Chapter 9

The door slammed shut. Cold tea was poured on my face, making me open my eyes with a start.

I met those icy eyes and shivered. My clothes were in disarray, and there wasn't a single part of my body that didn't hurt. My face was pale, and sweat beaded on my forehead.

James smirked.

I should be grateful to him, I thought, but I was too exhausted to speak.

"Charlotte Coleman, don't think you're off the hook," he said coldly. "As long as I'm around, you'll never have an easy day."

Any ripple of emotion I had felt earlier settled back into stillness at his words.

After a while, James stood up.

"Mr. Lee, get her some clothes," he ordered. Then he turned to me. "Go clean yourself up. Don't dirty my room."

He frowned as he looked at my hollow eyes. In his memory, I was that arrogant, domineering heiress. In just a few years, I had become this weak creature who couldn't even fight back.

He used to despise me, but now, seeing me like this seemed to irritate him.

He snorted, then, as if he couldn't stand it anymore, he grabbed my messy hair and said angrily, "Look up."

I raised my head, but there was no trace of my former arrogance.

Dissatisfied, he advanced, and I immediately retreated in fear.

I had successfully provoked his anger, but he didn't know that I was no longer the Charlotte Coleman of the past. Even if I tried, I couldn't pretend to be that bold, willful person anymore.

"Get out," he suddenly said.

I froze, and he immediately shouted, smashing a teacup on the table.

"GET OUT!"

Frightened, I was grabbed and thrown into the bathroom.

Standing in the bathroom, I was still dazed. My brow furrowed, and my head throbbed with pain.

But I still took off my clothes.

In front of the bathroom mirror, I saw a woman with not a single unblemished spot on her body. Skeletal and ugly.

But I still felt grateful for this chance to use the bathroom.

For years, I hadn't had the opportunity to take a proper shower.

As the water touched my skin, I suddenly felt nauseous. It was sticky, foul-smelling - as if those people's hands were still on me.

Fighting the urge to vomit, I scrubbed my body viciously, as if trying to wash away all the filth from before. I ignored the wounds on my body - new ones, old ones, infected ones.

I found it quite laughable. Those without fortune often cling stubbornly to life. Being surrounded by family love now seemed like something from a past century.