##Chapter 2
They dropped me off at my door, tossed the bag of meds, and walked away without a word.
Jack didn’t care about me, and neither did his men.
I opened the door, but the house was cold and empty, even the cleaning lady was gone.
Jack called. His voice was as cold and distant as always.
“Tina’s not feeling well. Your nanny’s more attentive, so I had them all go over there.
“You stay there alone for a few days. Once Tina’s better, they’ll come back.”
He said it like it was no big deal like Tina was the one who got stabbed five times by his enemy and nearly died.
“Okay.”
He paused when he heard how indifferent I sounded, then added, “Write down anything you want to eat. The nanny can make it when she comes back.”
“Okay.”
Even through the phone, I could tell he was frowning.
“Why are you giving me attitude? Over a bowl of chicken soup?
“Selly, don’t forget. I told you when we got married, you were just there to take the hit for Tina. Don’t think three years as my wife gives you the right to step over her!”
I nodded mechanically. “Okay.”
“You—”
He was just starting to get angry when Tina called out from his side.
“Jack, time for cake!”
The call ended.
I had 48 hours left until I died.
I was a little hungry, but when I got to the kitchen, I realized everything had been cleared out and the fridge was empty.
Because of Jack’s special status, he never allowed me to order takeout.
I had no choice but to dig through the cabinets and finally found an expired pack of instant food.
The kettle had been broken for a while, and no one ever bothered to fix it. I used hot water from the heater to soak the pasta and set it on the table.
My phone lit up. Tina was livestreaming.
They weren’t at the villa today, judging by the background, they were at a hot spring resort.
Tina wore an oversized T-shirt, eating chocolate cake while chatting with her viewers.
Off-camera, a man occasionally fed her bites with a fork, his movements gentle.
“Can’t you please post more couple content? Just from his hand, you can tell he’s a total heartthrob!”
Tina stuck out her tongue. “My boyfriend’s the most handsome man in the world. Every time he smiles, my heart melts.
“He was the one who chased me first, but I was too timid and worried about everything, so I only said yes recently.
“The cake’s sweet, but not as sweet as us.”
The man gently brushed her hair, and her cheeks turned red as she smiled.
Tina finished half the cake around the same time I forced down the awful instant food.
Her other phone lit up on the screen. She looked at it, and her eyes reddened, revealing a surprised look.
Seconds later, she broke down crying in front of over 100K viewers.
The livestream ended abruptly. I was still in a daze when Jack called.
He started yelling the moment he called. “Selly, over a bowl of soup? Over a few nannies? You actually leaked Tina and me dating online?
“If Tina gets hurt because of this, even dying ten times wouldn’t be enough!”
I said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. After I got home, I was just eating—”
“Still denying it? Tina said she only accidentally sent those photos to you. No one else ever saw them, not even me!
“And the place we’re eating at today, you’ve been here before.
“I saw you in the livestream just now.”
His last few words came through gritted teeth.
If I were standing in front of him right now, he probably would’ve already kicked me to the ground and forced me to apologize to Tina on my knees.
Just like last winter. Tina had cramps and specifically asked for me to take care of her.
But I was still weak from a miscariage. I barely got out a “sorry” before he shoved me down by the shoulders.
That day, I had to apologize over and over with blood on my head before Tina finally said she forgave me while crying.
Jack’s angry breathing through the phone pulled me out of the memory. I stared down at the leftover instant food broth and said quietly, “It wasn’t me. I have no reason to do that.”
Tina started crying again.
“Jack, I think someone’s watching me outside. I’m really scared…”
The call ended. I sat frozen at the table, staring blankly ahead.
As I expected, ten minutes later, Jack’s men entered using the passcode and dragged me out like I was a sack of trash.
“Hurry up! Jack wants you to take the bvllet for Ms. Ashby!”
