The year my family went bankrupt, I was forced to sell myself to my ex-boyfriend. Everyone thought Gideon and I would rekindle our romance. Until the maid handed me a servant's uniform. Gideon sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, looking down at me with superiority. "Sophia, don't you want to pay off your family's debts? Put this on and stay here for three years, and I'll help you." Over those three years, I witnessed his tumultuous relationships with a dozen ex-girlfriends. Every ex who broke up with him found ways to torture me—slapping me, throwing acid on me. One even leaked footage of Gideon violating me to the media. The media branded me the most promiscuous woman in the entire city. I fell from being the most treasured princess of the Sullivan family to becoming Gideon's dog. Through it all, I remained silent. Until Gideon lost a bet and gambled me—drugged and helpless—to the neighbor boy who used to follow me around begging for attention when we were young. Three days and nights. My once-proud fingers were deliberately shattered. My face was disfigured. Yet when I emerged, he brushed it off as just a joke. I didn't laugh. Gideon threatened me again with the Sullivan family's debt. But he seemed to have forgotten—this was already the third year of our contract. In three more days, the Sullivan family's debt would be paid in full.
"Sophia, who are you making that sour face for?" Slender fingers lifted my chin. I looked up, and tears spilled from my eyes without warning. He froze for a moment, but his gaze quickly turned cold again. A mocking smile played at his lips. "Playing the victim again? For whose benefit? Do you think you're still the pampered little Sullivan princess?" I said nothing and turned my face away. Gideon scoffed coldly and forcibly turned my face back toward him. "What kind of virtuous act are you putting on? Don't think I don't know how slutty you were under those men! I watched the video. Still want to keep pretending?" His voice carried cruel amusement. My whole body trembled. Video? What video? "More, harder~" A lewd voice reached my ears. Gideon had opened a video. On the screen was someone with glazed eyes, sitting among countless men. It was me. Memories of that unbearable experience from three days ago flooded back. I froze completely, a surge of blood rushing from the soles of my feet straight to my head. I lunged forward to grab the phone, but he dodged. Gideon grabbed my throat, his lustful gaze wandering over my body. "Who would have guessed, Sophia? You acted so prudish with me, but with others you're insatiable. You really are a filthy whore!" Disgust surged across his face as he slapped me hard. Instantly, my cheek burned with searing pain. It swelled up. I opened my mouth to say something, but couldn't get a word out. "Sir, Miss Foster is here." The housekeeper approached. The furious Gideon from one second ago suddenly became like a lion whose temper had been soothed. He softened completely. He released me like discarding trash and headed downstairs. From below, a delighted voice rang out. "Gideon, I missed you so much." "You said yesterday you'd take me out for good food, but today you forgot. I had to come find you myself." Through the gaps in the railing, I saw Gideon's doting expression. Once upon a time, he had looked at me that way too. Unfortunately, everything had changed. "My mistake. Let me take you now, okay?" Miranda scoffed. "I don't want to go out. I want to eat here!" "I heard Gideon has a maid who's been here three years and cooks pretty well. Why don't we have her make us a meal?" Miranda's gaze landed precisely on me. On my disheveled form. Ha. Everyone in the city knew I was the ex-girlfriend Gideon kept trapped here to torment, to avenge his humiliation. She was just trying to establish dominance over me. And unsurprisingly, Gideon agreed.
Enduring the pain in my body, I went to the kitchen. I tied on an apron. Outside, laughter and playful voices continued. I glanced sideways. On the sofa, Miranda was leaning against Gideon, acting coquettish. "So when are you going to marry me? I can't wait any longer." Unlike Gideon's previous girlfriends, Miranda was the mayor's only daughter, and among all the girlfriends Gideon had dated, she'd lasted the longest. "When do you want?" "I don't care, I can't wait anymore!" "Alright, alright. I'll bring gifts to your house tomorrow to propose. How's that?" "That's more like it!" At those words, my heart constricted, and the sharp knife accidentally cut my skin. Blood immediately welled up. A sharp pain. I put my injured hand under running water. I didn't pull it back until the pain gradually faded. After preparing breakfast, I started to leave. "Stop!" A voice called me back. Miranda's lips curved into a smile. "Bring the food to me." I glanced at Gideon, nodded, and walked over. I placed the food in front of her. She took a bite, then suddenly knocked over the bowl of mushroom soup. Instantly, scalding soup spilled all over the back of my hand. She flew into a rage. "It's so hot—are you trying to burn me? Try it yourself and see if it's edible." A conspicuous red mark appeared on the back of my hand. My blood pressure shot up. I rushed into the kitchen. But before the water could run, I was called back. "Did I say you could leave? Come back!" My hand on the faucet froze. I bit my lip but ultimately returned. "The soup was just cooked, Miss Foster." "So you're blaming me now?" She glared coldly, arrogant and domineering. The way she looked at me was like looking at a speck of dust. Contemptuous. Disdainful. I bit my lip. "No." "Then hurry up and apologize to me!" "I'm sorry." Three years as a maid had worn away my former spirit. I didn't hesitate. But she still wouldn't let it go. She scoffed. "A casual sorry can cover up your mistake?" "Tell you what—kneel down and eat all the mushrooms off the floor clean, and I'll forgive you." Her haughty voice reached my ears. My whole body trembled. I suddenly looked up at Gideon. He showed not the slightest intention of stopping her. Instead, amusement flickered in his eyes. His tacit approval was the greatest humiliation. "What, you're unwilling?" She said coldly. I bit my lip, bent my legs, and knelt down. "Don't use your hands. You must lick them up!" Her commanding tone made me pause, but I ultimately pulled my hands back, got on all fours like a dog, lowered my head, and licked the mushrooms off the floor. Tears mixed with saliva dripped onto the tile floor. Reflecting my wretched appearance. "So annoying, can't even enjoy a meal!" "Gideon, let's just eat out." Above my head, Miranda's affected voice rang out. Then Gideon indulgently agreed, "Alright." "I punished your person—you're not mad, are you?" "No. She's just a servant." His casual, indifferent tone reached my ears. Growing fainter and fainter. I slowly lifted my head, watching their retreating figures. My emotions finally broke, and tears poured out.
