Chapter 5

Joyce knelt by the door the entire night, her head heavy and fogged. Maybe it was Bianca's words, but she found herself thinking back to when she severed ties with her father. Her mother had died in childbirth before even holding her once. And because she was a girl, her father had never shown her any favor. She endured 20 full years of mistreatment until Joyce's father, eager to pave the way for his useless illegitimate son, sent her to a powerful official's bed. She had been so desperate that she was ready to bite off her own tongue to commit suicide when Nathan appeared and pulled her back from the edge. Because of that, for the first time in her life, she confronted her father. When it ended with him raising a hand to strike her, Nathan had dragged her behind him, taking the slap meant for her head-on. When she was thrown out and left to wander the streets, she had sat on the curb outside a convenience store, sobbing uncontrollably. And still, it had been Nathan who had wiped her tears away with aching tenderness, gathering her into his arms. "Joyce, marry me! I'll give you a home to shelter you from the wind and rain. From now on, I'm your family and backing." Back then, she had been so moved that she cried in his arms for another two hours. From inside the room came the sound of intimate kisses, snapping Joyce into awareness. Nathan opened the door, bare-chested, and crouched before her with his phone in hand. One glance, and she saw screens full of curses, accusing her of being the other woman. "Joyce, is this what you want?" he asked. "To be like a rat crossing the street, everyone sweeping at you with a broom? Just give in, and I'll pull the stories. We can go back to the way we were." Joyce's eyes flicked to the marks on his neck before she turned away without a word. That movement stripped away what little patience Nathan had, and he straightened. "The place I'm sending you to has been arranged. Three days from now, I'll take you there myself." Just then, Bianca emerged, swaying his arm with a whine. "I've known Joyce for so many years, and part of me can't bear to see her go. The servants here don't suit me, so why not let her serve me until she leaves?" Nathan yet again yielded to her request. To keep Joyce from running, he confiscated her phone and bank cards, even fastened shackles to her wrists and ankles. A stinging flared at the bridge of her nose. She was no different from a prisoner now. "Joyce, the baby and I are hungry. Be a dear and bring the breakfast from the kitchen," Bianca called from the dining table. Before Joyce could set the bowls down, Bianca was already pouting. "Plain oatmeal again? Joyce, make me some bacon and eggs instead." Joyce did not answer, only returning to the kitchen. It had been a long time since she had cooked. After they married, Nathan forbade her from entering the kitchen for fear she might hurt herself. So, most of her meals had been prepared by his own hands. But now, all of that had been given to someone else. Dragging the weight of her chains, Joyce set the plate in front of Bianca. "I want it scrambled. Make me another." Hearing that, Joyce drew a long breath and went back to the kitchen. "It's too salty. Make me another." "This one's too bland. Make me another." "There's way too much grease. Make me another." By the time Joyce brought out the tenth plate, every shred of patience had been drained from her. She set it down hard, her face like ice. Catching the shift in attitude, Bianca leaned back in her chair and mocked, "You've changed. All that online fame's gone to your head, huh? I ask you to make me a meal, and you act like it's torture. What if I said I want you to make me another one?" She lifted the bowl and deliberately smashed it at Joyce's feet. She jerked back with a sharp cry. The sound brought the golden retriever in from its kennel outside. It planted itself in front of Joyce, baring its teeth at Bianca with two low, warning growls. Those growls were enough to send Bianca stumbling backward into her chair, bursting into tears. "Bianca!" Nathan stormed in, shoving Joyce into the corner of a table. Pain flared. She looked up just in time to see him pull Bianca into his arms. "Joyce! I really underestimated you! You even stoop to harming an unborn child. You're sick enough to release a dog on her!" Nathan's face darkened by the second. "Take that beast and teach it a lesson!" "What are you doing?" Fear surged through Joyce. She shielded the dog with her body, only to be wrenched away. She could only watch as the bodyguards swung down iron batons again and again on the dog. "It's all my fault. I'm begging you to stop. I have nothing else left! Please…" Her voice broke apart into sobs. Nathan had gifted it to her back when she had not yet been pregnant. They had raised the dog like their own child. For a moment, Nathan froze. Then, with a glance, he signaled the men to stop. "Joyce, because you begged me, I'll spare this animal. But if there's a next time, it won't be so simple."