Chapter 3

Landon hauled me up from the floor when he noticed that I was still shooting daggers at Lydia. "Lydia's leaking milk and had to change out of a bunch of soiled clothes. You'll wash them before you go. I want them hand-washed. Got it?" I shook him off. "Why should I?" "Because you were bullying Lydia!" Landon's expression turned terrifyingly grim. "You owe her an apology!" I endured the stabbing pain in my leg and straightened up. "Dream on!" His gaze turned icy as he pushed me into the bathroom. He locked the door from the outside after slamming it shut. "You're not leaving until those are washed clean!" "Landon, this is imprisonment!" I rattled the doorknob and screamed, "Let me out!" I slapped the door hard, but it was dead silent outside. A burning pain flared in my hands while my leg throbbed with searing agony. The room reeked of spoiled milk and vomit. I collapsed on my knees in exhaustion. Lydia's insincere sympathy could be heard through the door. "Won't Annette be mad once she gets out if you treat her like that, Mr. Ferguson?" Landon scoffed. "So what if she's mad? She'll come around once I sweet-talk her a little bit. Besides, this was her fault to begin with. If she doesn't drop the spoiled rich girl attitude, who's going to put up with her once she marries into the Ferguson family? "The Fergusons are a military family. If the Ferguson Group wasn't in need of an heir, my mother would have never agreed to me marrying an heiress who can't do anything but spend money." Lydia feigned worry. "Mr. Ferguson, isn't Annette going to break up with you if you keep talking about her like that?" Suddenly, it went quiet outside the room. After a long pause, Landon spoke, his voice cold and arrogant. "She won't. She's just a rich girl with no inheritance rights. The Ferguson family is the best she's going to get. Besides, she's madly in love with me. Honestly, she just might die for me if I told her to." I clutched my chest tightly. I never thought I'd one day hear words like that come out of Landon's mouth. My family—the Zieglers—ran a generational business empire. We were often targets of criminals from the underworld. Six years ago, my mother was taken hostage when she and I went to travel abroad. They held a gun against her temple. I screamed myself hoarse, thinking that I was about to lose her. Just then, a whoosh cut through the air, and the assailant dropped dead where he stood. Landon, clad in his uniform with a gun in hand, cut a striking figure. He rescued me and my mother with swift and decisive action. I caught my first glimpse of him in the military jeep. He had refined features and a sharp nose bridge. I fell in love at first sight. After that, I spent a whole year relentlessly pursuing him until he finally agreed to date me. During our five-year relationship, I obeyed his every word. Yet, all my sincerity earned me was his heartless words. What a joke. The bathroom door opened. When Landon spotted me crouched on the floor with my face drained of color, he pulled me to my feet in displeasure. "All I did was ask you to do a load of laundry. Who are you trying to get pity out of?" Acid climbed up my throat. I forced it down and fought the urge to gag as I searched for my mother's keepsake. The pocket watch had already been shattered. So, I picked up the pieces. Landon's voice rang out from behind me. "We'll get married once Lydia finishes her postpartum recovery. After the wedding, she'll live with us." Lydia cast me a grateful look. "Thank you for accepting the baby and me, Annette. I'll be forever grateful…" I had no time for her nonsense and turned to look at Landon. "Keep your gratitude. We're not living together. I'm taking my mother's keepsake. Now give me the house's passcode. I'll have the movers handle the rest."