The moment Wendy hung up the phone, Ron pushed the door open and walked in.

He was no longer the confident man from two days ago. When he met Wendy’s eyes, his guilt was obvious. He hurried over and grabbed her hand.

He forced a smile, trying to act normal. “Wen, you’re awake! The doctor told me you were unconscious for a whole day. I was really worried.”

Wendy looked at his face, she knew better than anyone. Her heart was beyond crushed at this point.

“Why did you do that?” she asked.

Ron paused for a second but did not answer her. Instead, he asked her, “Are you hungry? I can go downstairs and buy you some food.”

Ron's avoidance caused Wendy’s tearing up instantly. Not only because of betrayal, but also because she hated herself for trusting the wrong person.

Seeing her falling tears, Ron reached out to catch them. The hot tears burned his palm.

“Wen, it’s okay. Just this one time, alright? Your medical license won’t be revoked. I promise,” he said.

Wendy pulled herself away. “I’m asking you again. Why did you do this?” her voice was shaky with tears.

Ron knew better than anyone how hard it was for Wendy to become a doctor. In improving her surgical skills to the maximum, Wendy had once locked herself in a room to practice for a whole month.

How could he treat her like this?

This was the first time Ron had seen Wendy so fragile. He felt pity and hugged her tightly.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Wen. I didn’t want things to be like this. But Winny can’t lose her career,” he apologized to no end.

“Meanwhile, you can survive. Your reputation in orthopedics is strong. As long as I help you, you can still be a doctor. But Winny can’t.”

“I told you before, Wen. I recently found out that she was the one who saved me when we were kids. I can’t just watch her dream be destroyed…”

Listening to Ron's ridiculous reasons, Wendy felt her blood turn cold. “So you chose to sacrifice me? Your own wife?”

Ron could not answer. He could only shake his head desperately against her waist.

Feeling his trembling hands, Wendy closed her eyes. Despair flooded her heart. “Ron, let’s get a divorce.”

She could not accept that her husband chose her sister over her. Especially Windy was the very person who bullied her since childhood.

Ron panicked when he heard this. Fear filled his eyes, and he forgot why he visited Wendy in the first place.

“No! That’s impossible! We will never divorce you!” He continued, “Wen… I only love you. Please believe me. This will pass soon. I’ll block all the bad news from the media. Everyone will pretend nothing ever happened.”

Pretend nothing ever happened?

But what about her? Wendy could never pretend the scandal didn't happen? She could not pretend that her own husband chose her younger twin over her!

Wendy quietly looked at the man she had loved for three years. Emptiness was reflected on her eyes.

Maybe because Wendy was too calm, Ron thought he had convinced her. After all, Wendy loved him deeply, he thought.

In the first year of their marriage, Ron's rivals forced Wendy to drink an entire crate of alcohol. Wendy drank until she had stomach bleeding and stayed in the hospital for a whole day and night.

Wendy almost died for him.

So now, Ron finally said what he really came for. “Wen, I will hold another press conference tomorrow. When that happens, can you please admit that you failed the surgery?”

Ron no longer had the guts to look at Wendy. He was afraid he would soften.

Meanwhile, Wendy never expected that his real purpose for coming was still because of Windy.

She smiled, but tears kept flowing down her face. “Fine. But you have to sign a compensation agreement.”

Without thinking, Ron reached out and wiped the tears from Wendy’s cheeks. He looked confused, but Wendy did not give him time to react.

“I’m sacrificing this much. You should at least compensate me, right? The document will be sent soon. I’ll watch you sign it myself. Now can you get out?”

Ron froze. He did not expect Wendy to be so direct to chase him out. He didn’t want to leave her. However, her firm attitude left Ron no choice.

So, he sat outside the ward for three hours. When Wendy's contract finally arrived, he went back in. But before he could read it, his phone rang.

It was Windy.

Ron hesitated.

His obvious hesitation caused even more pain in Wendy’s chest. Yet, she forced herself to stay calm.

“Sign it. Then go.” Just saying those few words had drained up all her strength.

Ron quickly signed the “contract” and gently kissed her forehead. “Wen, Winny has been so scared because of the surgery mistake. She couldn't sleep for days. I’ll go see her and come back soon. Wait for me, okay?”

Wendy did not respond. Then, since Ron was in such a hurry, he didn’t even notice her silence.

As soon as he left, Wendy raised her hand and rubbed her forehead hard as if to erase Ron's kiss.

Tears blurred her vision. Her rough movements made her forehead turn red. But Wendy was numb to the pain and kept on wiping.

The signed contract was then successfully delivered to Oliver. Only after Wendy received his message on LetsChat [“It’s done.”] did she finally relax.

She let herself fell onto the pillow.

She'd would be okay. In thirty days, she could completely escape this hell of marriage.

***

The next morning, Wendy got into the car to go to the press conference, but she was stopped halfway.

