Chapter 2Love Finds Me Again

The moment Mia stepped into the family chapel, she went straight to her father.

"Dad, I want a divorce from Mark."

Mr. Sterling's voice immediately rose, his face darkening.

"What are you trying to pull now?"

"Have you forgotten what you went through five years ago just to marry Mark Hayes? You begged me to break off your engagement to the Lawson family, and you took ninety-nine lashes for it."

"And now you want a divorce?"

"Mia, marriage isn't some game you can play whenever you feel like it."

Mia slowly closed her eyes.

A sharp pain stabbed through her chest.

Five years ago, she had stood in this very chapel.

She had cried and begged her father to call off her engagement to the Lawson family and let her marry Mark instead.

Back then, she had been pampered her entire life.

Even the slightest injury could make her cry.

But whenever she thought of Mark, she gritted her teeth and endured all ninety-nine lashes.

By the end, her back had been torn open and covered in blood.

She had collapsed onto the floor, unable to get up.

And yet she had still smiled at her father and said,

"Dad, now I can marry him."

Mia opened her eyes.

There wasn't a trace of emotion left in them.

"I haven't forgotten."

"That's exactly why I need to divorce him."

Seeing that there was no changing her mind, Mr. Sterling grew even angrier.

"You want a divorce? Fine."

"According to Sterling family rules, any married child who wants a divorce has to roll across the bed of nails three times."

Mia let out a soft laugh.

There was no warmth in it.

Only bone-deep sorrow.

"Fine."

Mr. Sterling waved a hand and ordered the staff to prepare it.

A bed covered in densely packed iron spikes was carried into the chapel.

The long, sharp points gleamed coldly beneath the lights.

Just looking at them was enough to make anyone's stomach turn.

"You still have time to change your mind."

"I won't."

Without the slightest hesitation, Mia lay down.

The sharp spikes instantly tore through her clothes and pierced her skin.

Agony exploded through her body.

It felt as though thousands of knives were carving through her at once.

Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.

She bit her lips until all the color drained from them, but she refused to make a sound.

Once.

Twice.

Every movement felt as though the spikes were grinding through her flesh.

By the time she finished the third time, Mia forced herself off the bed of nails despite the excruciating pain.

Her face was as white as paper.

Blood had soaked through her dress.

But not a single tear fell.

Mr. Sterling stared at his daughter, who looked as though she might collapse at any moment.

Finally, he relented.

"I'll have the lawyer prepare the papers.

"In seven days, your divorce will be finalized."

"Thank you, Dad."

Mia's voice was hoarse.

Using the last of her strength, she walked out of the chapel one step at a time.

Every movement sent tearing pain through her body.

And yet, for the first time in years, her heart felt light.

The lawyer soon brought the divorce agreement to her.

Mia didn't hesitate for even a second.

She signed her name without looking back.

After the lawyer left, she went upstairs alone and entered the master bedroom.

She took out the first-aid kit and stood in front of the mirror to treat her wounds.

The instant the cold ointment touched the broken skin, Mia sucked in a sharp breath.

Her fingers began trembling uncontrollably.

She gritted her teeth and applied the medication little by little.

Cold sweat dampened the hair along her forehead.

In a daze, she suddenly remembered what had happened five years ago.

Back then, news of the assault had spread everywhere.

Everyone had been waiting to watch her fall apart.

But at the most humiliating moment of her life, the man she had always believed would remain an untouchable iceberg had stepped forward and stood in front of her.

Mark had begun staying by her side with the same persistence Mia had once shown when pursuing him.

When she threw the medication he brought her onto the floor, he quietly picked it up.

Then he came back the next day with more.

When she broke down and lashed out at him, he never argued.

He only said softly,

"I believe something terrible happened to you."

And when Mark placed the keys to the home he had spent everything he had to buy into her palm,

Mia's heart finally gave in.

She agreed to marry him.

Back then, she had thought she had finally gotten everything she had ever wanted.

She had married the man she loved.

She never imagined it had all been part of a carefully planned revenge.

Now the dream was over.

And it was time for her to leave.

After treating her wounds, Mia changed into clean clothes.

A soft knock came at the bedroom door.

"Mrs. Hayes," the housekeeper called from outside. "Mr. Hayes still isn't home. Dinner is ready. Would you like to eat first, or wait for him?"

Mia instinctively glanced out the window.

Only then did she realize it was already evening.

In the past, she had always waited for Mark to come home before eating.

Even when the food went completely cold, even when hunger made her stomach ache, she still insisted on waiting.

But this time, she didn't want to wait anymore.

"Don't wait for him."

She paused.

"Not tonight.

"Not ever again."