Chapter 1

The moment Margaret Reynolds woke from her three-day coma, the first person she saw was Lester Hamilton. Her eyes fluttered open. He was kneeling beside her bed, his eyes bloodshot. He pulled her into his arms, as if he'd just found a long-lost treasure. "Margie, you're finally awake," he choked out. "This is all my fault. I should've kept you safe… Otherwise, you wouldn't have fallen down the stairs. "When you were unconscious these past few days, I nearly went mad. Thank God you're fine… Thank God." Noticing his red-rimmed eyes, Margaret knew sleep had eluded him for the past few days. Her heart ached. "It's not your fault," she whispered, trying to comfort him. But her words did nothing to ease his guilt. Lester seized her hand and pressed it to his face, almost begging for punishment. "Margie, slap me," he pleaded. "Slap me!" "Lester!" She gasped, startled by his outburst. Jerking her hand free, Margaret wrapped her arms around him, desperate to calm him down. Everyone knew Margaret meant the world to Lester, CEO of Hamilton Group. He cherished her—she was the love of his life. Thus, her accident had nearly driven him insane. "This really isn't your fault," she cooed. "I don't blame you." She comforted him for a long while before he finally calmed down. The two held each other as if the whole world were in their arms. A knock sounded at the door. "Mr. Hamilton, we have a lot of pending work. Things can't be delayed any longer," said his assistant as he entered the room. "You need to handle the Hixon project as soon as possible." Silas Jones looked troubled. Lester had been by Margaret's side for days, letting projects worth billions of dollars pile up. He wouldn't have dared bring it up if Margaret hadn't woken. "Postpone everything," Lester said flatly, crushing Silas' hope. "I need to focus on taking care of Margie." Before Silas could argue, Lester dismissed him. Margaret opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Lester summoned a team of doctors. Dozens filed into the room, making it packed in an instant. "Give her a full checkup. I don't want anything happening to her." Margaret was about to say there was no need to make such a fuss, but the doctors were already swarming around her. Most of them were women, chatting softly while examining her. "Ms. Reynolds, Mr. Hamilton nearly went crazy when he heard you fall down the stairs. He sped back and then stayed by your side for three whole days. He didn't sleep a wink." "Yeah, he really loves you," another doctor chimed in. "I heard you've been together since high school. I've never seen a man this devoted." "You're stunning too, Ms. Reynolds. You two are truly a perfect match." It wasn't until one doctor lifted the blanket to check Margaret's body that the whole room fell silent. The words caught in their throats, and no one uttered a single word. Margaret's legs were gone from the knee down. Two prosthetics were in place instead. She was disabled now. Even though it had been six months since the accident, she still wasn't used to the sympathy in other people's eyes. Her whole body tensed as she pulled the blanket back up. "Just check my upper body," she said stiffly. Everyone nodded sheepishly, not daring to bring up her disability. After a quick and silent examination, they filed out of the room. A sigh of relief escaped Margaret's lips. Her eyes were dim as she couldn't help but reach for her prosthetics, her hands trembling. The accident was six months ago. Having grown up together, Margaret and Lester always knew they were meant for each other since they were teenagers. They were practically inseparable. But in college, Lester had a crazy admirer—Scarlett Ross. Everyone knew Scarlett was infatuated with him. No matter how many times he turned her down, told her he had a girlfriend, and even threw away her love letters and gifts, she refused to give up. She pestered him for years. Six months ago, it finally dawned on Scarlett that despite her efforts, Lester would only ever have eyes for Margaret. Driven by her twisted obsession with him, she did the unthinkable—she tried to run Margaret over. As she rammed the car at Margaret, she chanted, "Margaret, you should die! Only if you die will Lester finally notice me!" That day would always be like a nightmare to Margaret. She didn't die, but she lost both legs. She was paralyzed from the chest down. Margaret used to be a ballet dancer, and she'd just received an offer from one of the world's top ballet companies. But because of Scarlett's insane actions, Margaret's dream was shattered forever. Even now, remembering it was like a stab to the chest. Her face paled as she pulled her hand back. Then, she noticed Lester was gone. "Lester?" She quavered, her voice tinged with panic. Silas immediately hurried in and said, "Ms. Reynolds, Mr. Hamilton went to Lakeview again. He'll be back soon." Lakeview was where Lester kept Scarlett locked up. Ever since she destroyed Margaret's legs, he'd gone berserk. He swore he'd torture Scarlett until she'd regret being alive. So, he imprisoned her and tortured her every single day. Margaret had been to Lakeview once and had seen Scarlett drenched in her blood. Death would've been an easier way out for Scarlett. Six months had passed, but Lester still refused to let her go. If anything… he was visiting her more often. Something stirred within Margaret. She pulled out her phone and clicked on an anonymous post she'd saved three months ago. The title read, "He Locked Me Up After I Crippled His First Love." The author claimed she had fallen in love with a man who was smitten with his first love. Knowing she could never have him, she was consumed by jealousy. She ran the man's first love over, and he imprisoned her. She'd been updating her life in captivity ever since. Margaret had only bookmarked this thread because it sounded so much like her own story. But later, the updates took a bizarre turn. The author said that, after her crush spent almost every day torturing her in captivity, he seemed to be falling for her.