Chapter 3
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My ears throbbed with pain from the shock, and I instinctively pressed the end call button.
But before I could start the car, a pair of large hands smashed through the window.
Damien grabbed my collar and yanked me out of the car with brutal force, like a demon.
“Look what you’ve done! How could you do this to Ariana?”
Without another word, Damien dragged me back to the private room, where I found Ariana crying, her face streaked with tears.
She bit her lip and looked at me with utter grief.
“Please just give it back to me, it’s really important to me!
“I’ve already given up Damien for you. That’s the only thing I have left to remember him by. Please don’t take that away too, okay?”
Ariana stomped her foot petulantly, crying as she grabbed the red wine from the table and splashed it in my face.
Damien was so heartbroken his eyes turned red. He quickly unwrapped the blue and white scarf from his neck and gently placed it under Ariana’s feet.
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The gesture made everyone envious, but I was the only one who found it disgusting.
That scarf had taken me three months to make. My delicate hands had been pricked and bloodied by silver needles for that scarf.
Now Damien didn’t hesitate to place it under Ariana’s feet, as if he were trampling my heart into the ground.
The bitter wine trickled down my face and into my collar, making me shiver with cold.
“I didn’t take anything. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Before I could finish, I heard Damien’s lackey speak up.
“Found it! I found Ariana’s diamond ring in Brielle’s car. She did steal it!”
In an instant, everyone in the room stared at me.
Damien let out a cold sneer.
“What else do you have to say for yourself?
“That ring was designed by Ariana and me together. It’s her graduation project!
“You stole it out of jealousy. Are you trying to ruin Ariana?!”
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The diamond ring was handed to Damien, but I had no recollection of the box at all.
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Ariana kept crying, never directly blaming me, yet every word she said was aimed at me.
Damien stood in front of me, gripping my face with his hand, his eyes terrifyingly cold.
“You didn’t actually think that just because I agreed to marry you, you could do whatever you wanted, did you?
“If you dare disrespect Ariana in any way, this marriage will be the beginning of your hell!”
He gritted his teeth and threatened me viciously.
“Kneel down right now and apologize to Ariana, or this wedding is off!”
I tensed my body, glaring at Damien with hatred, and replied coldly.
“Never!”
Damien’s anger surged instantly. He grabbed my collar and stomped hard on my shin.
I lost my balance and fell to my knees with a thud, pain shooting through them.
I tried to struggle to my feet, but Damien gripped my neck and
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forced me down hard.
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“Apologize now, or I’ll cancel the engagement right this minute!”
A familiar sense of terror flooded through me as I recalled the constant domestic abuse after marriage in my previous life.
He used to lock me in the basement. Whenever Ariana got angry with him, he would take out his frustration on me.
His fists, as big as sandbags, would pound every part of my body while he cursed me viciously.
“If it weren’t for you, Ariana and I would be married with children by now!
“Trash like you still dreams of having my child? Are you trying to one–up Ariana with a baby?”
Now Damien was just like in my previous life, rolling up his sleeves and approaching me with a twisted face.
“Stop!”
Ariana let out a sharp scream, and Damien immediately froze.
I looked up gratefully, tears streaming down my face.
I thought Ariana still cared for me, but her next words sent ice through my veins.
“As her sister, I absolutely cannot bear to see Brielle become
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such an unreasonable, jealous shrew!
“I must cut the tendons in her hands to set her straight!”
Damien’s lips curled into a sinister smile as he flipped a knife skillfully in his hand.
“Ariana is always so clever.”
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I backed away in terror as Ariana pressed her high heel into my back with a look of feigned distress.
“Don’t blame me, okay? I’m doing this for your own good.”
The more I struggled, the harder she pressed her heel.
The sharp blade touched my wrist, inching downward.
My tears had nearly dried up, and I could only close my eyes in despair.
Suddenly, an urgent phone call interrupted Damien’s actions.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance before answering. Then he flung the butterfly knife away, grabbed me by the hair, and shoved me into the car.
“Damn it! We need to get to the banquet now!”
I had never seen Damien look so nervous before–his expression
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could even be described as fearful.
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“Uncle Louis has returned from abroad. I’ll have to rely on him in the future, depend on him for my livelihood!”
Then he laughed.
“I know he likes you, and he’d even defy the entire family for your sake.
“If I were to send you to his bed, who knows how much money I could get? Probably enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life.”
I recalled Uncle Louis from Damien’s descriptions. Louis always wore a cold expression, yet he would appear out of nowhere whenever I was in trouble.
But in my previous life, I was too infatuated with Damien to appreciate such a good man.
Damien sped all the way to the party, then hurriedly dragged me into the crowd.
“Mom, I’ve brought her as you asked.”
Damien pushed me forward, and caught off guard, I nearly stumbled to the floor.
Damien’s mother, Ashley Caldwell, looked me over with contempt and snorted.
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“A classless wild girl, without a fraction of Ariana’s grace!
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“Now you’ll kneel here and crawl over to pour my coffee–that’s the rule in our house.”
I frowned and tried to leave, but Damien grabbed my arm firmly.
“Don’t put on airs in front of everyone. You haven’t signed the marriage certificate yet—I can change my mind anytime!
“Ariana isn’t here now, so don’t think anyone will come to your rescue!”
He handed me a scalding hot cup of coffee and pressed down on my shoulders, forcing me to kneel.
Ashley watched me with a mocking smile.
“This is our family tradition. Anyone who wants to join our family must enter on their knees.”
Everyone’s eyes were on me, and no one spoke up in my defense, as if my refusal to kneel would be unreasonable.
My hands turned bright red from the heat, and my legs trembled as Damien repeatedly kicked them.
Just then, a deep male voice came from the entrance of the
party.
“I’m the one who establishes the rules for the Caldwell family,
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and I’ve never heard of this one before.”
Each footstep of the man struck at everyone’s heartstrings.
Damien, who had been so arrogant moments ago, suddenly trembled with fear and stammered:
“Uncle Louis…”
