Chapter 2

　　Under the butler’s watchful eye, I walked to the countryside.

　　With the ice and snow just beginning to melt, the country roads were treacherous, and I stumbled and fell several times.

　　Under the butler’s supervision, I caught a chicken myself. By then, my clothes were filthy and disheveled.

　　My limbs, which had just been numb from the freezing cold last night, started to go numb again. Expressionless, I dragged my exhausted body onto the road back home.

　　But to my surprise, when I finally arrived home, no one opened the door for me.

　　“Leo, is our sister-in-law upset with me? Is that why she came back so late?”

　　“I’m shaking, I’m so hungry.”

　　Julian, standing beside her, dotingly flicked Celeste’s nose.

　　“Then let’s give her a little punishment.”

　　They locked me out of the house. Under the butler’s supervision, I was forced to stand outside.

　　A light snow began to fall, and my hands and feet, already numb from last night’s freezing cold, lost all sensation again.

　　My consciousness began to blur. The butler, showing no mercy, kicked me hard in the waist, sending me stumbling and snapping me back to my senses.

　　But not long after, my consciousness blurred once more.

　　This time, no matter how much the butler kicked me, I couldn’t regain my awareness.

　　In my hazy state, the intimate sounds from inside the house started up again.

　　I felt like I was going to die.

　　I woke up in a hospital, only to be greeted by a stinging slap from Julian.

　　“How can you be so dramatic? All I asked was for you to stand for a bit, and you have to pretend to faint and come to the hospital?”

　　“Do you have any idea how much you scared Celeste? It took me ages to calm her down.”

　　The nurse beside me couldn’t take it anymore and rolled her eyes.

　　“Sir, your wife is almost dead, and you’re still worried about your sister-in-law being scared?”

　　Julian, however, dismissed it.

　　“Anya, you’re getting quite bold, aren’t you? You even bribed a nurse to lie for you.”

　　“Let me tell you, this kind of trick won’t work on me.”

　　The nurse was about to argue further, but I stopped her. Julian was always stubborn; once he made up his mind, there was no changing it.

　　I thanked the nurse and got up, leaving the room with Julian.