Chapter 2

As I knelt on the floor, painstakingly cleaning up the mess, my mind drifted back to the past.

I remembered Asher, covered in blood, holding me tightly.

“You’re not dirty. I just came too late.”

Asher brought in the best psychologists from across the country to treat me.

Countless times, I thought I was getting better. He would kiss me, full of hope.

But the next second, I’d throw up all over him.

He’d patiently clean it all up, smiling nonchalantly.

“I know you’re not disgusted by me, Iris. Don’t be afraid. It’s a sickness, and it will be cured someday.”

Truth be told, more than once, I’d seen the balcony littered with cigarette butts late at night.

He’d sobbed at my grandmother’s bedside, admitting how exhausted he was, but swearing he’d never give up on me.

So I pushed myself through therapy, fighting for recovery, until finally, that day came.

But I never expected that everything would already be utterly unrecognizable.

A video from Seraphina popped up on my phone.

The Asher in the video was consumed by lust, panting, letting Seraphina brand his arm with one cigarette burn after another.

“Only with you can I breathe.”

Asher had dismissed the crisscrossing scars on his arm with a casual shrug.

“Just a lot of stress lately.”

I thought they were because of me, and I’d spent sleepless nights racked with guilt.

It turned out they were just their sick idea of foreplay.

Asher’s voice continued.

“I’m sick of feeling disgusted. She despises me, and honestly, I don’t want to be near her anymore. When she throws up, it’s truly revolting.”

*Bang!* The phone crashed to the floor.

My hands began to tremble violently, twitching uncontrollably. My empty stomach cramped with a brutal, twisting pain.

All the gossip and rumors over the years hadn’t hurt half as much as Asher’s single sentence.

The phone on the floor suddenly blared, the caregiver’s voice laced with terror.

“Hurry! Grandma’s going to jump!”

By the time I arrived, my body cold with dread, that figure had already made a resolute leap, landing heavily on the pavement right in front of me.

Blood splattered, blurring my vision.

My legs gave out, and I crumpled to the ground, my voice abruptly lost, only a hoarse, painful gasp escaping my throat.

I frantically dialed Asher’s number, realizing in that moment that I had no one else to turn to.

If this was a nightmare, please, just let me wake up.

The call connected, and Seraphina’s seductive gasp leaked through the line.

“Someone’s calling~”

“What could be more important than this right now? Hang up. Focus.”

The call was abruptly disconnected.

My vision swam with black spots. I couldn’t even recall the face of the boy who used to answer my calls anytime, anywhere, terrified of missing a single message from me.

A suicide note was handed to me.

Grandma had left only one agonizing sentence.

“Why did you follow your mother’s path? I’m sorry, I just don’t have the courage to endure losing another loved one.”

My mom, after being betrayed, fell into a deep depression and took her own life in our fish tank.

And on my grandma’s phone screen was a news report.

The headline read: “New York’s Richest Man Finally Dumps Wife, Attends Prenatal Scans with New Flame.”

The accompanying photo showed a blurry profile.

Asher gently stroked Seraphina’s belly, a smile of undisguised joy on his face.