The drive to Liam's house was silent.

He got out of the car and strode toward the entrance, but when he saw me dragging my leg and lagging behind, he let out a derisive laugh.

"Still with these little tricks, huh?"

"Stop playing the victim!"

"What, did you go to the asylum to major in drama?"

I kept my head down, feeling almost completely numb.

Before, I was madly in love with him.

I used to fake a fall or an injury just to get his attention, to have him carry me.

Every time I was on his back, my heart felt like it was full of honey, and I wished that moment would last forever.

I guess I couldn't blame him for thinking that.

Liam walked back toward me, exasperated.

He was about to lift me onto his back, but I flinched away instinctively.

The movement was so sudden that I lost my balance.

My chin hit the stone curb.

Blood immediately started gushing from the cut.

Liam panicked.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why can't you even stand up straight?"

"Your leg..."

He grabbed me anxiously, ignoring my screams and struggles to get a closer look at my leg.

Where there was once smooth, pale skin, there was now a horrifying roadmap of scars, crisscrossing in every direction.

His large hand gently touched my leg, but it felt like fire.

A searing pain shot through me, and I gagged.

In that moment, it was as if the Director was standing right there, whip in hand, snarling as she struck me.

"You filthy bitch, get those disgusting thoughts out of your head. Stay away from Mr. Hayes. He belongs to Mia! He doesn't even like you, you pathetic little leech, you deserve to die!"

I clutched my head, crying.

"Don't touch me. I'm disgusting. I'm dirty. I deserve to die."

Liam was both shocked and furious.

"Who taught you to say that? What happened to your leg?"

I struggled to remember.

My leg…

It was my first day in that hospital.

That woman had beaten me with a whip.

The whip had barbs on it, and she'd soaked it in pepper spray.

A single lash was enough to make you wish for death.

"So, you thought you could get away with seducing Mr. Hayes, did you? He always told you how beautiful your legs were, didn't he?" she’d sneered, her laugh pure poison. "Well, I'll ruin them first. Let's see you use your whore's tricks now."

I had screamed, but back then, I was still defiant.

"I'm not a whore! Liam is my fiancé!"

"Still haven't learned your lesson, you shameless bitch!"

She had whipped my legs over and over, until I passed out from the pain, and then she’d doused me with ice water to wake me up.

The demonic voice echoed in my ears again and again.

"Mr. Hayes belongs to my niece, Mia. Don't you dare dream about things that aren't yours!"

The worst part was, on the few occasions Liam came to visit, the beatings afterward were even more severe.

I’d be left bleeding on the floor, unable to move.

And so, because my legs were never treated and were repeatedly beaten, they were not only covered in hideous scars, but I could no longer walk properly.

I had tried to ask for help.

Once, when Liam came to see me, I braced myself for the beating I knew would come and summoned all my courage.

"Liam, I don't want to be here anymore, they—"

"Liam, honey," Mia's soft voice cut in from beside him, her eyes teary. "My leg is starting to hurt again."

"Mia, let's go. We'll get you to a doctor right now," Liam said, his voice gentle as he comforted her.

Then he turned to me, his face a mask of disgust.

"Chloe, stop with the games. Just stay here and atone for what you did!"

"Liam, save me!" I shrieked, desperate for him to turn back.

But he didn't.

He walked away, carrying Mia in his arms without a second glance.

Mia looked back over her shoulder, a triumphant smirk on her face.

Her lips formed the silent words: "Enjoy your stay."

Then several orderlies grabbed me, covered my mouth, and dragged me back inside.

The torture I endured that day was worse than any before it.

The whip, prying off my fingernails, holding my head under dirty water until I couldn't breathe, carving the word 'SLUT' into my back with a needle…

"Do you really want to know why I'm like this?" I asked, my voice broken as I stared at him.

Before Liam could answer, Mia came running out of the house in a silk bathrobe and threw her arms around him.

Her voice was sweet and soft, her expression playful.

"Liam, honey, why didn't you take me with you to pick up Chloe today?"