Chapter 3 The living room went dead silent. My parents stared at me in shock.
Thaddeus recovered first. His expression hardened as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around me.
âScarlett! Whatâs wrong with you? This is your own houseâwhy are you acting insane here? Nobody gonna hurt you. Just stop pretending! Werenât you pushed Vivienne just now?â
I didnât even hear him. I fought to get out of the jacket, kneeling and frantically trying to unbutton my clothes.
âPlease, Iâll take it off. Donât hit me. Iâm begging you...please no...â
The day I was most helpless, the client became excited suddenly. He had my clothes sewn onto my skin, forcing me to tear them off as fast as I could.
If I took too slowly, heâd punish me with barbed whips, burning cigarettes or a fireâblackened blade.
I was always hungry, barely slept, and had no strength to take it off.I had no choice, I used teeth. By the time I got everything off, my body was covered in blood.
Even now, the scars never heal. They break open again and again.
When I kept struggling, my parents called Dr. Maxwell Hayes, the Blackwood family doctor. He gave me a sedative to calm me down.
âMiss Lancaster is experiencing severe psychological trauma. She needs to see a psychiatrist immediately.â
Dr. Hayes paused with genuine concern in his eyes. âHer condition is critical. She needs to be hospitalized right now.â
Mom looked worried for a second, but when she noticed Vivienne tearing up, her face hardened again.
Thaddeus looked down at me, his voice dripping with contempt.
21:49 The Ruined Bride of Velvet Nights 1.7%
Chapter 3 âPsychological trauma? Scarlett? Itâs impossible. Look at herâdoes she seem like someone whoâd crack up? She openly pushed Vivienne right in front of us. How could she possibly be psychological trauma?â
âWhen are you gonna drop this act? You worked as a waitress for two months and now youâre suddenly crazy? You waste all your dignity just for acting like a fool?â
âOr this is your new strategy. Playing the mental patient for sympathy. It wonât make us forget what youâv done to Vivienne.
You still need apolagize to her.â
I just stared at the ceiling blankly. Nothing he said registered with me.
Then Vivienne leaned in close with a nasty look in her eyes.
âScarlett, whatâs on your neck?â She yanked my collar down, exposing the hickeys.
âWait... did you get a boyfriend? What about Thaddeus? Youâre going to be married! How could you do that?â
I curled up into a ball, tears streaming down my face.
Thaddeus stared at my neck in shock.
After he swallowed his rage, he grabbed me off the bed and dragged me downstairs. He shoved me into his car before finally exploding.
âScarlett, who is he? Who told you could date someone else? I punish you a little and you do THIS to get back at me?
Youâre heartless. Tell me who he is! Are you faking crazy so you can stay with him?
What am I to you? A joke?â
I canât take this anymore. I clutched at my ears, body curling inward, desperate to shrink away from his grasp.
Sobs racked through me, knees slamming to the floor. Forehead hit the ground again and again in frantic, mindless desperation.
âPlease... please, let me go! It hurts! Iâll be good, I donât want money, just stop! Iâll do anythingâyou can record whatever you want. Just donât hit me. Please... donât hit me...â
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Chapter 4 Chapter 4