat this cycle no matter what she did?

After Damien stormed out, Brigitta too left the Arkwright mansion.

She had made an appointment with Kaspian at the airport. Although still early, unease gnawed at her, so she hailed a taxi and went ahead to wait.

Everything in this lifetime had unfolded so suddenly. Still, at least Irene’s attempt came before the wedding. This time, no one could pin it on her.

Exhausted, Brigitta leaned against the taxi's window and closed her eyes to rest.

Suddenly the driver jerked the wheel. Brigitta was thrown hard against the front seat.

“Bang!”

Another car slammed into them. The taxi spun, flipped several times and crashed onto the asphalt with a deafening thud.

Pain exploded through her chest and stomach. Dizziness engulfed her and blurred her vision blurred.

It hurt... God, it hurt so much.

But she couldn’t let herself die here.

With everything she had, she forced her eyes open, smashed her fist against the shattered glass and dragged her injured body out of the car.

And then she saw someone walking toward her.

It was Damien.

Brigitta reached out, trying to clutch Damien’s trousers.

“Help me…” She felt her ribs were broken and even breathing caused her pain.

Damien crouched in front of her, looking down at Brigitta coldly and grabbed her chin with his hand. “Where did you hide Irene? Speak!”

The pain forced tears from her eyes. Weakly, she whispered, “I didn’t… I didn’t hide her.”

Damien’s rage boiled over. “Still denying it? Irene’s last call for help said her kidnappers were your people. She tried to kill herself because they forced her!"

"How could you be so cruel? You're trying to take her life too?" He then barked an order, "One of you come here! Tie her up!”

Brigitta couldn't understand... why did things came early in this lifetime? Why she still couldn't escape the effect of Irene’s suicide attempt?

Her body ached unbearably and her old wounds had reopened and were bleeding continuously. Brigitta looked at Damien with plea. “Please... take me to the hospital. I need treatment.”

Damien shoved her hand away as she grabbed for his arm, brushing his sleeve as though she dirtied it.

“Unless you tell me where Irene is, I’ll let you die right here before I ever take you to a hospital.”

Black-clad bodyguards closed in. Their leader bowed nervously.

“Sir Damien… if Sir Lucien finds out we staged this car accident, we’ll all be finished. And if we’re seen abducting Miss Brigitta, the Holmund Family won’t stand for it—”

Damien glared at the man angrily. “Shut up. I'll protect you no matter what happens. Do as I say!”

The others dared not say another word and dragged Brigitta to her feet.

“Don’t… touch me!”

Brigitta despised the touch of strangers, let alone several unfamiliar men. A sense of humiliation spread throughout her body.

Damien saw the reaction and stepped closer to grab her by the throat.

“Why act so delicate now, Gitta? When you staged that crash and kidnapped Irene, did you even think about this? You’ve got scratches at most, while she’s out there suffering God knows what.”

Damien ordered his men to tie her up, gag her and throw her into the back of the truck. The vehicle soon sped down the road.

Brigitta fought nausea, her tears blurring with despair. She prayed—prayed that someone would come for her.

After what felt like hours, the car screeched to a stop in front of an old and worn warehouse.

She was dragged out of the car. The pain in her body made it impossible for her to walk and she fell directly to the ground. The motion made her stomach churn violently and she vomited.

Damien got out of his car and stepped back in disgust when he saw that.

“You're putting quite the performance! But unless you tell me where Irene is, I don’t care how pitiful you act—you’re not leaving this place.”

They dragged her inside the warehouse. Her legs scraped against the concrete until they bled.

"I might die here," Brigitta mouthed in despair.

Damien took out his phone and threw it on the ground. “Call your people and tell them to release Irene and we’ll trade with you."

He added, "Do it quick! She’s pregnant! If anything happens to her or the baby, I won’t spare you.”

Brigitta trembled as she picked up the phone from the ground and dialed the familiar number.

After a few rings, a deep male voice answered. “Who is this?”

The moment the call connected, a sob escaped her lips, “Kass, save me...”

Before she could finish, Damien ripped the phone from her hand and smashed it on the floor. “Who was that?!”

Brigitta glared at him in silence, hatred burned in her eyes.

His vision reddened with fury. He loomed over her, pointing at the shattered phone. “Tell me who he is! You've hooked up with someone else so quickly? Brigitta, you never cease to disgust me.”

Damien lashed out at the silence. He kicked over a nearby motorbike with a crash. “Not saying anything, are you? Then we’ll just wait here!”

Time passed slowly and Brigitta felt her life slipping away.

She suddenly thought of the unfinished business from her three lifetimes, the dreams she had pursued.

She truly wanted to explore the Lost City Thalasson herself, to witness that ancient civilizaiton, to leave her mark in history.

It felt quite frustrating…

At that moment, Brigitta coughed up another mouthful of blood.

He stood up and walked toward Brigitta, his hand about to touch her, when he was interrupted by his men’s voice.

“Sir Damien! We found Ms. Kemmer!”

A guard rushed in, breathless. “She’s shaken and twisted her ankle. Should we take her to the hospital?”

Damien’s head snapped up. He strode away instantly. “Everyone, follow me and save Irene. Now!”

The guard hesitated. “But, sir… Miss Holmund looks gravely injured. Sir Lucien values her so much, shouldn’t we take her to a hospital too?”

Damien glanced back at Brigitta, who was lying on the ground, bound and gagged.

“She won’t die. Leave her here. Let her learn her lesson,” he said coldly.

Moments later, the engines outside the warehouse roared to life. The convoy pulled away and silence swallowed the warehouse.

Brigitta didn’t even have the strength to get up. She crawled toward the phone Damien had thrown to the ground, but it was already broken.

At that moment, a few drunks carrying beer bottles passed by. They saw the barely conscious Brigitta.

“Damn, there’s a person lying here—a woman!”

One of the drunks stumbled over to her, drunkenly examining her face. “Guys, this woman is really pretty!”

“We’ve hit the jackpot today! Let’s have some fun with her.” After saying that, one of the drunken men began to take off his pants.

They ripped at her clothes. Brigitta fought with the last of her strength against them.

One man yanked her hair, slapping her hard. “Just stay still, bitch, or I’ll kill you!”

Her blouse tore apart. She screamed in humiliation, wildly waving her hands to protect herself and closed her eyes in despair.

Bang!

A gunshot. Then a man’s agonizing screams.