Chapter 7
Lily writhed in pain, cold sweat soaking through her ragged clothes.
When she heard Eric demand an apology, she bit down fiercely on her busted lip, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth.
She could never apologize to the monster who nearly ruined her and left her with a scar she'd carry for life.
Jason looked at Lily's stubborn, pained face, then at Eric and the group behind him, his brows furrowing. He took a deep breath, then turned to Lily, his voice softening in an attempt to smooth things over.
He said, "Honey, look. Eric's family is a big deal. They own all the shops in this row. A few of the places next to our shop got burned down, and we're looking at a huge bill for damages."
He paused, his voice dropping to a coaxing whisper. "We don't have that kind of money right now. Apologize to him, okay? If you do, he'll drop the whole compensation thing. Grit your teeth and get through it."
Even though Jason spoke in a gentle tone, his words hurt Lily a hundred times worse than any beating she'd taken.
Every breath was like a cold blade scraping her heart, making her wish she could just stop breathing altogether.
She stared into Jason's eyes—the same eyes she used to drown in—but now all she saw was disgusting hypocrisy that made her sick to her stomach.
Her whole body trembled with overwhelming rage and disappointment. She jabbed a finger at Eric, her voice raspy and broken. "Jason... why did you rent his place? Why..."
Her voice faltered, unable to go on. After a brief pause, she suddenly yanked up her shirt, exposing the ugly, centipede-like scar crawling across her skin. "You knew what he did to me. He almost raped me. He almost killed me!"
Her last cry was a desperate, dying wail.
Lily's glare was like two venom-tipped blades, piercing right through Jason's chest. His face turned deathly pale, and he couldn't meet her eyes, suddenly too ashamed to look at her.
She pointed at Eric, her voice shaky but with a fierce edge as she demanded, "How do you even know him? What's your relationship with him, really?"
Jason watched as Lily broke down, her pain and hysteria so raw it made his heart ache, and he couldn't stop his eyes from turning red.
He bit his lip hard, wrapping his arms around her frail shoulders, blurting out a messy defense, his gaze flickering nervously.
He said, "Honey, I can explain. I don't know him. I swear, I really don't. I only rented this place because it was cheap. I had no idea the landlord was him. If I'd known, I never would've rented it."
Jason couldn't let Lily know that he and Eric had been brothers since childhood, and that everything that happened in high school, including Eric almost raping her, was all part of their scheme.
He couldn't even imagine how disappointed Lily would be, or how much she'd hate him, if she ever found out the whole truth about what happened back then.
All the pain she'd suffered, when it came down to it, traced back to him.
Jason never expected that, when Eric saw Lily's exposed skin that day, he'd actually lose control and take things too far, turning their twisted game into reality.
By the time he showed up late, just as planned, Lily's clothes were torn, her body covered in bruises, and her stomach was bleeding. He'd regretted it, been haunted by it, but he could never bring himself to admit it.
He stammered, desperately clinging to the excuse of being broke. "I-I wanted you to apologize so we wouldn't owe them anything. We're flat out broke, Lily. We really don't have a dime to our—"
"No. I have money. I've got loads of money!" Lily was sobbing, then out of nowhere started laughing like a lunatic. Her laughter was wild, bitter, and full of misery.
She suddenly pulled out the bank card Samuel had given her, gripping it tight in her palm like it was her last shred of dignity, her only weapon left. "I'm not apologizing to him. Name a price, and I'll pay every single cent."
Jason's face drained of all color when he spotted the card in Lily's hand.
He lunged for the card, his voice urgent, a hint of panic leaking through. "Honey, that's the money for my surgery. You can't use that. We can't hand it over to him."