Chapter 4No Regrets, Only Love

The photo showed Eason’s back as he dropped me onto the ground. The caption read:

[To the all-knowing netizens, help expose this scumbag! His girlfriend just had a miscarriage, and he violently broke up with her when she refused his advances!]

I swallowed the metallic taste of blood in my mouth and flatly denied it. “You’re mistaken.”

“Mistaken? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning! You just panicked because Eason’s about to get engaged to me!”

“You, an innocent young woman, are so shameless you’d even use a clumsy excuse like a miscarriage to add drama to your own story!”

Eason’s denial and mistreatment were one thing. But now Vivian was kidnapping and humiliating me? Did she truly think I was so easily bullied?

I used all my strength to push away the foot that was grinding into my face. She was caught off guard, stumbled, and fell to the ground. Annoyed, she raised her hand to slap me, but for some reason, she stopped herself. A conniving smile I couldn’t decipher played on her lips.

“Cathy, as a woman, I could tell at a glance that you like Eason. How about we make a bet? How important are you, truly, to him?”

A terrible premonition welled in my heart. But to my shock, Vivian slapped herself hard, twice. Then, under my astonished gaze, she slipped the diamond ring onto my finger. Finally, she scratched several bloody marks onto her own hands before allowing the masked man to tie her up.

She turned to me, crying crocodile tears. “Cathy, you invited me here just to kidnap me? To humiliate me?”

The moment she finished speaking, a figure kicked open the door and burst in. Even against the blinding light, I recognized Eason instantly. Overwhelmed with a fresh wave of injustice, I called out to him, my voice barely a whisper.

“Eason…”

But he completely ignored me. I watched as he tenderly untied Vivian, sweeping her into his arms, consoling her softly. “Darling, are you alright?”

He cupped Vivian’s swollen, reddened face, his eyes red with pain. That night, he had been angry for me too. But after Vivian returned, his eyes had no longer held me.

Still uneasy, he examined Vivian from head to toe. Upon discovering several scratch marks on Vivian’s empty left hand, a chilling aura of death radiated from him.

He turned to me, no longer seeking confirmation, and roared, “Cathy! Who gave you permission to bully her?!”

Vivian, her eyes red and puffy like a rabbit’s, choked back a sob as she pleaded for me. “Eason, don’t blame your sister-in-law. She likes you, so her jealousy is understandable.”

“Thankfully you arrived in time. I wasn’t too badly hurt…”

Eason glanced at the masked man, who had seized the opportunity to escape, then, unable to contain his fury, slapped me. “What kind of sister-in-law falls for her late fiancé’s brother, even wanting it to be widely known? She has no shame, but I do!”

Vivian’s lips curved upwards, then she tearfully pleaded with me. “Cathy, can you give me back the diamond ring? It’s Eason’s engagement ring for me. If you just return it, I’ll overlook everything you did, kidnapping and humiliating me…”

Her swollen eyes were filled with pure provocation. Seeing through her charade, I ripped the diamond ring from my finger and tossed it at Eason’s feet. I looked him directly in the eyes, speaking each word with cold precision.

“I don’t like you, and I have no interest in playing along with your fiancée’s charades. Take your pathetic ring and get lost!”

My words made Eason’s icy face darken to a storm cloud. The disappointment in his eyes was palpable.

“Cathy, pick up that ring and return it to your future sister-in-law! And apologize to her!”

He was the one in the wrong from beginning to end, yet he was forcing me to apologize.

“She’s the one who tied me up and brought me here! If anyone should apologize, it’s her to me!”

“Cathy, I’ve truly spoiled you beyond measure these past few years!”

“If you won’t apologize, fine. Then go kneel before my brother’s grave and reflect on how outrageously wrong you are, and whether you are worthy of his dying wish, his last selfless act to ensure you were settled!”

His voice was frigid, leaving no room for refusal. He was right. I was leaving soon; I should go see Mike.

He drove me to the cemetery. Seeing me obediently kneel, Eason, holding a smug Vivian, strode away. It had started to rain, though I hadn’t noticed when. I bought a new plane ticket and left without a single backward glance.

As the plane prepared for takeoff, I searched for my medical aid documents, only to realize the folder was gone. Inside, were my pregnancy test results and the abortion procedure consent form.

Eason’s call arrived, unbidden. “Cathy! Tell me, who was that wild man who got you pregnant?!”