Chapter 7

Seraphina's POV

The rustling sound of snakes crawling rang in my ears.

I curled up in the corner, making myself as small as possible. My nails dug deeply into my palms, trying to use pain to fight fear.

I didn't know how long I'd been locked up.

A few hours, or a few days?

The bodyguards' cold mockery still seemed to echo in my ears. Before my eyes kept flashing the small urn, and Peyton's heartless face.

But I kept persisting.

Apologize? Apologize to the woman who killed my child?

I'd rather die.

When my consciousness began to blur, I hazily heard the sound of the iron door opening. Someone picked me up. That person's chest was very warm, their scent very familiar.

It was Peyton.

I wanted to push him away, but my body no longer obeyed. I completely fell into darkness.

When I opened my eyes again, the pungent smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

I slowly moved my eyes and found myself lying in a hospital bed.

In the chair beside the bed sat Peyton.

He was looking down, slowly peeling an apple. His movements appeared extremely gentle, completely different from his coldness in the basement.

Noticing I'd woken up, Peyton looked up, his tone carrying some reproach yet wrapped in deliberately performed affection.

"Finally awake? Why are you so unreasonable?"

"It's just asking you to apologize to Lily and the matter would be over. Why did you have to torment yourself into this condition?"

He cut the peeled apple into small pieces, speared them with a small fork, and brought them to my lips. His eyes were gentle, his tone soft.

"Seraphina, I love you. I always have."

"I know you suffered, but Lily lost her baby too. Why can't you understand?"

"Just accept me, and I'll make it up to you. We'll be like before. Okay?"

Love?

The love that chained me in a basement. That let snakes torment me. That murdered my baby.

I couldn't bear that kind of love.

His devotion was just a show he put on for himself, so false it made me sick.

Before I could speak, the hospital room door was violently pushed open.

A bodyguard rushed in looking flustered, followed by a male doctor who kept his head down, looking equally panicked.

The tenderness on Peyton's face instantly vanished. He frowned deeply, his tone darkening. "What happened?"

The bodyguard hurried forward, lowering his voice to report, his tone full of urgency.

"Mr. Summers, something happened to Lily. Someone switched her medication with ingredients she's allergic to. She's having a severe allergic reaction now and is being resuscitated!"

Peyton's expression changed drastically. The fruit knife in his hand clattered onto the plate as his eyes instantly turned sinister.

He immediately demanded harshly, "What's going on? Have you found out who did it?"

The bodyguard pushed the doctor forward. The doctor dropped to his knees with a thud, looked up and pointed at me on the hospital bed, his eyes evasive.

"Mr. Summers, it was Miss Seraphina! She secretly gave me two hundred thousand dollars to switch Miss Lily's medication!"

I lay in bed without even the strength to refute. I just felt it was absurd.

I'd been controlled by Peyton the entire time. First imprisoned in the basement, then waking up in the hospital. I'd never even been to Lily's hospital room. How could I possibly have bribed a doctor to switch medication?

But Peyton didn't listen. The look in his eyes as he stared at me was instantly filled with fury and hatred.

He abruptly stood up, grabbed my collar, and yanked me from the hospital bed. The IV needle tore from the back of my hand, bringing out a string of blood droplets. The stinging pain spread from my hand through my entire arm.

He lifted me up. My toes barely touched the ground. My breathing became difficult as my collar strangled me.

"Seraphina, I'm warning you. If anything happens to Lily, I'll make you die."

He released his grip. I fell heavily back onto the bed, my head hitting the bed rail. My vision went black.

Peyton turned to the doctor, his voice as cold as ice. "Give her penicillin."

My pupils constricted sharply.

"No..." I desperately tried to shrink back. "Peyton, I'm allergic to penicillin! You know that!"

I was indeed allergic to penicillin. This was the most basic fact from our ten years together. Every time I got sick, Peyton specifically instructed doctors to avoid penicillin-based medications.

Peyton looked at my terrified face, his lips curling into a cruel smile.

"I know."

"I want you to suffer the same pain as Lily."

The doctor hesitated, not daring to move. Peyton shot him a glare. "What are you waiting for? If anything happens to her, I'll take full responsibility."

The doctor ran out, grabbed a syringe of penicillin, and rushed back to the bedside.

"Don't come near me..." I tried to pull away, but my body was too weak. I couldn't even turn over.

The cold liquid entered my veins and spread instantly through my body.

Within seconds, my skin started itching, and I couldn't breathe.

My vision blurred. Peyton's furious face faded away.

Just then, I heard a familiar voice.