Chapter 2

After the decision to go on the honeymoon, I quickly booked our flights. Before leaving, I needed to go home and pack my things. Now that I was married, I couldn't keep living at Ryan's place. I'd just started driving when my phone lit up with a call from him. Normally, when he blocked me, I'd spend two weeks appeasing him before he'd finally unblock me. But this time, he called me within a day. I knew it was about Natalie. Sure enough, the moment I answered, a volley of accusations came firing through. "Who the hell gave you permission to block Nat? Don't you know how sensitive she is? Yet, you still upset her like that. Come to the bar right now and apologize to her." I'd already made up my mind to move on. But hearing Ryan jump to her defense like that and being so desperate to shield her from even a moment's discomfort still hurt me. "I don't think I did anything wrong, and I'm not going to apologize. Besides, I've already—" Before I could say I was married, he cut me off with a scoff. "You're not coming? Jane, where do you get the nerve to talk to me like that? Have you forgotten that your grandmother is still a patient at my family's hospital? If you're not here in 30 minutes, I'll have someone throw her out." He knew exactly what to use against me. A cold dread washed over me as I shouted over the phone, "Come after me if you want, but leave my grandma alone." But he had already hung up. My hands trembled as I quickly turned the car around. I knew Ryan wasn't joking, and he would do anything for Natalie's sake. Grandma was my only family in this world, and I couldn't let anything happen to her. Driven by sheer desperation, I floored the gas pedal and raced toward the bar. Just as I was about to park, a motorcycle swerved in from the right. I yanked the steering wheel to avoid it, but I crashed into a pillar. A sharp pain exploded in my chest, and I could almost hear my ribs break. But I couldn't worry about that now. I scrambled out of the car and rushed into the bar. Seeing me covered in blood, the waiter panicked and asked if I needed a hospital. However, I grabbed his arm and asked, "Where's Ryan? Take me to him." When the private room door opened, I appeared before everyone, bloody and disheveled. The lively chatter in the room died down. Ryan's expression shifted. Just as he was about to stand up, Natalie suddenly let out a startled cry and flung herself into his arms. Her display of fragility made his heart ache for her, and he hurriedly covered her eyes. When he turned his gaze back to me, all the tenderness in his eyes had been replaced by sheer annoyance. "Who are you trying to scare with this pathetic, half-dead look? I called you here to apologize, not to traumatize Nat." I ignored him and walked straight to Natalie. Under Ryan's wary gaze, I lowered my head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blocked you," I said, then promptly removed her from my block list. A glance at the time showed it had been exactly 29 minutes since his call. Blood from my forehead dripped into my eyes, staining my vision red. I didn't bother wiping it away as I turned to him. "Will that do? Leave my grandma alone. I'll find a way to transfer her to another hospital soon…" Before I could finish, Ryan's expression had darkened unbearably. "You came here just for your grandmother?" As if it could be for anything else. I gave a bitter smile. Surely, I wasn't naive enough to still hope for anything from him. He was about to say something when Natalie suddenly cried out. "Why is there blood on my shoes?" She looked up at him, her eyes wide and pleading. "These are the heels you specially bought for me, and now they're ruined." He wrapped an arm around her waist and told me coldly, "Clean them up for her." I felt a hard kick to the back of my leg, sending me stumbling forward. I nearly fell to my knees in front of Natalie. Flailing for balance, I braced myself against the bar counter. However, I accidentally knocked over several glasses, spilling them all over her. A short scream escaped her, followed by a pitiful, accusatory whine. "Jane, I know you don't like me, but you didn't have to throw drinks at me on purpose." Natalie was already lightly dressed, and now, the spilled drinks had soaked her through. She sneezed several times. Ryan immediately shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, then shot me a glare. "I never realized you were this vicious. How dare you bully her right in front of me?" I had no way to explain myself, but I still tried. "I didn't mean to. Someone kicked me from behind…" But he wouldn't listen and delivered his verdict. "Since you're so insensible, I'll just have your grandmother thrown out of the hospital. If I don't teach you a lesson now, you'll probably make Nat's life hell once we're married." I panicked and grabbed his sleeve. "You can punish me however you want, but leave my grandmother alone," I begged. Ryan scooped Natalie up in his arms and kicked me aside. His foot landed right on my broken ribs, and the kick knocked the breath out of me. All that escaped my throat was a wet, guttural rasp. "Please spare my grandma. I'll earnestly apologize to Natalie. I won't marry you anymore. I'll give you back to her…" But he had already walked away, without so much as a backward glance. I lay on the floor, unable to get up. Surrounded by his friends, they started mocking me. "Look at her. Doesn't she look like a dog?" "Ryan doesn't care about her, anyway. Why don't we have some fun?" Their leering eyes drained the color from my face. I instinctively shrank back against the wall. "Don't... Don't come near me!" I shouted. Just as their hands reached out, someone stopped them. "Ryan said not to touch what's his. Didn't you hear him earlier? He still plans to marry her." Hearing that, they lost interest. With a few disgruntled mutters, they wandered off to find the next venue. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I forced myself up from the floor and fled that hellhole. Now, the only thing on my mind was saving Grandma.