Chapter 2

I was sprawled on the floor for a few seconds before my vision finally cleared up.

I didn't bother explaining.

Kyle wouldn't believe me even if I tried.

Five years ago, my dad ran off with all the money, and Kyle paid back 27 million dollars for me.

From that day on, I had been his property, his punching bag, and Sophia's stand-in.

As long as I was alive, I'd never be able to pay off that debt.

"I'm sorry, Alpha Kyle," I said.

I got up, head hanging low, feeling like a lifeless puppet. "I'll get you a new plate right away."

"No need," Kyle cut me off coldly. "Looking at your lifeless face, who could even eat? Pay the bill, go kneel outside, and wait."

I grabbed the bill and walked out.

As the door closed, I heard Sophia's voice, all sweet and playful. "Kyle, aren't you being a little too harsh on her?"

"She's a servant," Kyle replied, his tone casual. "If she doesn't listen, she needs to be disciplined."

I leaned against the cold wall, pulled a tissue from my pocket, and stuffed it up my nose.

Blood instantly turned the tissue bright red.

I swapped it out for another, then another.

By the third tissue, the bleeding finally stopped.

I stared at the glaring red in the trash can and suddenly wanted to laugh.

If one day Kyle found out the "servant" he always called me was about to die, would he even care?

Would he even feel sad?

Probably, he wouldn't.

He'd think life got a bit dull without his punching bag around.

I knelt at the club entrance for an hour.

The late autumn wind felt like knives against my face, but I couldn't feel the cold at all.

The tumor in my brain was pressing on my nerves, making the entire left side of my body go numb.

That was a new symptom.

The healer said that once I stopped feeling pain, that would be the end for me.

At two in the morning, Kyle finally came out.

He was a little drunk, his steps unsteady, with Sophia holding onto his arm, her smile radiant.

The driver pulled the car up.

Kyle opened the back door and carefully helped Sophia into the car.

Then he turned to look at me.

I was kneeling by the roadside like I'd been tossed out like trash, and my knees had gone completely numb.

"Get in the car," he said.

I struggled to push myself up, trying several times before I finally managed to stand.

My left leg was dead weight, so I limped over to the passenger seat, dragging it behind me like a cripple.

The heater was on in the car.

From the back seat, I could hear intimate whispers and the unmistakable sounds of kissing.

I stared blankly out the window at the scenery rushing past, doing my best to tune out the noises behind me.

Suddenly, a sharp, piercing ringing shot through my ears, like a high-pitched whistle drilling straight into my brain.

I clutched my ears in pain, letting out a low, pained whimper.

"You're so annoying." Kyle kicked the back of the passenger seat impatiently. "If you're gonna die, do it outside."

I gritted my teeth, cold sweat trickling down my forehead, burning my eyes so bad that it hurt.

"Sorry, but I have a bad headache," I muttered.

"Headache?" Kyle scoffed. "Lila, did you forget who shoved your gambling-addict dad off the balcony?

"You didn't even blink back then, and now you're whining about a headache?"

It felt like someone jabbed a needle into my heart.

That was not true.

Back then, my dad tried to take me with him when he jumped. I was fighting for my life.

But Kyle never believed me.

To him, I was cold-blooded, the kind of person who'd do anything for money.

The car pulled up in front of Riverside Villa.

This was the place Kyle bought for Sophia to be their love nest, and it was also where I once lived for three years.

"Get out and buy some hangover medicine," Kyle ordered. "Sophia's feeling dizzy from drinking too much."

I looked around at the desolate countryside. "There's no way to get a cab out here. The nearest pharmacy is three miles away."

"That's your problem," Kyle said coldly.

Kyle rolled down the window and tossed out a black card. "Go on, run. Maybe it'll help you clear your mind."

The window rolled back up, and the luxury car drove through the gates of Riverside Villa.

And like that, I was left alone in the darkness.

Three miles was an impossible distance to me.

But I still turned around and forced myself to start walking.

If I didn't come back with that medicine, there was no way I'd get the money to keep my mom alive tonight.

My mom was in the healing den, in a vegetative state, and it cost a fortune to keep her alive every month.

Kyle had my life in his hands.

I dragged my numb left leg, forcing myself to take one step at a time.

Halfway there, my vision went black.

It was temporary blindness.

My foot slipped, and I tumbled into the roadside ditch.

Cold, muddy water rushed into my mouth, making me cough so hard.

With every cough, blood came up again.

I lay there in the muddy water, staring up at the pitch-black sky.

So this was what peace felt like.

Would it be so bad if I died here? Maybe that would finally set me free.

I crawled my way back to Riverside Villa.

By the time I got there, the sky was starting to lighten.

I clutched the box of hangover medicine in my hand, covered head to toe in mud, looking like a vengeful ghost clawing its way out of the grave.

I rang the doorbell.

Kyle opened the door.

He was wearing a bathrobe, his hair still wet. He'd clearly gotten out of the shower.

When he smelled the mud and blood on me and saw me looking like a walking corpse, he frowned and instinctively took a step back.

"What the hell happened to you? You're disgusting," he said.

I held out the medicine, my hands smeared with dried blood and mud.

"I-I brought the medicine back," I said.