Seven years of marriage, seven times I was dragged into that alley. The seventh time, my body broken, blood pooling beneath me, they dumped me in a dumpster like refuse. It wasn't until he saw the scene, a chilling replica of that night so long ago, that Ryan Harris, my husband, finally emerged from the alley's mouth. He ordered his men to seize the thugs who had ruined his sister's life all those years ago. He glanced at my dying form, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes, but it quickly congealed into icy mockery. "Enjoy yourself this time, Maya?" he sneered. "You owe me, Maya Thorne!" His men, witnessing my horrific state, panicked. One immediately fumbled for his phone, dialing 911. Ryan, however, slapped the phone away with a dismissive wave, his voice a low, furious growl. "Don't just stand there! Take her to identify the assailants!" I silently closed my eyes, allowing them to haul me away, but tears streamed uncontrollably down my face. The endless nightmares of the past seven years finally made sense today. Ryan Harris, what I owed you, I have now repaid in full. … I jolted awake from the dream, my legs aflame with a searing, agonizing pain. When I opened my eyes, a parade of grotesque, leering faces still swirled behind my eyelids, refusing to fade. "What's wrong? Not satisfied? Still dreaming about it?" Ryan’s voice dripped with scorn from the chair beside my bed. Seraphina Blackwood, his childhood friend, nestled comfortably in his arms, chimed in, her tone equally venomous. "Maya Thorne, you truly are despicable! If Ryan ignores you, you just run off to those thugs for a thrill? Could it be you're addicted? You actually enjoy that kind of… attention?" She paused, a malicious glint in her eyes. "Otherwise, after six times, why would you pretend to be so innocent, only to doll yourself up and rush to meet Ryan every time he called?" Yes, I was such a fool. How could I have ever believed he was finally opening his heart to me again? Last night, Ryan had called me to that same dreaded alley. Despite a growing unease, I went, clinging to a sliver of hope. And just as before, endless torment awaited me. I screamed his name, desperate for him to hear, to save me. But instead, through blurred eyes, I saw him and Seraphina locked in a passionate embrace at the alley's entrance. An entire hour passed. Only when the thugs were done and preparing to leave did he finally appear with his men. By then, blood stained my lower body, and my abdomen was wracked with violent cramps. Realizing I hadn’t had my period in two months, I struggled, reaching out a trembling hand to Ryan, pleading for help. "Ryan... the hospital... I think... I'm having a miscarriage…" Ryan’s brows furrowed, but Seraphina quickly wrapped her arm around his, her gaze raking over me with disdain. "Sister, you must have been having too much fun just now! Your face practically screams how much you enjoyed it!" She laughed, a cruel, mocking sound. "And heaven truly is kind to you. Good riddance, honestly. It would just be a bastard child anyway! Isn't one illegitimate brat enough already?" The pain in my stomach was too overwhelming to fight back. I could only look at Ryan, my eyes pleading. But he turned away, leaving me with a cold, cutting remark: "Maya Thorne, when did you become so utterly depraved?" Yet, he seemed to forget that the last time I’d been dragged into that alley was a year ago. How could this possibly be someone else's child? The hospital room door creaked open, pulling my thoughts back to the present. The doctor entered to examine me. The sheet was pulled back, and a wave of ice slammed into me. My mind went blank, a void of horror, as tears, hot and fat, streamed down my face. Lying there, on the stark white hospital bed, were only the stumps of what used to be my legs. I lunged for the doctor, my arms flailing, screaming hysterically. "Doctor, my legs? Where are my legs?" The doctor looked at me with a pained expression. "Your legs... they were shattered yesterday." She hesitated, then continued, her voice soft. "You were unconscious. Your husband, perhaps fearing complications, chose... amputation." Amputation? Ryan knew, better than anyone, that I was a dancer. Amputation meant the end of my life. I tried to lunge towards Ryan, only to collapse to the floor. He didn't move, just watched me, his eyes blazing with a horrifying, bloodshot intensity. "You've only lost your