Chapter 1
Before I married Edward Knight, his mother, Grace Knight, put me through a premarital obedience test.
Grace made me serve coffee respectfully to the whole family, and I accepted it.
Grace made me walk barefoot across an acupressure mat to prove I could endure hardship, and I walked.
Grace made me sign a prenuptial agreement that meant if we ever divorced, I would have to walk away with nothing, and I signed it.
Edward watched with indifference and said, "Anna, don't make a big deal out of it. Just endure it. These are the rules in the Knight family."
I smiled and nodded, but tears slipped down my face. The last part of the test was Grace slapping me without warning.
"If you want to join the Knight family, you need to learn how to be humble," Grace said.
I didn't move, but upstairs in his study, Edward, who was on a video conference, suddenly coughed up blood.
Edward grabbed his face, looking at me with shock and terror.
A voice echoed in my head. "You have successfully bonded with Edward through the empathy system. From this moment on, any harm you suffer will be felt by him with full intensity."
*****
The sting on my face hadn't even faded when Edward toppled over stiffly, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
His face, always marked by pride and disdain, was now contorted with fear.
"Edward!"
"Mr. Knight!"
The living room exploded into chaos.
Screams, shouts, and the crash of overturned chairs and tables all blended together, turning the living room into pure chaos.
I just stood there, watching as everyone scrambled to get Edward into the ambulance. Grace, the one who started this mess, was stunned for a moment, then jabbed her finger at me and started cursing.
Grace said, "You curse. It's all your fault, you damn bitch. My son passed out at home because of your bad luck."
I kept silent, just raised my hand and lightly pressed my cheek, swollen and throbbing from the slap.
It burned, just as fiercely as the pain in my heart.
The doctors quickly gave their verdict. Edward had a concussion and a badly bruised face, but nobody could figure out what had caused it.
When Edward woke up, I was the only one in the hospital room.
He saw the clear handprint on my face, the same mark he remembered feeling on his own cheek. The confusion in his eyes quickly turned into suspicion and anger.
"Anna, what did you do to me?" Edward asked. His voice was hoarse, full of judgment.
I met his gaze, calm as ever. I replied, "I didn't do anything. Your mom slapped me, and then you just collapsed."
"Seriously?" Edward let out a mocking laugh. "My mom slaps you, and I suddenly cough up blood and pass out? Anna, now you're spinning wild stories just to get me to feel sorry for you?"
"This isn't some made-up story," I said. "Just now, we were bound by an empathy system. From this moment on, every pain I go through, physical or emotional, you'll feel it exactly as I do."
Edward fixed his gaze on me, his eyes brimming with open disgust and scorn.
"Trying something new now? Anna, I really didn't give you enough credit. You really will stoop to anything just to get my attention, won't you?" Edward said.
"You don't believe me?" I asked.
"I believe you're crazy," Edward shot back, his voice cold as ice.
I smiled, but tears slipped down. I wiped them away, staring at the man I loved for ten years, the one whose heart I could never reach. When I finally spoke, my voice was so cold it felt like a stranger's, even to me.
"Edward, let's make a bet," I said.
"What's the bet?" he asked, raising an eyebrow like he was watching a circus act.
"I bet I'll make you personally feel every ounce of pain I've suffered all these years," I said, my voice cold as ice.
He didn't answer. He just turned away and summoned the nurse; his actions said it all. Even talking to me made him sick.
I gazed out at the darkness beyond the window and murmured, "You'll believe me."