When opening her eyes again, she was back in the place that had haunted her for most of her life.

The Bloom Family estate.

Her father, Murray, looked at her coldly as she knelt on the floor. Meanwhile, her mother, Hannah, glared at her fiercely.

Wendy had seen that look countless times before she became an adult.

She and Windy were fraternal twins. But when they were born, their weights were very different. Wendy was two pounds heavier. The doctor said it was because she absorbed too much nutrition in the womb and took it from Windy. In the end, Windy was weaker as a child.

From that day on, Wendy’s nightmare began. No matter what happened, Murray and Hannah always protected Windy.

Even when Windy led others to bully Wendy at school, they only said, “This is what you owe Windy.”

Even now, they still believed that.

The disgust in Hannah’s eyes was impossible to hide. “Why are you staring at me? I knew you were just up to no good! You tried to clear up to the press conference to clear your name, right?!”

“If Winny hadn’t told me to stop you, you would’ve succeeded. You both came from my womb, so why are you this.... evil to your sister?!”

As she spoke, Hannah raised her hand and hit Wendy hard on the forehead.

Wendy tried to stand up and resist. But her hands and feet were tied with ropes. She couldn’t move at all.

Seeing this, Hannah pushed her down and dragged her toward the basement. “You still had the guts to defend yourself, huh?! I wish I never had such a shameful daughter like you!”

Wendy couldn’t fight back. She could only watch herself being locked in the basement. Murray simply watched everything in silence like he didn't care.

At the press conference, Ron and Windy waited for a long while. Yet, Wendy still didn’t show up.

Ron frowned, clearly getting impatient. Seeing the right moment, Windy took out a medical report she had prepared long ago.

The report pointed out that Wendy had mental problems since childhood. Every time she had an episode, Murray and Hannah would lock her in the basement.

“Ronnie, our family didn’t mean to hide this from you. It was just that it was so hard for my sister to finally find someone who loved her. Mom, Dad, and I didn’t want her to be hurt. But now I have no choice but to tell you…”

Ron didn’t really listen to Windy’s words. When he saw the report, there was no anger nor fear in his eyes. There was only pain for Wendy. He quickly ended the press conference and went to the Blooms’ estate with Windy.

Sure enough, everything was just like Windy said. Hannah had a red slap mark on her face, and her hair was a mess.

She looked hurt and weak as she hid in Murray’s arms. The two of them looked like parents deeply hurt by their child.

Ron pressed his lips tightly and rushed to open the basement door. Inside, he saw Wendy curled up in the corner, shaking heavily. His heart ached. He walked quickly toward her, wanting to take her home.

However, when rushed ahead of him when she noticed his intent. Windy grabbed Wendy with force.

The moment Wendy saw Windy’s face, painful memories flooded her mind. She was often locked in dark rooms in her younger days. That was why she was extremely afraid of darkness.

The darkness made her panic. So Wendy pushed Windy away without thinking.

Windy had health problems since childhood and couldn’t do intense movements. The push from Wendy was enough to fell on the ground. By then, Ron’s attention was completely taken away.

Windy shouted in pain. Murray and Hannah began blaming Wendy because of it. With so many noise in her head Wendy finally snapped out of her fear.

When Wendy looked up again, she met Ron’s angry gaze. “Wen, what are you doing? Wasn’t it enough to hit your parents? You're huring Winny too this time? Apologize to Winny, and we’ll go home.”

Wendy saw the slap mark on Hannah’s face and froze for a moment. Then she understood that it was all an act.

Despite seeing Ron and Windy so close together made her heart hurt, she didn’t back down. “Do you even think it made sense that I beat both of them without reason?”

Hannah didn’t expect Wendy to fight back and couldn’t made up a reply. Windy realized the situation had gone wrong for her, so she started crying on command.

“Sister, Mom and Dad are old. And you’ve always been like this since you were little. When you get sick, you become very strong. How could they possibly fight you?”

Ron had once doubted the Blooms at the beginning. However, Windy’s words made Ron trusted the Blooms more than Wendy's resistance.

Wendy looked at Ron’s cold expression and knew there was no way to change his mind. So she spoke firmly.

“I don’t care what they say, and I don’t expect you to believe me, Ron. But if you want me to apologize to Windy, then listen well: I will never apologize to her.”

Ron felt extremely uncomfortable at Wendy's boldness. He felt something was blocking his chest and made him breathe with difficulty. Soon, that feeling disappeared after her last sentence.

Ron didn’t want to punish Wendy, but he couldn’t stand the rest of the Bloom Family constantly whispering in his ears.

Murray, Hannah, and Windy kept saying that they locked Wendy in the basement for her own good. Ron thought, they were her family.... so surely they wouldn’t hurt her.

In the end, Ron ignored Wendy’s consent and sent her to a mental hospital.