pte

body screamed in protest, every nerve ending ablaze with agony. My head throbbed. My legs felt like lead weights, throbbi

he dressing on my leg. Her movements were careless, causing a fre

more gentle?" I whi

ed us to prioritize efficiency. Said you heal faster when you' re not coddled. You' re a strong woman, he said

a means to make me 'stronger.' He had used those exact words so many times before, each one a poisoned arrow. My mind flashed back to a time when a simple paper cut on my finger would elicit a frantic search for bandages and

walked out, leaving me alone in the sterile silence. My arm pulsed with pain. I reached over, my fingers trembling, an

ded deeper, a gnawing, suffocating ache in my soul. It was the pain of utte

nt to Collin' s invisible hand. I developed a severe allergic reaction to one of the medications they were forcing me to take, my skin bre

ape, even if it was just to the bathroom. My legs protested with every agonizing step, but I pushed through the pain, leaning heavily on the wall. As I shuffled down the co

aking a sound. He turned a corner, and I peeked around the frame, my heart hammering agains

y blood ran cold. I heard her voice, high-pitched and cloying. "C

wered, "Everything's perfect, my love

cooing, more kissing sounds. Then, Haylee' s voice, a little louder, a little more insistent. "Are you sure Kira w

r pretty little head, baby. Kira

ed. My mind reel

The doctors had to do an emergency hysterectomy. Extensive damage. She can never concei

iumph. "Oh, Collin! You're so clever! And so thou

act. He had sterilized me. During the surgery, after Haylee had crashed into me, after I had lost our child, he had ensured I would never have another. To secu

stifling a scream that threatened to tear my throat apart. My world, already in ruins, now lay completely demolished. I had been carrying his child. And she, th

rage. My throat was dry, raw, incapable of making a sound, yet the tears flowed, an endless river of pain. I had been foolish.

n my eyes. I pushed myself up, my movements slow, deliberate. My mind, usually sharp and logical, felt numb, disconnected. I stumbled

another, a deeper, resonant male voice. "Master Feng believes Kira's volatile emotions are

t be purged. For that, we need her heart's blood. And the elusive Snow Lotus, found only a

"Oh, Collin-woo, is it really necessary? She might get hurt. But... if it' s for