Chapter 4

I mumbled a reply, understanding in my heart that Nealon was always too proud.

He wouldn't have called me unless he was truly desperate.

When I called Kamran, he picked up quickly, as if he'd been waiting for my call.

"What card? Oh… that one. I thought it might have been compromised, so I unlinked it. Is there a problem?"

Kamran's tone was dismissive.

But his words felt like a heavy hammer blow to my heart.

My hands twisted my shirt hem nervously, and I forced myself to speak.

"But Nealon can't wait, Kamran. Please, can't you be considerate of me, just this once, like you used to be…"

*Kamran*.

It had been a long time since I'd called him that.

Kamran fell silent for a moment.

After a rustling sound, Seraphina's voice came through.

"Angela, don't you know the company is facing financial strain lately? You and your brother are like bottomless pits; no matter how much money is given, it's never enough. You'll drag him down eventually."

Financial strain…

The headlines I saw this morning suddenly flashed in my mind.

"CEO Kamran Thorne Lavishes Millions for Love! Multi-Million Dollar Mansion, Luxury Car Titles All Registered to Seraphina Hayes!"

Financial strain, it was because of this, wasn't it?

An endless bitterness spread across my tongue, like insects gnawing relentlessly, making my heart tremble with pain.

"Kamran has left this matter to me. If you can appease me enough, he'll naturally repay your brother's debt."

I agreed without hesitation.

"I'll send you an address. Come find me tomorrow, and I'll tell you."

I never expected Seraphina to send me the address of *my* old family home.

Standing at the gate, looking at the familiar exterior, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if stepping into a different lifetime.

The cherry tree outside the door was in bloom.

When Kamran and I planted this cherry tree together, he asked me,

"Do you know what cherry blossoms symbolize?"

I shook my head.

He leaned down, gently biting my left ear, his hot breath on my earlobe making my heart pound.

"Angela, I'm your prisoner of love."

A spring breeze blew, bringing me back to reality. I gave a self-deprecating smile.

Entering the courtyard.

In front of the massive French windows, the sunlight made the indoor furniture gleam, filtered through the white sheer curtains.

I saw two intertwined bodies sprawled on the very chair my mother cherished most.

Kamran's breathing was ragged, his voice laced with both seduction and a hint of punishment.

"So, you promised you wouldn't go too far."

Seraphina playfully pushed his shoulder, giggling.

"You gave me this house. Why are you still telling me what to do?"

What did she mean… he *gave* her this house?

I rushed into the house, distraught, and confronted him:

"This house, did you really give it to her?"

Kamran got up from Seraphina, slowly wrapping his bathrobe around himself.

"Yes, the paperwork is being processed."

The moment those words left his mouth, my ears buzzed.

I couldn't hold back my emotions anymore. Like a madwoman, I lunged at Kamran, hitting him.

"Why would you give it to her! You promised that as long as I listened to you, this house would be returned to me!"

"Kamran, why did you give it to her, why?!"

He grabbed my flailing hands and shoved me roughly onto the sofa.

Even though the sofa was soft, a dull ache still throbbed in my lower abdomen when I hit it.

"She lost a baby. This house is my compensation to her."

"If you had lost a baby that day, I would have compensated you too."

"And Angela, don't forget why you're here today."

In an instant,

I forgot how to cry, how to shout, how to hate.

When a sliver of rationality returned, Seraphina had also gotten dressed.

"Angela, I haven't quite decided how to punish you. How about… you get down on your knees and beg me?"

Meeting Seraphina's haughty gaze, a powerful sense of humiliation instantly erupted within me.

But I knew I couldn't refuse.

The room fell silent.

For a moment, I only heard a soft, muffled thud.

It wasn't my knees.

It was my spine, straight for twenty-six years, that snapped completely in that moment.

Seraphina smiled.

"I don't have all day to spend here with you."

"This is your house. You must know where the security cameras are, right? If I check the security footage and don't see you on your knees, then I probably can't help your brother."

With that, she linked her arm with Kamran's and left.

My abdominal pain grew worse.

I was in too much pain to straighten up.

Every time I tried to stand and catch my breath,

The security camera in the corner would subtly shift.

The person behind the camera seemed to be reminding me, over and over, that if I dared to run, dared to stand,

My brother would be ruined.

As night fell, I suddenly felt a warm gush between my legs.

By the moonlight, I saw my pants were already stained crimson.

Terrified, I called my brother.

I cried, telling him I was dying, that I was bleeding so much.

My brother, Nealon, arrived.

He was still in his uniform from his part-time job.

He trembled as he scooped me up and ran towards the ambulance.

"Angela, don't sleep! Keep your eyes open for me!"

"Angela! Don't you dare fall asleep!"

Before I was wheeled into the operating room, dimly, I saw Kamran.

It was the first time I'd seen him so distraught since we got married.

The man who usually kept every strand of hair perfectly in place now wore his coat inside out in his carelessness.

Could he actually look so panicked for me?

But I didn't want to see him anymore.