legs, Maya. But what about my sister? My mother? Trading your useless limbs for two lives... you got off easy!" My heart felt as though it had been stabbed with a bayonet. I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my flesh, drawing blood. "Ryan Harris, what I owed you, I have repaid." The day I was discharged, I went straight back to the Harris mansion to pack my belongings. Six-year-old Leo stood by my side, his clothes tattered, his small body covered in bruises, yet his eyes burned with a defiant fire. I said nothing, only took his hand and started to walk out. Just then, Seraphina walked in, arm in arm with Ryan. Seeing us holding hands, Seraphina's lips curled into a sneer. "Well, well, look at the loving mother and son act. Such deep maternal bonds, aren't they? And to think, my dear 'sister,' you just had to keep this bastard child." The word "bastard" ignited a spark in Leo. He transformed into a tiny, furious beast, lunging at Seraphina. But his small frame was no match for Ryan, who slapped him across the face, sending him sprawling to the ground. "Maya Thorne, this is the bastard you've raised!" Ryan snarled. "Like father, like son, indeed!" This son... Ryan had forced me to have him. Shortly after the first time I was dragged into that alley, I discovered I was pregnant. I wanted to terminate the pregnancy, but Ryan wouldn't allow it. He assigned bodyguards to watch me twenty-four hours a day, forcing me to carry the child to term. I knew, of course, that this was his punishment. A punishment for me to remember my 'sins' for the rest of my life. But I never imagined his punishment would be so relentless. Especially after he started his affair with Seraphina, he tormented me ceaselessly, pushing me deeper and deeper into the abyss. "What are you doing with that suitcase?" Ryan finally noticed my luggage by my side, kicking it over with a furious boot. "You think you can just leave before you've atoned for your sins?" Clothes spilled across the floor, and a small, ornate box flew out, striking the wall with a sharp CRACK. Inside, what I knew to be Kate's favorite silver locket, the one she'd given me before... before everything, lay shattered into a dozen pieces. Ryan’s eyes went bloodshot as he instantly recognized the locket. "Maya Thorne, you even stoop to stealing? That was my sister's most cherished locket!" SLAP! A stinging blow across my face. I stared at him, my gaze unwavering, my voice defiant. "I didn't steal it. She gave it to me." Ryan's rage only intensified. "You're still lying?" he roared. "You were jealous her dancing was better than yours, so you orchestrated her assault, had her legs broken, and now you steal her locket! Do you want everything she had?" He turned to the servants. "Someone! Remove her prosthetics! Make her kneel before my sister's memorial and confess her sins!" Several servants rushed forward, seizing my arms. They yanked off my artificial limbs, forcing me to the ground. The unhealed incisions on my stumps rubbed against the floor, instantly oozing blood. The excruciating pain made me writhe and twist, but without my prosthetics, I lost my balance, swaying uncontrollably. Seraphina watched, laughing hysterically. "Brother, look at her! Doesn't she look like a roly-poly doll?" She mocked, "Sister, you may not be able to dance anymore, but you could always join the circus as a clown!" The servants snickered along with her. Leo stood nearby, his eyes colder than ice. Seraphina, still not satisfied, stepped forward and shoved me. I swayed again, then toppled over, falling flat. My arm struck Kate's memorial plaque, and in an instant, her urn tumbled down, shattering on the floor. Her ashes scattered into the air like a ghostly mist. Seeing Kate's remains desecrated, Seraphina looked momentarily flustered, then quickly pointed a finger. "Maya Thorne, you killed my sister, and now you can't even leave her ashes in peace! You want to obliterate every last trace of her!" Ryan seized my collar, hoisting me into the air, his teeth grinding together. "Maya Thorne! My sister treated you so kindly! Why? Why would you do this to her? What deep-seated hatred did you harbor against her?" He stared at me, the fury in his eyes threatening to consume me whole. I looked back at the man before me, now utterly consumed by his rage, and shook my head repeatedly, tears blurring my vision. After a long, agonizing silence, Ryan abruptly slammed me back down