He had been drugged.

Over the past three years, this happened often, and I had grown used to it. I had almost forgotten that Nora was still by his side.

I mechanically grabbed some warm water and the antidote.

As soon as I opened the door, rain poured down in torrents, and the wind nearly knocked me off my feet.

I got into the car and started driving. The night was so dark, I couldn't see the road ahead.

I only knew I was about a few dozen meters away. I could see Aaron, with Nora supporting him.

He glanced in the direction of my car, and then turned back to kiss Nora on the lips.

They entered the house together.

Did he call me here just to see this?

I didn't know how to feel—only that my heart was drowning in something cold.

Yes, what difference did it make if I came?

I was always his canary, kept in the shadows. A single tear slid down my cheek.

At this moment, my heart was truly shattered.

I wanted to turn around and leave, but a pickup truck suddenly cut me off.

The driver said that Aaron had given instructions. If they saw my car, they were to stop me. He wanted to spend a beautiful night with his fiancée.

I was dragged to the neighboring villa, tied to a bed, forced to watch the silhouettes of the couple in the other villa.

I... a figure that couldn't be more familiar.

A wave of nausea hit me hard.

I wanted to vomit, but the atmosphere around me suddenly changed.

More people appeared, and they shut the door.

Their laughter made my heart tremble.

I told them I was carrying Aaron's child, but they only laughed harder.

"You? Carrying Aaron's child? You're just a bird to him. Miss Peyer wanted us to keep you company, so a bird like you wouldn't try to seduce someone else's fiancé."

When they laid their hands on me, I suddenly laughed. The blue dot on my wrist went out.

After enduring so much pain to have it implanted, it was useless when I needed it the most.

The world really was unfair.

I was already dying.

Did they still have to humiliate me?

But I couldn't fight back.

My clothes had already been torn off. Even if I died here, what difference would it make?

I only knew that I used all the strength I had left to slam my head against the wall.

The last thing I remembered was seeing a group of shirtless men trying to save me.

Aaron, I no longer owe you anything.

Death... would be a relief for me.

It was just a shame about my child.

But in the end, I won't leave so easily.

Perhaps it was my baby who still wanted me to live.

When I woke up again, those men had dumped me at the hospital.

They were afraid of being tracked down, so none of them stuck around.

I had six stitches in my head, and it was wrapped in gauze.

The tracker had also been cut out of my wrist.

The doctor advised me to report it to the police. It was Nora who sent those men. But who would believe me when the daughter of the Peyer family was involved?

I shook my head, and just then, Aaron arrived, still wearing his wrinkled shirt from the night before.

His eyes were bloodshot, but maybe it wasn't love that kept him up anymore.

As I looked at him now, I felt nothing.

He was filthy, but it had nothing to do with me anymore.

Still, he just stared at me, his eyes filled with hate.

"Amanda, last night, you would rather bash your head in than come to me?!"

His voice trembled with rage, as though he hated me to the core.

He was questioning me, but that was the excuse Nora had prepared for me.

Should I argue back?

"Aaron, I came, but Nora locked me up elsewhere. Do you believe me?"

Aaron suddenly laughed, but his eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty fury.

"Amanda, you're lying to me. The tracker at the house was cut off by you, and you even dug it out of your wrist. Do you... want so badly to give me away to someone else?"

Aaron kissed me fiercely. I struggled hard, and blood began to seep through the gauze.

I was in pain—whether it was from sadness or disappointment, I didn't know—but tears flowed down my cheeks.

Maybe Aaron tasted the tears because he finally stopped.

He pulled open my shirt and saw the marks on my body.

His eyes narrowed. They were new marks.

He didn't ask me anything, but I knew he didn't believe me.

"Who did this?" Aaron bit down on one of the marks.