Gideon didn't come home all evening. I returned to my room and tore off the calendar on the wall. After tonight, two more days. Just two more days and I could leave this place. Lying on a bed less than a meter wide, I fell asleep. In the middle of the night, a disturbance woke me. I opened my eyes. A dark figure was straddling me, clawing at my clothes. I screamed and instinctively pushed him away, running for the door. But I discovered the door was locked. In the cramped space, I had nowhere to escape. In my panic, I hit the light switch. The room brightened. And I finally saw the face of the person before me. "Seth!" "So you found me out." He advanced on me step by step, his eyes filled with pathological madness. Past experiences replayed vividly, like a dull knife scraping across my heart. I frantically pounded on the door for help. But received no response. Seth didn't seem in a hurry either. He said leisurely, "I'd advise you not to waste your energy. I sent everyone away. Your Gideon is out on a sweet date with the mayor's daughter right now." "What do you want?" I forced myself to stay calm. "What do I want?" He suddenly grabbed me and threw me onto the bed. The forceful impact made me unable to dodge. My head slammed hard against the wooden bed frame. Dizziness. My clothes were torn to shreds. Without any foreplay or preparation, he violently forced his way in. Tearing pain struck. Along with the crazed, satisfied smile on his face, tears of agony streamed from my eyes. His expression twisted. "I've liked you for so many years—why wouldn't you even look at me? How is it? Aren't I so much better than Gideon?" "At least I haven't dated as many girlfriends as him." "From beginning to end, I've only ever liked you." "Why don't you just be with me?" His eyes were bloodshot, frighteningly insane. The pain in my body became unbearable. I used all my strength to kick him away. I rushed to grab my phone from the table. My first instinct was to call Gideon. Seth didn't seem in a hurry to stop me. He pulled me back again. His heavy body pressed down on me. Squeezing out what little air remained in my body. I could barely breathe. At the same time, the mechanical voice announcing no answer came through the phone. Seth laughed. He leaned down close to my ear. "Want to know the truth? He's the one who sent me here tonight." "Otherwise, how do you think I got in without any obstacles?" His casual words landed in my ear. But they felt like a heavy stone pressing on my chest. Suffocating. I could barely breathe. Tears kept streaming from my eyes. I bit my teeth hard and stubbornly called again and again. But still no answer. Until I don't know which attempt, the call connected. But what came through was an indescribable sound. "Gideon, gentle~ It hurts~" "Hello." Gideon's panting voice came through. I hung up in a panic, no longer able to muster any strength to struggle. I fell back heavily. I covered my eyes, already blurred with tears. Letting the pain roam freely over my body. Penetrating my entire being. Seth's greasy hands pathologically rubbed my skin. Until it reddened. Until it broke. He suddenly grabbed my throat, repeating over and over, "From the first moment I saw you, I fell for you. Why wouldn't you look at me even once? Why did you insist on dating that poor nobody Gideon?" "Let me tell you the truth—if Gideon hadn't sabotaged things behind the scenes, the Sullivan family wouldn't have fallen so quickly." "And your father—do you think he killed himself in prison for no reason?" I froze, slowly moving my hands away. My blurred vision focused on the person before me. His face was twisted. "It's all thanks to Gideon! If he hadn't made a special trip to the prison to threaten your father with your future, your father wouldn't have killed himself." What! Those words were like a heavy hammer striking my spine. With this, my last shred of hope in Gideon collapsed. The tiny bit of strength supporting my mental world was pulled away. I shook my head mechanically. "No... impossible." "This has been an open secret in our circle for a long time. You're the only one who's been kept in the dark." I remembered the slightly guilty expression Gideon showed whenever my father was mentioned. Instantly, I felt like I was plunging into an abyss.
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