It was nightfall, and the dark clouds kept the moonlight obscure.Madelyn could not breathe and felt suffocated. She felt like a stray stranded on the streets and did not know where to go.'The world is a big place, but I never knew where I belonged.'Zach walked out from the darkness. Madelyn did not hear him respond and only heard the sound of the wind from the other end of the line.Then, she heard loud and steady footsteps. She turned toward the sound and looked at the figure through her tears. Everything seemed somewhat surreal.Madelyn's phone, which was by her ear, weakly slid out of her hand as Zach approached.Her arm continued to bleed profusely, and her face turned pale from excessive blood loss. She was in complete despair. Madelyn grabbed Zach's pants and said a little breathlessly, "Why? What did I do, Zach Jardin? Why are you doing this to me?"She silently lamented, ''I love you so much, but why do you hurt me and break my heart time and time again?'"Madelyn, s
Just as Zach picked up Madelyn, a snowflake fell onto his nose. It was cold and quickly melted upon contact with his body temperature.He lifted his head and saw that it was starting to snow heavily. The snowflakes fell and remained on the ground before they melted shortly after.Memories flooded Zach's mind.When he joined the Jent family, Madelyn was eight."Look, Zach! It's snowing!"Madelyn was eleven."Zach, can we go build a snowman outside? I like doing that the most!"He thought of eighteen-year-old Madelyn."Zach, if it snows in Ventropolis again this year, I'll confess my feelings for you. Then you'll be my boyfriend, okay?" she said.'You did nothing wrong, Madelyn! But... It was wrong for you to be born into the Jent family. What you've gone through is only the beginning,' he said to himself....Madelyn wandered in the dark for a long time.She felt like a soulless and mindless puppet that was being controlled. When a light appeared in front of her, she walked
"It's such a huge gash... What would we do if Mr. Jent hadn't gone to pick you up because he was worried something had happened to you?"Madelyn laughed, "I fell by accident.""What? How'd you fall? This is such a huge gash!""When I was practicing dancing. I wasn't careful and cut myself."Rosario frowned and immediately said, "No. I must tell Mr. Jardin to get you another teacher. This teacher is too irresponsible. How could she not do a thing when you got hurt?! What kind of teacher is she?"Madelyn felt warm inside.'Rosario always cares about me when I get hurt,' she thought."I really am fine, Rosario. Please call Jordan and ask him to come pick me up!""Madelyn, it's really late now. Why don't you stay overnight and go back tomorrow?" said Jadie.She continued, "Zach and I are worried about you being alone this late at night."Madelyn had already drunk half a bowl of soup and felt much better."That's right! You're always coming home late and skipping dinner. You must
Madelyn used to be an arrogant and willful person, but not anymore. Time had softened her rough edges.What she was going through now was nothing compared to how she bullied and tormented Jadie in her past life. So, she had to bear it all, no matter what was happening to her.It was the law of karma, the cycle of consequences.Madelyn closed the window and decided that she would never look at the snow again, nor would she ever like it. She hugged herself and curled up on the small couch, staring blankly at the corner of the wardrobe.When it was midnight, she received a text message. It was from Ethan: [Happy birthday, little princess.]That was her first time receiving a text message. She was shocked and had no idea how Ethan knew it was her birthday today.Only a few people knew when her birthday was. She did not even tell Zach about it. The date of birth on her ID was incorrect; her true birthday was on December 26.A ray of light immediately brightened up Madelyn's gloomy mo
"Mr. Jardin, was it Madelyn who went outside?"Madelyn closed the door and heard Rosario's voice.Not many people were in the apartment building at this hour, so she quickly took the elevator down. She worried that Rosario would come after her and persuade her to return.Madelyn became a very soft-hearted person, and she could never bear to refuse Rosario if that happened. She knew very well that she would return to where Zach was once Rosario spoke to her again.Zach finally revealed his true colors to her that night. He sought revenge against the Jent family until they completely fell apart. That was when he finally felt satisfied...Taking everything away from the Jent family was never the only thing he wanted to do.Looking back, Madelyn realized that she had never truly understood Zach. He was like a black hole that would devour and destroy anything that went near him... And she was like a vine that depended only on him to live.The cold wind blew as Madelyn stood outside t
Then, they left the apartment compound together.Madelyn stared out of the car window without speaking to him. She did not know if Zach kept the window half-open on purpose, but the weather made her feel like she was in an ice cellar. However, she refused to say a word and insisted on not speaking to Zach.She was just stubborn like that. She knew very well that Zach married her because he had other intentions, but she said yes anyway. It was just like the way back home. Although she knew she was walking in the opposite direction, she just would not turn back.Zach was not very comfortable in the car either, as half of his coat got wet too. They did not speak a word throughout the twenty-minute journey. Madelyn was freezing.When they arrived at the main entrance of the Southern Haven Villas, Madelyn got out of the car. She noticed a light coming from the gap in the partially drawn curtains in the living room.She could faintly see a fair hand pressing against the curtain, reveali
"Look, I'm wide awake now that you're here. Let's chew the fat, shall we?"Madelyn was confused. "Chew the fat? What do you mean?"Margaret patted her thigh. "What? You don't know what that means? Chew the fat means have a chat."Madelyn nodded thoughtfully. "What would you like to chat about?"Then, Margaret said quietly, "I overheard a few things when I went out earlier. I can guarantee that your father is going to have two more children in three years. You're going to have a little brother very soon."Madelyn listened to what Margaret said and was intrigued by her accent. She realized that the way Margaret spoke was open and direct. However, she did not pay much attention to what Margaret was telling her about...Hayson had several affairs with different women, but he would never want any of them to have his child. Even if something went wrong, he would take care of it discreetly.A woman in her late twenties once came to their home and caused a scene with a baby in her arms.
Not only did Madelyn want to go to university, but she also wanted to get into Ventropolis University with her own capabilities.Even if she could not go to Lorville...Even if she could not change the outcome.Madelyn did not want to make the same mistake as she did in her past life, where she gave up everything for a man.She told Jordan that she wanted to go to a hospital, but she was not expecting that he would drive her to SereneCare."Ms. Jent, we're here.""Okay." Madelyn got out of the car and went to the emergency department.The nurse unwrapped the bandage on Madelyn's arm and asked, "Are you feeling any discomfort? I'm afraid that the wound would be infected if we remove the stitches now.""It feels a little itchy, so I wanted to check if it's infected," Madelyn said."That's possible. Your wound is sticking to the gauze. It might hurt a little."Then, Madelyn heard a voice coming from behind, "Madelyn? What happened? Are you injured?"The nurse and Madelyn glance