Chapter 4

"You threw water on Brittany's face, so I'll make sure you drink your fill of it, Elara Vance. I told you, you must pay for your actions. "

My ears buzzed, and I could barely make out what they were saying. I felt such profound regret. Such deep regret. Why had I insisted on being with someone who didn't love me at all? Now, I was reduced to this utterly wretched state. Loving him had been a mistake from the very beginning. I don't know how much time passed. On the brink of death, I was finally hauled out by a bodyguard. Night had fallen. After coughing up all the water from my lungs, I staggered upstairs. From the master bedroom, I heard wanton, suggestive laughter. "Damien, darling, this is your *new home* with *her*. Are you sure *she* won't mind you sleeping with me in her bed? "

"Don't worry about her. I told you before, every bed in every one of my houses must carry your scent. "

"Oh, you're naughty~"

The sounds of their escalating intimacy filled the bedroom again. My heart turned to ice, utterly desolate. I sank to the floor beside the wall and dialed a number. "Liam, do you have any available slots at the County Clerk's office tomorrow? I can't take this anymore; can we expedite the divorce...? "

Silent tears streamed down my face, my throat tight with suppressed sobs. "There are no slots tomorrow, but there's an opening in three days. We can fast-track your application then. " Liam's voice was filled with concern, having detected the distress in my voice. "Good. Three days it is. "

I hung up the phone, collapsing to the floor as if all strength had drained from my limbs. I had never felt so utterly exhausted. I truly had been wrong, unbelievably wrong. Believing that genuine affection would be returned in kind was the biggest lie in the world. I leaned weakly against the wall, drifting in and out of consciousness, when a startled cry suddenly erupted from the master bedroom, followed by the door being kicked open. "Elara Vance, why was there a needle in Brittany's pajamas?! Did you secretly put it there?! "

Damien's eyes were blazing, as if he wanted to devour me. Behind him, Brittany's small face was pale with feigned panic. There were clear hickeys on her neck, and she was wearing *my* pajamas. My face instantly hardened. "Who gave you permission to wear my pajamas?! "

"Oh, so you *do* know these are your pajamas, Elara Vance! You deliberately tried to harm Brittany! How utterly vicious you are! " Damien looked at me as if I were some venomous witch. I was shocked and enraged, yet a bitter laugh escaped me. "I deliberately harmed her? Are you saying I forced her to wear my pajamas? You two want to experiment, you want to spice things up, you cheat and even wear my pajamas, and now you have the gall to blame me?! Have you no shame?! "

I finished in one breath, feeling a strange catharsis, mixed with an unprecedented sorrow. Damien's face faltered slightly, realizing there was some truth to my words. Just then, Brittany cried out, "This is a new house, and there are hardly any clothes! I had no choice but to wear *her* pajamas! She must have guessed I would do this, so she deliberately planted the needle! "

Damien's face instantly darkened. "Elara Vance, I truly misjudged you! "

"Guards! "

I was shoved into a burlap sack. Inside, five rats, three snakes, and dozens of cockroaches squirmed. With Damien's single command, the bodyguards brutally beat the sack. "Ah... Ah... " The screams emanating from the sack were no longer human. Damien finally looked satisfied. He kissed Brittany's face. "There, darling. I avenged you. She pricked you with a needle, so I'll let the vermin bite her. "

Then, he looked at the sack, his voice cold. "Consider this a lesson. If you ever dare to lay a hand on Brittany again, it won won't be this simple. "

With that, he wrapped an arm around Brittany and walked away, not once looking back. When I was released from the sack the next day, I had already passed out. When the butler reported this, Damien was in Brittany's room, applying ointment to the small needle pricks on her. "Passed out? " Damien's face changed. He put down the ointment and started to leave. Brittany gritted her teeth, a flash of malice in her eyes, and followed him. I lay on the ground, covered in countless small, bloody bite marks. Damien's expression was one of shock. He was about to speak when Brittany suddenly gasped. "Ouch, my needle wound from yesterday hurts so much... "

Damien's attention immediately turned to her. He quickly checked her wound. "Better, Brittany? "

Brittany nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "She probably didn't mean to stab me. She must just be upset that you're so good to me. It's okay, I won't hold it against her. "

Damien's expression darkened. Any flicker of pity he had felt for me vanished completely. "She brought it on herself. If she's passed out, so what? Throw cold water on her. If one bucket doesn't wake her, use two. If two don't, use three. If ten buckets don't wake her, she's faking it! "

The butler nodded and began to douse me with water. One bucket... Two buckets... Three buckets... By the seventh bucket, I awoke, groggily opening my eyes, my head throbbing terribly. Damien sneered. "What, not faking it anymore? You were doing such a good job just now! I almost fell for it! "

Brittany murmured, "She probably stopped faking it because she was afraid of being exposed. "

I had never felt such rage.