All Chapters of Leaving Our Past Behind: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The pregnancy report in my hand felt like a hot potato, inexplicably filling me with anxiety. I pinched the bridge of my nose, suppressing the irritation welling up in my chest, and stepped out of the hospital.The phone call was mercilessly hung up. Lowering my gaze, I realized the pregnancy report in my hand had been crumpled into a wrinkled ball without my noticing.I couldn’t go back home. Terrence Mottson’s assistant had already messaged me earlier, telling me to find a friend’s place to stay at. Hmph, Terrence and that secretary were cozying up in the villa my parents left behind while I was left out on the streets?“Pearl Mottson!” Through a rolled-down car window, Jules stuck half his body out, calling my name with a playful grin. “Come on, let’s go hang out at my place. I’m hosting a party!”Jules Caston, my uncle’s business rival on the surface, was a devil-may-care man who lived without a care in the world. My uncle always forbade me from interacting with him.But now..

“Pearl!” The voice, laden with authority and anger, rang out. I suppressed the grievance in my heart and raised my head, feigning nonchalance. “Uncle, I’m just feeling a little unwell. I didn’t mean to make things difficult for your fiancée.”Resentment and sorrow crept through me like tendrils, but I swallowed it all down and forced a weak smile at the two before me.Seeing that I had made my stance clear, Terrence was unwilling to press the matter further. Wrapping an arm around Lyra’s slender waist, the two of them walked into the house, chatting and laughing, not sparing me a single extra glance.That family dinner was bland and tasteless.Terrence, who always adhered strictly to dining etiquette, gave Lyra the liberty to tease him and laugh wantonly. The entire table’s dishes had been changed to suit her preferences. Watching the two of them harmonize so naturally left my heart aching with bitterness.Perhaps it was the pregnancy, but I had neither the energy nor the will t

My heart was dead, devoid of any will to struggle. I lowered my gaze, bracing myself for the pain to come.However, things didn’t go as I expected.The knife was driven straight into Lyra’s abdomen!“You chose wrong, Mr. Terrence,” the captor said, his voice cold and mocking. “The one who hired me was Miss Pearl here. How would I dare harm my own employer?”The assailant, clearly a trained professional, moved swiftly and with familiarity with the unfinished building’s layout. In moments, he vanished into the shadows.A sharp, piercing scream filled the air. I stared at the unfolding chaos, my body weak, as though every ounce of strength had been drained from me.Amidst the commotion, someone shoved me to the ground. Lyra was held tightly in Terrence’s arms, her face pale but her eyes gleaming with triumph as she glanced at me.“Pearl! You’re... beyond redemption!” Terrence spat, his voice shaking with fury. Without hesitation, he slapped me across the face and carried Lyra away.

The room was a wreck, completely trashed by Terrence’s rampage, leaving it in utter ruins. No one could stop him, and as a last resort, the still-fragile Lyra was brought back.“Terrence?”In the dimly lit room, a weak lamp cast a faint glow. Lyra stood at the doorway to the study, dressed thinly and looking at Terrence’s volatile expression with a hint of trepidation.“Don’t be too upset, Terrence. We’ll have another child… It’s all Pearl’s fault. If she hadn’t deliberately sent someone, we wouldn’t have lost our first child.”Lyra wiped her tears and, as she always did, leaned into Terrence’s arms to act coy. In her mind, Terrence’s anger and fury were entirely reserved for Pearl. Naturally, he would take her—his wounded, suffering lover—into his arms and console her.However, in the next moment, her delicate neck was gripped tightly. Reeking of smoke, Terrence rose slowly to his feet, his strong arms lifting Lyra into the air. Her legs kicked weakly, and just as she was on the

“Maniac!”In the end, I couldn’t escape my fate. I was forcibly dragged into the car, my hands bound with duct tape to prevent me from jumping out and escaping.Terrence didn’t show the slightest trace of anger at my curses. Instead, he chuckled indulgently and handed me a tablet.“Pearl, that woman kept us apart for so long and even caused us to lose a child. She deserves to be punished.” His deep voice echoed alongside the rumble of the engine. He unlocked the screen for me and pulled up a video.On the screen, a naked woman was being pinned to the ground. A searing hot branding iron was pressed against her flesh, making her scream in agony. Her cries were muffled by a filthy rag stuffed into her mouth by the men restraining her.Syringe after syringe of unknown substances was injected into her body. She writhed and twisted on the ground, her black hair plastered to her face, revealing a pair of eyes filled with hatred.It was Lyra—the woman Terrence had once held so dear, the