Chapter 4The Island Trial To Train An Obedient Wife

The night of the Joseph Corporation's annual charity gala, he personally picked out my dress.

A flowing white gown with a high, loose empire waist, perfectly concealing the slight bump in my stomach.

As he locked a diamond necklace around my throat, his voice was as patient as a man talking to a toddler. "Scarlett, don't be nervous tonight. After this, the whole world is going to know that you are finally fixed."

He loved using that word. "Fixed." As if the old me, the woman who had pride and dignity, was a diseased monster that needed putting down.

He held my hand tight the entire evening.

He paraded me around, telling investors that while I was still recovering from the shock of the island, I was healing beautifully.

Men praised me for being so gentle. Women whispered that Joseph truly knew how to tame a wild heart.

Whenever he heard those comments, Joseph just smiled proudly.

Halfway through the night, he led me to the grand piano in the center of the room.

"Scarlett, play something for us. Mariage d'Amour. It used to be your favorite."

My entire body locked up.

My fingers started to violently shake. The eight fingernails that had been ripped out had only just started growing a paper-thin layer of new keratin. Pressing them against solid piano keys would be agonizing.

Joseph noticed my hesitation. He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Don't be scared. The only way to forget the past is to push through the pain."

He said it with such absolute conviction.

As if forcing me to press my most agonizing physical wounds into my most traumatic memories was an act of profound love.

I sat down. I pressed the first key.

A sharp, blinding pain shot straight into my finger bones.

All the color drained from my face, but I kept playing. Halfway through the song, blood started seeping from my nail beds.

Little red droplets smeared across the pristine ivory keys.

Joseph stood right beside the bench. His eyes were actually shining with pride.

Like a strict teacher watching a slow student finally ace a test.

When the song ended, the room erupted in applause. Joseph pulled me up and kissed my forehead. "Good girl."

Right then, a man in a tailored suit walked over, holding a cocktail. "Congratulations, Joseph."

I recognized that voice instantly. On the island, he was one of the fake savages. He was the one who loved making me bark like a dog for fresh water.

They were all in on it. Every single one of them.

The man looked at me, a nasty smirk on his face. "Miss Montgomery, care to cheers?"

I kept my head bowed and offered my glass of sparkling cider. He deliberately tilted his wrist, dumping his entire martini straight into my face.

Ice cold alcohol dripped from my eyelashes and soaked my hair.

Without a second of hesitation, I raised my right hand and slapped myself across the face as hard as I could.

Smack.

I swung again.

Smack.

"I'm sorry. I was clumsy. I failed."

I chanted the apology mechanically. It was a reflex burned directly into my nervous system.

On the island, any mistake required immediate, violent self-punishment. If I hesitated, I would be thrown into the underground water cage.

The entire ballroom gasped in horror. Even the man who spilled the drink took a step back, visibly spooked.

Joseph's face went pale. He grabbed my wrists, real panic bleeding into his voice.

"Scarlett, stop! No one is mad at you!"

But my body wouldn't stop violently trembling. I collapsed against his chest, and suddenly, a sharp, stabbing cramp ripped through my lower abdomen. Hot, thick liquid began pooling down my thighs.

Joseph looked down, saw the dark red blood staining the hem of my white dress, and his composure completely shattered. "A doctor! Get a fucking doctor right now!"

The gala devolved into pure chaos. Valerie sprinted over in her designer heels, screaming, "Why is she bleeding?!"

I couldn't stand. Joseph scooped me up into his arms, shaking like a leaf. "It's going to be fine. The baby will be fine..."

But just as he turned toward the exit, the massive projector screen at the back of the stage went completely black.

A few seconds later, it flickered back to life. The footage that began to play caused several women in the room to scream in absolute terror.

Joseph froze mid-step. He stared up at the giant screen, and for the very first time, I saw genuine, unadulterated terror shatter his arrogant face.

And in that exact moment of distraction, I used every ounce of adrenaline left in my dying body. I grabbed a jagged, broken shard of a champagne flute from the nearest table, and violently jammed it directly into my own jugular.

"Scarlett—!!" Joseph let out a sound that didn't even sound human.

I looked at him, gave him a bloody, triumphant smile, and sliced deep.

Hot blood sprayed like a fountain across his immaculate white shirt. In the final second before my vision faded to black, looking at his completely destroyed, hysterical face, I felt nothing but the pure, intoxicating euphoria of revenge.

Die.

Once I was dead, I would never have to be his "perfect wife" ever again.