Touched by her vulnerability, Martin felt an itch at the tip of his heart and forcefully resisted the urge to embrace her. He then threw the umbrella to the ground, lifted her in his arms, and forced her into the passenger seat, draping his jacket over her as a gesture of comfort."Go ahead and cry, but inside the car," he said firmly as she wept, "it's raining out, don't mistreat your body."Hearing his concern, Patricia halted her tears, looking at him with wet lashes, appearing as a forlorn rabbit. Martin felt the tickle in his heart again, fighting the impulse to pull her into his arms, he closed the car door firmly, circled around to the driver's side, and sat down. Taking a dry towel from the compartment, he tossed it onto her lap."Dry yourself off first. We're going home. Everything else can wait until we get there," he said with an authoritative, husky voice.Patricia, head empty and unable to think clearly, complied blindly. Earlier, the heartache had numbed her to the c
Seeing her silent, Gavin grew angrier, his words biting like saw blades, “If you don’t come back, I'll destroy all of your mother’s keepsakes." He threatened.Thinking of the keepsakes she treasured in her room, a sharp pain clutched Patricia’s heart as she warned through clenched teeth, “Those are my mother's things, dare to touch them and see what happens!” Gavin laughed mockingly, "You think I wouldn’t dare! You have one hour. If you don't show up, you’ll never see those things again." Without waiting for Patricia’s reply, he hung up abruptly. Patricia trembled with rage. Those were the last mementoes of her mother. After her mother's suicide, her father wanted to destroy all her belongings. Patricia had struggled fiercely to save half, locking them carefully in her room. Before her coerced marriage to Martin—standing in for Debbie who fled on the eve of the wedding—she hadn’t taken those mementoes, unsure how long the marriage would last. Later, she got pregnant, Debbie retu
Patricia’s breath caught, watching the ashtray hurtling toward her. At the last moment, she swerved aside. The ashtray whooshed by her face and crashed to the floor, shattering on impact. Seeing his attack miss, Gavin bellowed in fury, “You’ve got some nerve dodging!”Heart still racing, Patricia caught her breath, a mixture of relief and sarcasm filled her response, “Why shouldn’t I dodge? Why shouldn’t I? You’ve never stopped hitting me since I was a child. Why should I keep taking it?”Gavin, with a face uglier than the devil's, approached step by step, his rage mounting with each stride as he spoke.“Remember, I only gave you an hour! You’re late, so I burnt all your mother’s things.”Patricia was startled at first, then noticed the fleeting look of triumph in Gavin's eyes and realized what was happening, her lips curling into a smile. “I’m busy and have no time to waste here. If you have something to say, speak quickly or I’m leaving.” She stated indifferent to his empty threa
With just one glance, Patricia knew that Debbie was not insane. Her act of feigned madness downstairs was just that—an act. But as to why Debbie was pretending, Patricia couldn't yet fathom."What do you want?" Patricia asked, stepping back subtly, her hand inching towards the desk lamp.Debbie advanced, her eyes bloodshot, her gaze scattered like a wild beast teetering on the brink of madness."Why?" Patricia's brow furrowed. "Why what?""Why didn't you save me?" Debbie pressed, getting closer.Patricia scoffed, "Save you?"Tears swirled in Debbie's reddened eyes. "You watched those men insult me, why didn't you save me?""I was barely able to save myself, how could I save you?"Debbie was irrational. "We're sisters. Shouldn't you have protected me to the death?"Patricia laughed at the absurdity."Protect you to the death? Who was it that got me kidnapped by Madam Thomas? And who was responsible for your own plight? Have you forgotten all the terrible things you've done to me? Why s
Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down her forehead.Patricia exerted all her strength to resist Debbie's force.Unfortunately, the deranged Debbie was frighteningly strong, and Patricia was no match for her.As the struggle wore on, Patricia began to lose ground.The knife's tip pressed against the tip of her nose.There was a sharp pain.Not very painful.Like a needle prick.But Patricia knew that if the fruit knife went any deeper, her nose would be gone.Despite using all her strength, Patricia's efforts were futile against the crazed Debbie. No sooner had she pushed the knife away than it came stabbing down again.And she could clearly feel the strength draining from her body.The back of her head ached against the cold ground, both painful and numbing.Sensing Patricia's weakening grip, Debbie's eyes shone with bloodthirsty excitement."Patricia, you're going to die!"With her words trailing off, Debbie bit down hard on Patricia's wrist."Ah..."Patricia winced in pain, h
Martin pulled out his phone, scrolled through the call log, and shot her a knowing glance.Patricia looked at his phone and was shocked to discover that the emergency number she had dialed in her panic was actually Martin's."I... Wasn't I calling the police?"Martin didn't respond to her question, but said instead, "Even though you infuriated me this morning, I couldn't just stand by and watch you walk into danger. So, I secretly followed you in my car. When you didn't come out for a long time, I came in to look for you. Gavin lied to me, claiming you had already left and stubbornly refused to admit you were here."Hearing this, Patricia was filled with alarm and relief.If Martin hadn't followed her today, would she have died at Debbie's hands?Seeing the fear in her eyes, Martin pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back to soothe her: "Don't be scared, it's all over now!"Resting in Martin's embrace, Patricia was unusually obedient and did not resist. Listening to the ste
With the night still young and fearing that they might suffer from indigestion after such a hearty meal, Patricia encouraged them to walk it off downstairs.Although it was deep into autumn and the cold wind was howling, the temperatures in the south were generally much warmer than the north. Everyone was wearing lightweight down jackets, and after a while of walking, they felt warm and toasty, not cold in the slightest.Jade curiously asked, “Patricia, how is Randy recovering?”“He's doing very well,” Patricia replied. “If the next two surgeries go as smoothly as this one, he will be like a normal child, no longer having to worry about his heart condition flaring up at any moment.”Jade exclaimed excitedly, “Does that mean he can come play at our place then? Let’s set a time and go on a trip together! Bungee jumping, mountain climbing... I heard that the Purple Mount offers paragliding from over two thousand meters up; it’s thrilling. There's also diving, skiing, and so much more...”
It was destined to be a sleepless night.The next morning, Charles's biological clock woke him up promptly at seven, as usual. He went to the restroom to wash up and use the toilet. Once everything was in order, he went to wake the little sleepyhead, Fannie.With her eyes still closed, Fannie groped her way to the restroom, where Charles had already prepared mouthwash and toothpaste for her to use directly.While Fannie was getting ready, Charles had already dressed and gone to the living room.Seeing Patricia setting up breakfast, he immediately rolled up his sleeves to help.Patricia didn't pat his head and praise him as she used to; instead, she was so distracted that her hand accidentally went into the steaming soy milk, and she didn't even notice the burn.Frowning, Charles grabbed her hand and rushed it under cold water at the tap, scolding, "Mommy, what are you thinking about? Your hand is all red from the burn. Can't you feel the pain?"At his stern voice, Patricia snapped bac