Chapter 2

Stung in my pride, I straightened up at once and rummaged through my bag, trying to give her back the ring. But the ring was gone. Diane humiliated me again, her voice dripping with disdain. In front of me, she threw the ring Eric gave me into the sea. That’s when I realized—the ring had already been taken by her. She did it on purpose, just to humiliate me. “You can tell Eric everything if you want. Let’s see—do you think he’ll believe you or me!” She really did sue me. To pay for the ring, my parents sold our only house and fell into heavy debt. Because of all this, I had an argument with Eric. “Your mom is a villain! What she did is truly evil!” It was the first time I saw him flushed with anger. He refused to back down. He shouted at me: “Don’t talk about my mom like that!” “She just wants her ring back! If you go along with her for now, I’ll buy you a new one later!” “If you’d just given the ring back, none of this would’ve happened!” “My mom is sick! For my sake, can you just give in a little?” That was our first real argument—because of his mother. He believed everything Diane said, thinking I kept the ring on purpose. He blamed me for mishandling the situation, believing that if I had only been more tactful, things wouldn't have ended this way. For the first time, I felt truly disappointed in him. He, stuck in the middle, struggled in agony again and again. Eric’s sudden step forward snapped me back to the present. “Eric, it’s not possible!” “I’ve already moved on with my life.” “Even if I didn’t have a new life, even if your mother were dead, I’d still never come back.” “I hate her. I hate you too.” My voice trembled as I spoke. Every time those wounds came to mind, my heart ached as if twisted apart. Eric froze. Guilt and regret filled his eyes, innocent and ashamed. “The past was hard on all of us,” he said. “We both made mistakes—there were misunderstandings. Let me explain everything, please, sweetheart.” I shook my head. I didn’t want to relive those old wounds. He grew anxious, his eyes reddening as he struggled to hold back tears. Facing my rejection, he became even more nervous—so cautious, afraid I’d slip away. “Just stay out of my life. That’s it,” I said. I turned to leave. He caught my hand, refusing to let go, and started dragging me upstairs. “No matter what you say this time, I won’t let go of your hand again.” “I’ll show you right now. My mom really is bedridden from a stroke!” He didn’t give me a choice and pulled me to the bedroom on the second floor. On the bed lay the face that had haunted my nightmares for years. She opened her eyes, and they widened in shock when she saw me. Just like all those years ago—when Diane found out Eric and I were still together. She forced a bottle of drugged drink down my throat, spitting words full of hatred: “You stubborn little bitch! You just won’t learn, will you? Fine—I’ll make sure you regret ever crossing me!” “I told you to stay away from my son! I already ruined your family—you still aren’t afraid?” “I’ll ruin you right now!” “My son would never want a woman who’s been ruined!” Her people held down my arms. I was forced to drink the whole bottle of that drugged beverage. Then, she put me in a private room with Eric’s sworn enemy... Drugged and helpless, I was toyed with for hours by that man. Broken and lost, I clung to what was left of me and ran to Eric. But when I found him, he was in bed with a girl whose family matched his—perfect on paper. I froze, like the world had ended. He just stared angrily at the marks on my neck and snapped, “What? You betrayed me, didn’t you? Why shouldn’t I do the same?” That moment shattered me. In my pain, I laughed. So, he knew all along. He knew—and still pretended not to see me suffer.