to the ground. "Let her kneel here all night," he snarled. "Tomorrow, on my sister's memorial, she'll atone for her sins personally!" I was held down, the shattered pieces of the urn digging into my raw stumps, instantly staining the pristine white carpet crimson. My consciousness began to blur. After hours of agonizing kneeling, I finally succumbed to the pain and passed out. Seven years ago, Ryan and I were the golden couple, the envy of everyone. His sister, Kate, and I were particularly close, both members of the same dance troupe. That day, Kate and I were heading to a long-awaited dance competition, our golden ticket into the prestigious National Dance Company. Everything was going smoothly until the evening ended. In a hurry, I led her down a shortcut, where we encountered a group of drunk, burly men. We screamed for help, but our mouths were quickly gagged with cloths. Dark, menacing hands began to invade. When we were discovered the next morning, Kate's back and legs were completely broken. She had been folded in half and thrown into a dumpster, barely clinging to life. I, too, was covered in bruises, unconscious on the ground. The doctors said Kate's legs were shattered; she would never dance again. Unable to bear the shock, she jumped from a building, taking her own life. Ryan’s mother, heartbroken, suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after. Overnight, Ryan lost two of his closest family members. And the only spot in Veridia City's National Dance Company, ironically, fell to me. Suddenly, rumors spread like wildfire. Everyone whispered that I had orchestrated the tragedy to secure my place. After all, she was the only one whose legs were broken. From that day on, Ryan became a different man. And I chose to deceive myself, to silently bear the burden. After all, if I hadn't chosen that shortcut, his sister wouldn't have died. A jolt of icy water splashed onto my face, snapping me awake from my unconsciousness. "Brother, look at her! You told her to kneel and confess, and she's just taking a nap! And she's made such a mess on the floor! What will the guests think when they come for the memorial? They'll think we always treat Kate like this!" Ryan was about to unleash his fury when a servant rushed in from outside, breathless. "Mr. Harris, Mr. Harris! It's terrible! A mob of reporters outside, making a huge fuss! They say they're here to report on Mrs. Harris!" Ryan’s gaze snapped to me, his eyes shooting daggers of ice. Seraphina, quick to interject, said, "Brother, she probably called the reporters herself, hoping to clear her name! She wants to play the victim!" Ryan glanced at me, a cruel smirk curving his lips. "Maya Thorne, my sister was the victim, and yet you want to play martyr? Fine! I'll let everyone know who really caused my sister's death!" He paused, a chilling glint in his eye. "And those video clips from the past few years, with you and those petty thugs? I've kept every single one!" He pointed a finger, his voice rising to a furious command. "Now! Project them onto the main screen!" Instantly, the massive screen in the memorial hall lit up, displaying video clips of me and those thugs. Whether it was due to editing or camera angles, my expressions in the videos were... unsettling. The entire room erupted into whispers and murmurs. "Look at her, that slutty expression! It's true what they say, she wanted to be violated!" "What? How could anyone be so sick? She enjoys being forced?" "Haven't you heard? Mr. Harris barely touches her. She must have been so desperate, it drove her insane!" "Considering all this, maybe she was the one who arranged what happened to Mr. Harris's sister! Otherwise, why is she perfectly fine while his sister is gone?" I watched the looping footage, seven years of painful memories flooding my mind. I buried my face in my hands, squeezing my eyes shut, desperate to escape. When I finally dared to look up, I met Ryan’s icy gaze. "What's wrong? Ashamed now?" he taunted. "Where was that shame when you were 'enjoying' yourself?" Unexpectedly, Seraphina, in front of everyone, seemed to defend me. "Brother, don't be too angry. Today is Kate's memorial, and she wouldn't be happy seeing such a commotion. Perhaps I should take 'Sister' to change her clothes first, then she can properly apologize to Kate. After all, she's wearing a red dress, which isn't really appropriate."
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