Chapter 4

When we arrived at the Bennett house, he forcibly dragged me in and threw me into the bathtub, and when I struggled to stand, he turned on the shower and drenched me from head to toe, the cold water soaking my clothes until they clung to my body, cold and miserable.

“Ethan... I know I was wrong. Please don’t do this...” I was so cold that I shivered and curled up, wanting to step out of the bathtub, but what came next was cold water hitting me head-on.

He stood right in front of me, as if I were something “dirty,” and as if the cold water could wash me clean, while water blurred my eyes so badly that I could only hug myself and gradually curl into the corner of the tub.

“Your apologies are so cheap!” Ethan Bennett snorted coldly, but he grabbed my collar in a rage, his nose inches from mine, and the woody scent of lemon and tea lingered around him.

“Ugh...” I shoved him away hard, knelt over the bathtub drain, and dry-heaved until all the acid came out, while the fiery burning sensation in my stomach made me miserable.

“Seeing me makes you so sick you want to throw up? After electroshock treatment, your acting skills have gotten better and better. Should I give you an award?” Ethan Bennett grabbed the loose hair over my forehead and lifted my head, his eyes filled with red veins as he forced our gazes to meet.

“I... Ethan... I’m sorry.” My tears slid down in big drops, but I could not control myself.

“That cleaner uniform is an eyesore. Take it off and throw it away!” Before I could react, Ethan Bennett grabbed the collar and sleeve cuffs and tore them, making the buttons pop off.

I wanted to stop him, but he was too strong, and being so close to him made my stomach churn violently.

After the cleaner uniform was torn apart, he held the scraps of fabric and looked at me with a frown.

“Wasn’t the forced treatment only electroshock?” After hesitating and pausing, he asked, and there was a little more pity in his voice.

I wrapped my arms around myself to cover my ruined body, lowered my head, and curled up, not wanting to expose myself to win sympathy.

That pitying gaze of his was probably because he had seen my scars, with every inch of skin covered in wounds, whip marks all over my back, a rough wound on my stomach messily stitched with thread that extended to my thigh, all kinds of cigarette burns on my arms, and the words I’m sorry carved into my calf with glass...

I had escaped from that “hell” countless times, only to be caught and brought back every time, and once a month there was a chance to contact family, so I hoped Ethan Bennett would come take me away, but the call never went through...

The price of running away was punishment ten times or a thousand times worse, and they locked me in the basement, covered the walls with photos of Ethan Bennett, pressed down on my legs and forced my eyes wide open, hurt me and violated me, and those hands were so dirty...

I was no longer clean, Ethan... I no longer had the courage or strength to love you.