Chapter 4A Lifetime of Atonement for Her

When Damian woke, he found me sitting upright in bed, staring into space. His face crumpled with pity.

“Christine, I know it’s hard, not getting better. It’s okay. If you’re angry, you can hit me, you can scream at me. Just don’t hold it in. I can’t stand seeing you in pain.”

I held up my bandaged hands. “It would hurt me to hit you,” I said, my voice flat.

He immediately unwrapped the bandages, ignoring the blood and the foul smell, and pressed kiss after kiss onto my mangled fingers.

“Christine, it’s my mother’s sixtieth birthday today. Let’s go to the party, get you out of the house. Our wedding is just a few days away. Things are going to get better from now on, I promise.”

We arrived at the Blackwood estate. The first thing I saw was Damian’s mother, holding court in the center of the room. Her hair was perfectly coiffed, Savannah on one arm, Leo in the other, fussing over him endlessly. She didn’t even glance at me. Leo just shot me a disdainful look and rolled his eyes.

Savannah, ever the peacemaker, smiled sweetly. “Mrs. Blackwood, I’m sure Christine missed you. If you keep clinging to me like this, she’s going to get jealous.”

Damian’s mother raked her eyes over me, her lip curled in disgust. “Her? She’s a curse. Blind, crippled… and she still insists on wearing those disgusting bandages and using that cane. Straight from the hospital to my party, bringing all that bad luck with her. Christine, you’re a jinx. Your mother died, your son died. You’re poison. It’s my sixtieth birthday, and I plan on living for a few more decades. You and your family’s tragic fate can stay far away from me!”

A cold smile touched my lips. “Isn’t that what you said to my mother?”

“Please, I want to live long enough to see my grandchildren. Please, save me.”

That’s what she’d said, on her knees, begging my mother for her life. Damian’s mother had always despised me. But my mother, behind my back, had donated her bone marrow to save her, hoping it would buy me some kindness from their family. And right after she was discharged from the hospital, still weak, she was run down in the street.

His mother’s face flushed as if I’d struck her. “So what if I did? Are you going to hold that one little favor over my head for the rest of my life? Besides, it’s a good thing she donated to me. Otherwise, it would have just gone to waste when she died. Your mother was destined for a short life. She couldn’t handle the honor of my bow!”

Damian used to defend me, at least a little. But now, he only had eyes for Savannah and her son. He swept Leo into his arms and kissed Savannah deeply, right there in front of everyone, completely lost in her spell.

Coming up for air, he tossed a careless remark over his shoulder. “Let’s not fight. It’s a happy occasion.”

I bit my lip until I tasted blood. Three more days. I just had to endure for three more days.

Seeing my silence, his mother smirked. “Why am I arguing with a blind woman, anyway?”

Suddenly, Leo wriggled out of Damian’s arms and charged, slamming into me with all his might. I stumbled backward, my cane clattering to the floor. In the chaos, he inadvertently knocked into Savannah as well.

Damian instantly caught Savannah, cradling her protectively before sparing me a single glance. “Christine, are you alright? It was just one of the clumsy staff. I’m going to go calm my mother down. You shouldn’t be upset either.”

And with that, he turned his back, leading Savannah away and leaving me alone in the center of a whispering crowd.

The party continued around me as if I didn’t exist.

“I heard she used to be a famous criminal profiler. Now she’s just a cripple. The Blackwoods are saints for putting up with her, and she still causes trouble. What a fool.”

“I think Miss Savannah and Mr. Blackwood are the perfect match. She used to chase after him so pathetically. It’s a good thing she’s blind now. Imagine how much it would hurt to see them together.”

I escaped to the backyard for a moment of peace, only to hear rustling from the bushes, punctuated by soft, rhythmic moans.

Savannah was naked, clinging to Damian like a koala.

“Damian,” she purred, “I want you to wreck me. The way you did for her.”

His face was flushed with lust, but he hesitated. “Savannah, not now… Christine’s out there alone. I’m worried. Can we wait until after the wedding?”

His eyes met mine through the foliage.

Savannah saw it too. A wicked smile spread across her face. She lowered her voice to a seductive whisper, but arched her hips with a defiant thrust. “But isn’t this more thrilling? She can’t see us. Come on, Damian. Wreck me.”

He lost all control, surging forward.

I watched them, a grotesque silhouette against the manicured hedges, before quietly turning and walking away.