Chapter 7

Listening to Andrew, I felt drained, and my stomach churned with nausea.

He pulled me into his arms. "Even if my heart belongs to Maisy, Rita, my whole being will always be yours."

I stayed in the hospital for another two days before finally leaving.

Andrew took me to our new home.

He said, "The old place was pretty much wrecked, but I've had people fix up our new home and set it up just the way you like."

In the yard, a tree stood, and beneath it were a coffee table and a lounge chair.

The wind rustled through the leaves, and I couldn't help but feel my emotions all over the place.

I didn't feel anything for the guy in front of me anymore.

"Andrew! Do you think the way I set up the furniture looks good?" Maisy called out.

She walked out of the room like she owned the place, flashing a bright smile at Andrew.

"It looks great. You always have good taste," Andrew replied.

He turned to me. "You were stuck in the hospital and couldn't come with me, so I figured since you girls are pretty similar, you'd probably like what Maisy likes too."

I kept my face calm and nodded, knowing exactly what was going on. "I don't mind. As long as you're happy with it."

After all, this was their place. I didn't care anymore.

Andrew froze for a moment, clearly not expecting me to respond this way.

He'd been ready to argue his case, but now he just stood there, speechless.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside, and a few guys in uniform walked in.

"We found this book in the ruins of the training ground. This book is forbidden. Miss Otiz, you'll have to come with us now," one of them said.

I glanced at the foreign edition and remembered seeing it on Maisy's bed before.

Maisy's face turned pale as she kept backing away, looking to Andrew for help.

I felt a sudden jolt.

The next second, Andrew clenched my wrist tightly. "This book... It's my lover's. I meant to hand it in to be destroyed, but it must've slipped out at the training ground."

"Andrew! That's not mine at all! Why are you trying to pin this on me?" I snapped.

The investigators looked confused. "So, Colonel Patton, you're sure this belongs to Rita? According to the rules, Rita has to spend three days in prison for re-education."

"Yes," Andrew replied.

When I heard Andrew's unwavering answer, I felt utterly crushed.

"Let go of me! That's not mine!" I yelled, struggling.

I was dragged into a holding cell, where a bunch of people grilled me one after another.

Staring at the familiar faces in front of me, I realized they were Andrew's trusted guys.

"Rita, just admit it. Don't make things tough for Andrew," one of them urged.

"Last time you got our boss punished, so now we brothers are gonna teach you a lesson."

They ripped up my statement denying everything, slammed me to the floor, and crushed my fingers under their boots.

In a split second, my barely healed fingers were shattered all over again.

"I... I won't admit to something I never did!" I shouted.

"Still refusing to confess? We'll make sure you learn your lesson the hard way!" one of them growled.

The youngest of them grabbed a bucket of well water and dumped it over my head, then yanked my hair and forced me to kneel, slamming my forehead against the floor, making me beg for forgiveness.

My head kept hitting the floor, my vision blurred, and darkness crept in.

I really was wrong. I was a fool to fall for a man's sweet words.

I wasted the best years of my life on a man. Even after getting a second shot at life, I still ended up crushed under his heel.

For a moment, I just wanted to give up. I was exhausted to the core, body and soul.

Right on schedule, another round of punishment hit me.

After three whole days, they finally dragged me out.

They looked all satisfied as they handed Andrew the paper with my fingerprint, pressed while I was out cold.

Andrew gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You're my wife. If you take the blame, you'll just have to go through some pain. But if Maisy admits to it, she'll be sent somewhere far worse. I owe you for this."

"Don't worry. Maisy will be leaving tomorrow. I've set up a wedding for us, and I even invited my parents. They really want to see you."

With that, he turned and walked away. No need to guess. He was off to pack Maisy's bags.

"Andrew, goodbye." I spoke to his back as he walked away, too weak to say it any louder.

Andrew didn't hear me, just paused for a moment. "Tomorrow's the wedding. I'll come back to you."

I lay on the stretcher, my fingers too broken to even bend, tears slipping down my cheeks.

Andrew, I would be the one who left. And this wedding was my final present to you.

I forced myself back home and wrote a letter exposing everything Andrew had done with his authority.

My fingers kept bleeding onto the page as I wrote, but I didn't let up.

I shoved my hospital records into an envelope and took them straight to Edward.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll join forces with your dad's old buddies, and we'll make sure this gets to the right people," Edward promised.