By then, Fiona was doing the dishes in the kitchen with her sleeves all rolled up.I asked softly, "Do you need a hand?"Fiona seemed pretty startled by my question. The bowl that she was holding slipped from her hands and fell into the sink with a loud clatter.A panicked expression appeared on her face as she waved at me hurriedly as a sign that she didn't need my help. She even backed away from me when she saw me approaching her.My gaze fell onto Fiona's arms. Now that her sleeves were rolled up, I could see long red scars, both old and new, marring her arms.The sight of the scars made my gaze darken slightly. I was about to approach Fiona and grab her arm to ask her what happened when I heard a voice coming from behind me."Roxy, what are you doing?" Anthony asked.I froze on the spot. Fiona quickly glanced at me before shaking her head at me. Then, she rolled down her sleeves rapidly in order to hide the scars. After that, she continued doing the dishes with her head lo
Once I was all curled up in bed, I barely managed to send a text message to a friend when Anthony leaned over."Who are you texting?"I quickly deleted the message history while replying, "I was asking my friends to play mobile games with me. It's too boring here."Anthony smiled. "I'll play with you."Feeling touched, I dove into his arms. "You're the best, my darling boyfie!"Anthony pushed me away. "Alright, now sit properly. Look at how improper you're being right now."I stuck out my tongue playfully and made a face at him. He just looked at me helplessly in response.We spent the whole morning playing games on our phones together. After lunch, I plopped down on the couch in the living room. But I soon got bored of doing that.I shook Anthony's arm. "Anthony, why don't we go shopping in the supermarket?""The town's too far away from the village. We'll need five hours just to make a complete trip to and fro. If we were to go now, we wouldn't be able to go home tonight." A
That night, I couldn't sleep a wink. Thank goodness Anthony never shared a bed with me. Otherwise, he would've known that something was up with me.Anthony never did anything intimate with me during our three-year relationship. I always thought of him as a proper gentleman, but now, I had to second-guess the reasons behind his lack of intimacy with me.When Anthony noticed the dark rings under my eyes, he couldn't help but smile. "What's wrong? You couldn't sleep at all?"I kept my head hung low as I answered faintly, "Yeah… I think I suffered from a terrible fright last night. I kept having nightmares…""Why don't I beat Fiona up again to help you vent your frustrations?" Anthony suggested. His smile was now malicious.My pupils shrank instantly. "No need for that! I think I startled her because I entered the kitchen abruptly yesterday. That's probably why she… Um, is she okay?""She's fine. She's doing a lot better than you. It's just that she deserves to be punished," Anthon
I said after much hesitation, "I'm not close to your aunt, though. It's too embarrassing for me to borrow a pad from her. Besides, I don't know how to speak in your dialect. Why don't you help me ask for a pad from her?"Anthony waved his hand immediately. "I'm a man. It's even more embarrassing for me to borrow a pad from her on your behalf. I'll take you to meet her, and you can tell her yourself. She'll understand what you're talking about anyway."I dug my nails into my palms. Even so, I didn't feel any pain flaring from them.Anthony led me out of the house. His uncle called out to him right away. "Ant, where are you going?"Anthony replied, "I'm taking her to the toilet."His uncle guffawed in response. "Why are you following your lady to the toilet? Just let my wife take her there!"Anthony hesitated for a moment. "But—""What's there to be afraid of? We have dogs stationed at the entrance, you know! Besides, the other exits are completely sealed shut." Anthony's uncle wa
I hid in the toilet and sent a text message immediately. After that, I returned to the main wing of the farmhouse. I schooled my expression to the best I could for fear that Anthony suspected that I knew something. Anthony enjoyed himself thoroughly at lunch. He even had a few extra drinks.On the way home, I propped Anthony up. He was already tipsy. Then, I probed, "Anthony, I miss my home.""You miss your home? You won't be missing that soon enough." The way Anthony looked at me sent chills down my spine.I pretended to not understand what he said. I lowered my gaze before replying, "Perhaps I should go home, Anthony. My parents are celebrating the Wintermoon holidays at home this year. They'll definitely miss me."Anthony grabbed my hand forcefully. "I can't let you leave! You came all the way here, after all!"My heart kept sinking the whole time."Be a good girl, okay? We're almost there… We're almost there now…"Another cold wind hit me on full blast, making me tremble o
A dull thud sounded after that. The man collapsed to the floor slowly while clutching his head. At the same time, I lowered my trembling hand, which was gripping a brick."What's going on in there?" Mrs. Hawthorne asked from outside the main wing. She must've heard the loud sound produced by the man's fall.I was startled for a moment. Then, I quickly let out a scream and flipped a chair over, causing it to crash. Mrs. Hawthorne never said anything after that.Then, I looked at the unconscious man. After taking a deep breath, I tiptoed to the door before latching it. I spent some time searching around the living room. In the end, I used a pair of scissors to cut the couch's cover into cloth strips so that I could tie the man up. After that, I stuffed a bundle of cloth into his mouth.Once I was done with everything, I let out a small sigh of relief. Then, I pulled out a spare phone from the internal layer of my clothes before placing a call.Blake Tomlin picked it up in just t
Two minutes of silence later, Anthony said in a low tone, "Roxy, just come out, and I'll tell you everything. I have my own reasons for doing that to you."I just shook my head while crying. "I don't trust you anymore! Anthony, just tell me the truth! If your reasons are valid, I'll still forgive you!"Honestly speaking, I didn't even trust myself for saying that.But Anthony seemed to believe me. Well, maybe he was also confident that I could never escape from this place.He seemed to be leaning against the door. His tone was now laid-back. "Sure, I can tell you the truth. You can't escape anyway. "Roxanne, you're far too vigilant for your own good. I wanted to give you to that man once the holidays were over, but your conflict with Fiona last night made me uneasy. The expression you showed at my uncle's place was also quite odd. Otherwise, you could've spent a few more days in peace and luxury."Mrs. Hawthorne must have tried to stop Anthony from speaking, for I heard him chuc
I gripped the brick tightly as I cleared my throat. "Anthony Hawthorne, I have no idea if you're telling the truth. Even if you are, this shouldn't be a valid reason behind your decision to hurt me.""Haven't you heard of 'every debt has its debtor'? As your father's daughter, you're obligated to pay the debt with your suffering!" Anthony retorted.I mocked back with a smile, "Going by that logic, are you saying that Janice's father harmed you too?""You know Janice? No wonder I had a feeling that something was off with you! Hah! But that doesn't matter anymore! Janice deserves it!"I scuffed my feet against the floor subconsciously. "Oh? How did she deserve it, then? She's most likely just a poor soul who happened to have met you!""She killed my beloved Lily! I told her that I didn’t have feelings for her and that I was in love with someone else! But that vile woman actually killed my Lily! "Since she craves for the touch of a man that much, I'll find her a man! She'll spend t