Chapter 3
My father was shouting in rage, striking me over and over.
I clenched my teeth, determined not to make a single sound.
I knew that the more I begged, the more my father and the others would revel in it.
The more I suffered, the more delighted Scarlett would be.
"Sebastian, please calm down," Tessa said softly as she entered the room, carrying a bowl of soup.
Her voice was gentle as she tried to soothe him. "It's not worth ruining your health over this worthless girl."
She handed the soup to my father and then shot me a glance, a gloating smile tugging at her lips.
"Let her kneel there until she figures it out," she said.
My father drank the soup, and he seemed to calm down a bit.
He threw the whip to the floor and snorted coldly, "If you still don't admit your mistake, I'll send you off to the remote estate and leave you to your fate!"
With that, he held Tessa, and the two of them left together.
Once again, I was the only one left in the family church.
The metallic smell of blood mixed with the strong scent of sandalwood made me want to gag.
I stared at the statue, the words "Holy God's Mercy" carved in big letters, and I couldn't help but laugh at it all.
This was my family.
They'd rather trust some fortune-teller's nonsense than believe their own daughter.
For Scarlett's glory, they could trample my dignity and my life like it meant nothing.
Night had fallen.
The door to the family church creaked open again.
I thought it was just another person coming to torment me, but to my surprise, it was Quentin.
He had changed out of his wedding attire and was dressed in dark, everyday robes, standing tall and straight.
When he saw me kneeling on the broken porcelain, bruised and battered, he froze, his eyes narrowing in alarm.
Quentin stared at me, disbelief and anger flickering in his eyes. "They... really did this to you?"
His voice carried a hint of anger, barely masked beneath his concern.
He hurried over, reaching out to help me up.
But I instinctively pulled back, wary. "Don't touch me."
I didn't want him to see me like this, so broken and humiliated.
Quentin's hand froze in mid-air.
He looked at me, his gaze conflicted. "Why didn't you tell me?
"Three years ago, why didn't you tell me it was you?"
I twisted my lips into a bitter smile. "Tell you? And then what?
"So everyone at Sutton's estate would think I was plotting to snatch Scarlett's husband-to-be?
"Lord Quentin, you really have no idea what it's like for me."
Quentin went silent.
Of course, he didn't get it.
He was the heir to the Spence estate, always the center of attention since he was a child.
He'd never understand what it was like to be called cursed. Just surviving took everything I'd got.
"Sorry." After a long pause, he managed to get those words out. "I'll get you out of here."
He looked at me, his gaze firm and determined. "Tomorrow, I'll go to the court and ask His Majesty to grant us a marriage. The one I want to marry is you, Roselyn."
A spark of hope flickered to life in my heart that had long given up.
But it was quickly snuffed out.
"Lord Quentin, how refined your tastes are, sneaking into our family church in the dead of night to secretly meet with Roselyn," Scarlett sneered.
Behind her stood my father, Tessa, and a group of household staff.
Every single one of them wore the same look of outrage and contempt, as if they'd just caught us in the act.
My father was shaking with fury, pointing at us. "So this is what it is. I finally get it.
"Have you two been involved all this time?
"Roselyn, you shameless thing! You've disgraced the Sutton family."
Tessa stormed right up to me, jabbing a finger in my face and yelling at the top of her lungs.
She cursed, "You little slut. You backstabbing turncoat. How dare you go behind our backs and seduce Lord Quentin?
"Sebastian, we can't let her stay any longer. Put her in the fire and burn her. Do it now!"
Quentin stepped in front of me, shielding me, his voice cold and sharp. "Lord Sutton, show some respect.
"Roselyn and I are innocent. I only came here tonight to..."
"To what?" Scarlett cut him off, her eyes red from crying.
She cried, "Lord Quentin, tell me, what's so wrong with me? Why are you treating me like this?
"You'd rather choose a woman who disgraces the family by having secret affairs, instead of me?"
As she spoke, Scarlett suddenly pulled out a pendant from inside her dress and hurled it to the floor.
The pendant was carved with Quentin's name.
Scarlett sobbed, "This is the keepsake you once gave me. I'm giving it back to you now.
"From now on, our engagement is over. We're finished!"
My father stared at the shattered pendant, feeling dizzy as if the world was spinning around him.
The marriage deal with the Spence family had been their greatest ambition all these years.
Now, everything was ruined.
And it was all my fault.
My father snatched a stick from one of the servants, his eyes bloodshot with rage as he came at me.
He roared, "Tonight, I'll beat you to death myself, you damned curse.
"I'll purge this family of your filth!"
The stick came down with a whoosh, slicing through the air.
I shut my eyes tight, steeling myself for the hit.