Chapter 3

Watching Pierce hurriedly wheel Scarlett away, I pulled out my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart.

The call was answered after one ring.

"Madison? Why are you calling at this hour? Do you need more money?"

"Or... are your hip bones still hurting?"

Hearing that familiar voice, my eyes immediately welled up with tears.

These past three years, for Pierce's sake, I'd rarely contacted my family. Even when I did call, I always reported good news and hid the bad.

But I also knew that Dad had been quietly watching over me the whole time, fully aware of the suffering I'd endured.

Dad felt sorry for me but didn't dare interfere too much, afraid of putting me in a difficult position.

He always said: "If you're not happy, come home. Dad can take care of you."

I touched my bruised waist, choking back my tears.

"Dad, I miss the roasted duck from home."

There was two seconds of silence on the other end.

"Okay, okay! I'll have someone go buy it right now. What else do you want to eat? I'll send your brother to wait in line!"

"As long as you're willing to come home, I'll give you anything you want."

After hanging up, I looked out at the blue sky and let out a long, deep breath.

Three years ago, I was Madison Watson, the bold and spirited heiress of Harbor City.

Back then, I had a voluptuous figure with gorgeous curves.

When Pierce proposed to me on the Great Wall, he knelt on one knee.

"Madison, I love your sensuality. Don't change for anyone."

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I'll marry no one but you in this lifetime."

I believed his lies and followed him to Port City without looking back.

But the moment I stepped through the Pierce family's door, Pierce's mother looked me over with critical eyes.

"Wide hips are good for childbearing, but they're not refined. You can't wear our family's haute couture."

"That kind of figure—when you go out, people will just think you're vulgar. You'll embarrass Pierce."

From that day on, my nightmare began.

To please his family and to satisfy Scarlett, Pierce started to relentlessly manipulate me.

"Madison, as long as you can fit into that heirloom mermaid dress, everyone will shut up."

"This is for our future. Just bear with it a little, okay?"

I endured for three years.

Every day I slept in custom shapewear, barely able to breathe.

My hip bones were rubbed raw, scabbed over, then rubbed raw again—over and over, never healing.

The driver brought the car to a smooth stop at the entrance of the Pierce family estate.

The butler stood at the door, his face stern, looking at me coldly.

"Miss Watson, the young master has instructed that you must fit into the dress tonight for the preliminary photo shoot."

"The photographer has already arrived. Please hurry to the dressing room."

This was the Pierce family—no warmth, only endless tasks and suffocating rules.

I walked into that dedicated dressing room.

The silver-white mermaid wedding dress hung in the center.

Its waist was extremely narrow, and the knee area was absurdly constricted.

In the past, seeing it would only fill me with fear and anxiety.

But now, I felt only calm, along with a hint of relief at my impending liberation.

I walked over and ran my hand over the knee area of the dress.

The texture was hard and cold.

The sensation at my fingertips confirmed what I'd accidentally overheard the maids whispering yesterday—

"The young master ordered the knees taken in another three centimeters and six steel boning rods added to make sure it holds its shape."

At the time, it seemed absurd. Now, touching these impossibly hard, completely inflexible steel bones, I understood how vicious every word had been.

These boning rods would lock the knees in place. Forget walking—even standing would be difficult.

Pierce really hadn't lied to me.

He truly had blocked off this path completely.

Since this wedding dress was designed for a cripple, these legs of mine might as well be used for walking instead.