Chapter 3

I was covered in blood, stumbling back home at 7 AM.

Jack had just put freshly steamed buns in front of Emily.

Seeing me, Emily covered her mouth and shouted, "Oh my God, Rachel, where are your clothes? Why are you wearing a man's clothes?"

"Rachel, you're too much. You were out all night, and Jack was so worried he couldn't sleep."

Indeed, he hadn't slept. Last night, Emily's skin hunger syndrome flared up, and Jack had stayed up all night with her.

Now, Emily's Instagram still had a picture of them holding hands tightly, with the caption: "The best medicine to cure illness is the company of your loved one all night long!!"

"Heh... Rachel, how much fake blood did you use this time?"

Emily was referring to the time I had an episode and mistook her for my dad, crying on the phone for Jack to come save me and Mrs. Thompson.

But when Jack rushed back, what he saw was me covered in fake blood.

That was the first time Jack laid hands on me.

He gripped my neck, "Rachel Moore, you'd use this excuse to compete with Emily for attention."

"Why couldn't it have been you who died back then?!"

...

"Jack, if I told you I was almost raped last night, would you believe me?" I looked into Jack's eyes and asked.

Jack sneered, "Rachel Moore, your acting skills put even me, an award-winning actor, to shame!"

"If you had listened to me back then and pursued a career in entertainment, you'd be the one winning Best Actress awards."

I couldn't bear to hear his sarcasm anymore and shouted, "I'm sick, Jack! It's because I'm sick!"

"Sick? What illness? Depression or dementia?"

Seeing the disdain on his face, my throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, unable to utter a single syllable.

In the past, Jack would take every word I said seriously, but now he wouldn't believe even half a word.

"What rape? What illness? What? Are you trying to find a noble excuse for your promiscuous behavior?"

"If I had known you were such a slutty woman, I would never have saved you, no matter what."

He violently threw a phone at my forehead. Blood covered my eyes, but I didn't dare close them. I stared wide-eyed at the video playing on the phone.

In the video, I was sprawled on top of Chris Sanders with disheveled clothes, whispering intimately in his ear. Although the video had no sound, anyone could tell from Chris's smile that what I was saying must have been lewd words.

I instantly understood everything. Chris was Emily's man.

Emily not only wanted to destroy me but also wanted Jack to despise me even more.

It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

Before, for Jack's sake, I had always tolerated Emily, but now I didn't want to anymore.

I suddenly lunged at Emily, but she was prepared. She grabbed a fruit knife from the dining table and came at me.

The fruit knife sliced across my palm, and blood splattered on the white floor, like blooming red flowers.

But in Jack's eyes, all he saw was Emily falling to the ground.

His panicked gaze was exactly like when Mrs. Thompson had the accident.

At that moment, I finally understood that Jack had no feelings for me other than hatred.

As Jack carried Emily away, he said if anything happened to her, he would make me regret being alive.

But Jack, I had long since regretted it.