"....."
"What gives you the right to judge me? Who did you give your first time to? Lance? Or some other random guy?"
"....."
"Helena, you are the most miserable excuse for a woman I've ever met. Bar none. Looking the way you do, you still expect me to give a damn?"
...
His words were unimaginably brutal.
The verbal degradation hurt far worse than the physical abuse.
Tears burned the back of her eyes. Under the weight of his relentless humiliation, the tiny spark of hope she had harbored was violently snuffed out.
Her heart didn't just turn cold; it plummeted straight into an endless abyss. There was no turning back now.
Yet, she stubbornly refused to cry, staring up at him with red-rimmed eyes.
For Wynn, and for the baby growing inside her, she had to stay strong.
She was going to escape him. She was going to leave this hellhole.
Soon.
It would all be over soon.
She closed her eyes.
"You really are a fucking mood-killer!" Sebastian roared. "Get out!"
He shoved her away, not even bothering to look at her as he spun on his heel and stormed off.
The bedroom door slammed shut with bone-rattling force.
Helena struggled to sit up. She still hadn't shed a single tear.
She swore to herself she would never waste another drop of sorrow on this man.
She didn't even care where he had gone. Quietly, she turned and headed into the bathroom.
She stood under the scalding spray, scrubbing her skin raw until it pruned and the baby in her womb gave a protesting flutter.
Only then did she finally step out.
The master bedroom was hauntingly silent.
...
The next morning.
What a sick joke.
"Lena? Are you okay?" Sophia asked anxiously, sensing the prolonged silence.
"It's nothing. Thank you, Sophia," Helena replied, forcing a warm smile into her voice.
She didn't want her friend to worry.
But after years of friendship, Sophia knew better.
She guessed Sebastian was probably off catering to Janetta again.
After all, Janetta was the woman who held his heart.
To Sebastian, Helena was nothing more than a convenient pawn.
That fact hadn't changed in years.
Wisely, Sophia dropped the subject and asked cheerfully, "Do you want to grab lunch together? I got you a present. You're going to love it."
"I'd love to," Helena agreed.
They quickly picked a restaurant to meet at.
Then, they ended the call.

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