Chapter 5

Tears welled up in Ariel's eyes as she glared at Keith, who was still pressing down on her. A surge of resentment flooded through her chest. She raised her scarred arm, deliberately showing the half-dried blood to cover the truth. "Have you forgotten how I lost my virginity back then?" Her lips curved into a bitter smile as she pulled herself free and continued signing furiously. "It was because of you." Keith was stunned. The memory of pain and guilt instantly replaced his joy. "Are you blaming me?" he snapped. Her words had provoked him. "If you hadn't secretly come looking for me five years ago, you never would've been kidnapped, nor would you have been defiled by another man!" The bedroom lights were so bright that they revealed every trace of disgust in his eyes. Their gazes locked, and the atmosphere froze. Ariel could see the mix of love and hatred in his bloodshot eyes. She wanted to guilt-trip him for failing to protect her back then, to punish him for not loving her now. But the moment the sharp words left her hands, a deep ache tore through her numb heart. After a long silence, her trembling fingers began to move again. "For the past five years, you're disgusted by me for being tainted, aren't you?" The mansion was deathly quiet except for the ticking of the antique clock. After several seconds, Keith finally spoke, his tone softer. "I didn't mean it like that." Although he said that, Ariel smiled. Those few seconds of hesitation were his most honest answer. She should've seen it clearly long ago. Just then, Keith's phone rang. He picked it up with a frown. "Natalie?" A tearful, pitiful cry came from the other end. "The doctor said the tendons and bones of my foot are injured… I'm scared of having surgery…" "I'll come to the hospital right away," Keith replied. His expression instantly softened. The anxiety in his eyes stabbed sharply into Ariel's heart, as that look of concern used to belong to only her. But now, she was no longer his priority. Keith swiftly straightened his clothes. "You're coming with me. I don't feel at ease leaving you here alone." His current calm demeanor was a far cry from the man who had just pinned her down in a frenzy of desire. But the moment they arrived at the hospital, Keith handed Ariel over to Natalie's bodyguard, Ron Walker. "Be good and wait here," he said. "I'll be back in a short while." Ariel stood there, watching as Keith crouched by the hospital bed. He carefully lifted Natalie's injured foot without the slightest trace of disgust as he examined the injury. It turned out his so-called purity obsession was only directed at Ariel's imagined taint of her lost innocence. As she stood dazed, someone suddenly covered her mouth and nose from behind. The same terror from five years ago, the night she was kidnapped, swallowed her sanity whole. Her body went rigid when she was dragged into a dim specimen room. Through the sliver of light seeping through the door, Ariel saw that the man who had taken her was Ron, the man Keith had assigned to protect Natalie. "This is Ms. Green's order," Ron said coldly. Then, he hurled Ariel into a tank filled with formalin. The stinging chemical flooded her mouth and nose as revolting human specimens floated around her. Her eyes stung, burning so fiercely that it felt like tears of blood might spill. "You look absolutely pathetic right now." Just then, Natalie, who was supposed to be in the operating room, walked in. Her steps were brisk and steady, nothing like someone with an injured foot. "Mr. Ford went all the way to the south of the city to buy me cupcakes. He hasn't even realized you're gone." She smiled slyly, not hiding her smug satisfaction. "Just admit it. Your beloved husband has already fallen for me, someone cleaner, someone who can talk to him and keep him company. "I'm not a filthy used-up woman like you. Who knows how many men have touched you? You should've given up your title as Mrs. Ford long ago!" Natalie's beautiful face twisted with hatred. Ariel's vision darkened. She quickly clutched her ruby necklace, the one Keith had personally fitted with a miniature camera that streamed footage to the cloud. He had once said he could only feel at ease if he could see her life at any moment. But now, with his heart belonging to someone else, he probably hadn't checked it in a long time. "I didn't expect you to really be a mute," Natalie mocked. Watching Ariel thrashed weekly in the chemical solution, Natalie lost interest and left with Ron. The heavy door slammed shut, cutting off the only source of light. After what felt like an eternity, Ariel's skin was burning and peeling from the corrosion, and her consciousness was slipping away. Just as she was about to faint, someone kicked the door open with a loud crash. "Ariel!"