Chapter 4

Leo’s eyes were bloodshot, and he reeked of alcohol.

He went over to Eve, carefully blowing on her swollen half-face, his eyes filled with undisguised tenderness.

As if to spite me, Leo hooked an arm around Eve’s shoulders and said, loud enough for everyone to hear:

“Eve, you wanted to know which doctor Rachel enjoyed the most, right?”

“I’ll tell you. The answer is the one today.”

“Because – Rachel has only had one proper abortion. The first two children she aborted herself!”

The room erupted in a collective gasp.

Eve gasped, covering her mouth, her grin so wide it almost reached her ears:

“You’re not kidding me, are you? Rachel is crazy, she actually aborted herself!”

“You’re so rich, why would she abort herself? Is she a psychopath, or just seeking thrills? She really knows how to play!”

Eyes fell on me, some with shock, some with contempt.

“She’s had three abortions, her uterus must be completely ruined. Do you think Rachel can still have kids?”

“If she can’t, there’s always our Eve! Leo can have kids with Eve. Eve’s probably still a virgin. What can that slut compare to?”

Eve bounced over to the man who spoke, playfully punching him twice:

“Oh, stop it! Leo and I are just buddies, okay? No kids!”

“But you’re right about one thing, I am pure…”

Eve rarely showed such shyness.

Leo ruffled her hair, smiling dotingly, and everyone else burst into laughter.

Looking at their disgusting, laughing faces, I nearly threw up.

Tears touched my swollen skin, sending waves of sharp, stinging pain through me. I shook my head frantically, trying to dislodge those painful memories.

But memories, like a tidal wave, engulfed me.

When I was eighteen, I got into college.

The orphanage couldn’t pay my tuition, so I had to work at a auto repair shop.

But the meager wages couldn’t cover my tuition and living expenses, and I started thinking about dropping out.

Leo, who was also an apprentice at the repair shop, cornered me against a wall, his eyes red as he promised:

“Keep studying, I’ll support you.”

From then on, Leo repaired cars during the day, hauled bricks at night, and did manual labor late into the night.

In the prime of his youth, he almost burned himself out for me.

Every time we met, besides giving me money, he only told me to study hard, never once complaining.

When he heard I was being bullied by classmates, Leo rushed into the school with a knife and stabbed himself three times in front of everyone, blood splattering everywhere.

He said:

“Anyone who dares to bully Rachel again, this is what happens. I’d even stab myself, what else wouldn’t I dare to do?”

From then on, even the flies in the school avoided me.

I grew up in an orphanage, starved for love since childhood.

Meeting a man like that, it was truly hard not to fall in love.

To cling to that bit of warmth, I was willing to give everything.

In that thirty-dollar rundown motel, I confessed my feelings to Leo, clinging to him and trying again and again.

Later, that became our regular spot.

He was like a wild wolf, always fiercely breaking through the cheap condoms.

Because of that, I got pregnant twice.

Without money for a proper hospital, I had to find a way to abort myself.

I blindly swallowed expired abortion pills, then deliberately tumbled down the stairs.

Once wasn't enough, so twice, then three times.

This method was incredibly cruel to both me and the baby.

Leo hated himself for it. To avoid harming me again, he even underwent a vasectomy at a black market clinic, almost losing his ability to conceive altogether.

He said he owed me for life.

He would work twice as hard, pushing himself to the limit.

He would make me happier than anyone else, ensuring I’d never live through such hardship again.

Life did get better, but Leo’s heart changed.

The lifelong pain I dared not touch had now become his talking point.

As long as it made Eve smile, he didn’t mind stabbing me again and again in my most vulnerable spot.

I furiously grabbed a wine bottle and smashed it over Leo’s head:

“Game over.”

“Get out, all of you, get out!”

Leo’s friends tactfully dispersed, and Eve was reluctantly pulled away.