Chapter 1

Eight years into our marriage, I was kidnapped along with Ryan Pierce's sister, Chloe Song.

Ryan Pierce, worth millions, only brought ransom money for one person.

When forced to choose, he told me: "Ava, your dad is rich. He'll come save you. But Chloe only has me."

When I escaped and made it home barely alive, the media was busy glorifying their love story.

As I stumbled home, countless reporters were camped outside our mansion, cameras aimed at my husband and Chloe, interviewing them.

Ryan held Chloe tightly as reporters praised their ride-or-die love, completely forgetting that Chloe was nothing more than a homewrecker.

It seemed in their eyes, a moment of passion trumped marital loyalty.

As I got out of the car, I was a complete mess. My torn clothes hung off me like rags.

Camera flashes went wild. My dad tried to shield me with a huge blanket, desperately fending off the reporters.

But it was all in vain. Ryan's face flashed with shock, then quickly turned to disgust.

My whole body ached, especially my abdomen which felt like it was being carved up. The pain made me curl up until I blacked out.

In my dreams, I was still in the kidnappers' clutches. Chloe had already been taken away by Ryan.

The kidnappers had taken nude photos of Chloe, so she begged Ryan not to call the police.

Ryan agreed and brought ransom money to save us.

But ridiculously, despite being worth millions, Ryan only brought enough ransom for one person.

When forced to choose, he held my hand tightly, eyes full of emotion.

"Ava, your dad is rich. He'll come save you. But Chloe only has me. You understand, right?"

At that moment I didn't understand. I only knew those men had been eyeing my clothes for a while. I was terrified, so I cried and begged him: "Ryan, don't leave me here. Pay my ransom and I'll have Dad pay you back when we get home!"

Ryan lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, but my company's project is really important. If I take out money now, your dad might not help me. I'm sorry!"

With that, Ryan yanked his hand away and ran off with Chloe.

I didn't even get a chance to tell him I was pregnant. Our little one was already two months along.

But those words never got a chance to be said. They ripped my clothes and gagged me.

My limbs were bound to a pillar with wire. As I struggled, the wire cut into my flesh, as if violently scraping away the life in my womb.

Meanwhile, my frantic father had no idea about any of this.

After Ryan took Chloe home, she was too traumatized by the nude photos to speak about what happened. My dear husband actually didn't say a word about my whereabouts.

The police couldn't get any information from them about where I was, so they could only waste time searching carefully.

At this point, even my dad's money was useless, because I had seen the kidnappers' faces and they were planning to sell me to Southeast Asia.

Luckily, the kidnappers let their guard down during transport, allowing me to find a chance to escape.

Along the way, I crawled through mud, slept in dumpsters, and even fought stray dogs for food.

After countless brushes with death, I finally made it back to the city and was found by the police.

My dad nearly fainted when he first saw me, but still shakily wrapped me in a blanket.

In my dream, I seemed to see a little girl with pigtails in a princess dress, waving at me.

"Baby, baby, Mommy is so sorry!"

I ran towards the child like a madwoman, but she kept getting further away until she disappeared.

I suddenly opened my eyes to see Ryan sitting by my bed.

Seeing him made me want to vomit, so I desperately tried to drive him away.

"What are you doing here? Get out, I don't want to see you."

Ryan angrily scolded me: "We're husband and wife. Isn't it normal for me to come see you?"

Agitated, I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him: "I don't want to see you. Get out!"

Seeing this, Ryan furiously yelled: "Can't you learn from Chloe? At least she knows to comfort me. You just get angry at me. Such a spoiled rich girl attitude. I've been worried sick about you two for days without sleep. What right do you have to be angry?"

Hearing this, I let out a bitter laugh. How could his few sleepless nights compare to the pain all over my body?

I was electrocuted, whipped, and even burned with cigarettes by the kidnappers every day.

They were angry at my husband for refusing to pay my ransom.

I gave a tragic smile: "Ryan Pierce, your heart must be made of sewage rocks - filthy and disgusting! You say we're husband and wife, but what kind of husband would abandon his wife to a group of brutal kidnappers?"

Hearing me say this, his attitude softened.

"You know I've been short on cash for the company lately. I'm not from a rich family like you. Your dad is loaded. Besides, you were rescued in the end, right? What's there to be angry about!"

Just then my dad suddenly pushed open the door. Seeing Ryan, he immediately lunged to attack him.

But Ryan shoved him away hard!

"Dad!"