Chapter 5

Daniel choked on the words he hadn't finished. The flicker of emotion in his eyes vanished almost instantly. "She will cover your hospital bills—triple the cost. I've arranged for extra compensation to be transferred to your account for the pain and care. I've already spoken to her family, and she's being told to reflect on her actions for a week." Gemma let out a dry laugh, her lips curling into a tight, bitter smile as she looked at him. Daniel's jaw tightened. He dropped his gaze, refusing to look her in the eyes as he said, "She's Monica's closest friend. If the punishment is too harsh, Monica won't be able to handle it." Gemma was speechless. He was all about Monica. Laughter racked her body, and she was shaky, on the verge of madness. She was seconds away from falling apart and screaming her lungs out. But her throat was wrecked. She couldn't even scream. In despair, her fingers dug into her own skin. Daniel opened his mouth, wanting to explain himself, but no words came. He didn't even know where to start. After a long pause, something seemed to click. He finally spoke. "Gemma, just trust me. I only have two promises left to fulfill. Once I do, we can—" She cut him off, saying, "Daniel, I'm tired. I need to rest." Behind that still gaze, something dark was starting to surface. Until the door quietly clicked shut, Gemma kept her eyes tightly closed. She had overcome every obstacle on the path chasing after Daniel. She once believed that as long as she married him, she would be the happiest woman in the world. But reality taught her a cruel lesson—some things were never meant to be hers, and reaching for them only led to pain. On the day she was discharged from the hospital, Daniel took her home. It had been three years since she last stepped foot inside. Gemma stood in the doorway, staring out at the yard. The vegetables she used to grow were gone, replaced by bright and flaming red roses. In the entryway, she couldn't find her old pair of slippers. Instead, there was a new pair of pink slippers with a pink bear on top. Daniel froze for a second, then awkwardly kicked the pink slippers aside and pulled out a pair of guest slippers from the cabinet for her instead. He glanced at her, looking slightly embarrassed. "I thought our old ones were too worn out, so I tossed them. I just haven't gotten around to buying new ones yet." Gemma kept her gaze low and didn't respond. Swapping out her old slippers was easy, but she knew it wasn't just the slippers he wanted to replace. There were a few pieces of women's clothing scattered messily across the living room couch. Daniel spoke up again, trying to explain. "Monica had another episode a couple days ago. It happened so fast, her friend brought her here. But don't worry, she stayed in the guest room." Afraid she might get the wrong idea, he even walked her over to show her the exact room Monica had stayed in. But Gemma's complete indifference rattled him. He suddenly pulled her into his arms, trying to ease the growing panic in his chest. "Gemma, I missed you so much. When you refused to see me while you were locked up, I couldn't sleep. Every night I dreamt of you being angry with me, blaming me—" "I don't want to talk about the past." Gemma pulled herself firmly out of his embrace, cutting him off mid-sentence. Daniel's fingers trembled slightly before he instinctively tightened his grip on her hand. "Alright. It's all in the past now." Gemma gave a bitter laugh. She was just about to ask about her grandmother, Sally Turner, when the front door suddenly opened. Monica strolled in like she owned the place, dropping her bag by the door. When she saw Daniel holding Gemma in his arms, the jealousy in her eyes was impossible to miss. "Daniel, let's head to the mall and pick up some fresh clothes for Gemma," Monica said, looping her arm around Gemma with fake warmth. That was when it finally clicked for Daniel. He turned to Gemma and said, "Your old clothes were sitting in storage too long. Monica figured they would be no good by now, so she threw them away." Gemma yanked her arm away from Monica. Monica clearly expected her to lose it, but Gemma only gave a cool, indifferent reply. "Sure." Right before they left, Gemma excused herself to use the restroom. Instead, she quietly slipped into Daniel's study, and then into Monica's bedroom. She carefully hid the hidden cameras. Once they got to the mall, Monica found an excuse to send Daniel off. Then she cornered Gemma. Her expression twisted with venom as she glared at her. "Gemma, I swear, nothing seems to break you. After everything, you're still not dead! But that's fine. I'll make sure you finally see for yourself who Daniel would choose between us." The second she finished, Monica reached up and slammed her hand against the fire alarm. The mall exploded into chaos. Screams broke out. People shouted. Alarms blared. In seconds, the crowd turned into a stampede, scattering everyone. Daniel caught a glimpse of Monica being shoved to the side by the rushing crowd. Without thinking, he ran straight toward her. But just as he turned to look for Gemma, Monica grabbed his arm with both hands, tightly. Her face was streaked with tears, and there was panic in her eyes. "Daniel, I'm scared," she whimpered.