Chapter 4

"You don't have a choice," Sebastian snapped, his grip like iron as he hauled her straight into the room.

Inside the room, Liliana lay in bed, pale and delicate, looking like she could break at any moment.

When Raine walked in, a flicker of smugness flashed in Liliana's eyes, but she quickly replaced it with a frightened look. She shrank back under the covers and grabbed Sebastian's arm.

Her voice quivered, sounding pitiful and teary. "Sebastian, please don't be too harsh on Raine. I'm fine, honestly. I don't blame her..."

"Look at you. She upset you so much you landed in the hospital, and you're still sticking up for her," Sebastian said, his eyes instantly softening as he gazed at Liliana, worlds apart from the way he'd just glared at Raine.

He turned back to Raine, his eyes going cold again, and kicked her hard in the back of the knee.

Raine was caught off guard, her knees buckling as she crashed onto the icy floor with a heavy thud.

The impact sent a stabbing pain through her knees, and the agony in her stomach peaked.

Her vision blurred, the taste of blood rising in her throat, but she forced herself to swallow it back.

"Raine, get on your knees and apologize to Liliana," Sebastian ordered, his voice cold as ice, not a shred of mercy in it. "If you don't apologize today, you can forget about ever leaving this room."

Raine knelt on the floor, pressing her hand so hard against her stomach that her nails nearly dug into her flesh. She looked up at Sebastian, eyes swimming with tears that refused to fall, stubborn to the end.

The man she'd loved for a decade was now forcing her to kneel and beg for forgiveness from someone else.

And she hadn't done a single thing wrong.

"Sebastian," Raine's voice trembled, but there was a steely finality in it. "Even if it kills me, I won't apologize to her. Because I did nothing wrong."

A hint of malice flickered in Liliana's eyes as she watched Raine stubbornly refuse to back down. But almost immediately, her eyes reddened and tears spilled over.

Clinging to Sebastian's arm, she sobbed, "Sebastian, please, just stop. Don't force her anymore. I know she hates me because I took you from her. It's only fair that she says a few harsh words to me. It's all my fault. If I hadn't come back, you two wouldn't have divorced, and she wouldn't hate me this much."

Sebastian gently wiped away her tears, his voice soft enough to melt anyone's heart. "Don't say that, Liliana. This isn't your fault. She's the one with a nasty attitude. She's never grateful for anything."

He turned to Raine, who was still kneeling on the floor, his disgust growing even stronger. "Raine, Liliana is still speaking up for you, even now. And you? You're nothing but an ungrateful bitch!"

"If you hadn't hit her with your car back then, she wouldn't have suffered so much. And now you're still tormenting her? Is your heart made of stone?" The words cut into Raine's heart like a knife.

Sebastian was bringing up the car accident again.

She couldn't hold it back anymore. She started laughing as tears streamed down her face.

"Sebastian, you keep insisting I was the one who hurt her, but do you even know the truth about what happened that year?" Raine stared at him, her voice filled with deep sadness.

Raine muttered, "You never believed me. You never asked me what really happened."

"The truth?" Sebastian sneered. "The truth is, you were drunk behind the wheel, and you hit someone. Because of you, Liliana's been left with a bad leg for life. If your dad hadn't saved my father's life, you'd have been rotting in prison a long time ago!"

"Me? Drunk driving?" Raine laughed even harder, the pain twisting in her stomach.

"Sebastian, do you seriously not know who was driving that day? It was Liliana! She was the one driving while drunk. She killed someone. She was the one who crashed the car into the guardrail and hurt her leg! I was just in the passenger seat. I took the fall for her!"

"Shut up!" Sebastian roared, storming forward and landing a vicious slap right across Raine's face.

The slap rang out, harsh and jarring in the silent hospital room.

Raine's head was knocked to the side, blood instantly oozing from the corner of her mouth. Her ears buzzed, and her vision flickered with darkness.

It was the first time he'd ever hit her.

The man she'd loved for ten years had just struck her, all to defend that deceitful goddess he worshipped.

Raine pressed her hand to her face and turned to look at Sebastian. The spark in her eyes slowly died.