In that dream, she walked arm in arm with Gregory, stepping onto a flower-strewn path with their friends and family watching.

Her face was lit up with joy. At that moment, she believed she was the luckiest woman in the world. She could finally marry the man she’d secretly loved for years.

But suddenly, everything around her turned blood red. The flowers beneath her feet withered into rotting, foul-smelling twigs.

Before she could make sense of what was happening, Gregory let go of her hand without hesitation. His voice, cold and sharp, echoed in her ears like a curse.

“Anathea, I’ll never love a scheming woman like you.”

Anathea’s eyes flew open. A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

What met her eyes was a white ceiling. It wasn’t the dark, endless corridor, and there was no rolling thunder and pounding rain.

Outside, sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows. The beauty of it all made her heart ache.

How did she end up here?

“You’re awake?” A calm voice broke the silence.

Anathea turned to her side and froze when she saw Gregory sitting by her bed. Had everything she’d just experienced been a dream?

However, the sharp sting on her face when she moved her lips told her that every bit of it had been real. Her husband despised her, and her son rejected her. All of it was real.

Anathea lowered her eyes and clenched her fingers.

“Mom! Are you okay?” Just then, Xander ran up to her bedside. His voice was unusually concerned.

He’d been shocked when he’d seen Gregory carrying Anathea out, her face covered in blood.

Natalie had told him it was just a game—Anathea’s kidnapping was a test to see if he could stay calm. If he did well, Natalie would take him to the amusement park.

But as he looked at Anathea now, bruised and battered, a strange, uneasy feeling settled in his chest.

“Mom…” Xander hesitated before reaching out to hold Anathea’s hand.

Usually, if he made the first move, Anathea’s face would light up with joy. But this time, she quietly withdrew her hand before he could touch her.

Xander froze for a moment, blinking in confusion, unsure of what to do.

“Your mom’s still shaken up. She needs rest. Go back to your room,” Gregory said coldly.

Upon hearing that, Xander glanced at Anathea with a hint of reluctance. But as soon as he remembered that Natalie would be taking him to the amusement park later, his hesitation vanished.

“Okay.”

Once Xander was gone, silence settled over the room.

Gregory was the first to break it. “What were you doing there?” he asked, frowning.

If he hadn’t been sure he’d heard Anathea’s voice and turned back at the last second, she would’ve already been sold off to some stranger.

The thought made his irritation flare. “Aren’t you sick? Why the hell were you running around?”

Anathea didn’t answer. She didn’t even look at him. Her gaze stayed on her hands.

From his words, it sounded like he had nothing to do with her getting abducted or sold off. But even if it hadn’t been him, he was the root of everything.

“Anathea, are you even listening?” Seeing her unresponsive, Gregory suddenly approached her. He gripped her chin and forced her to look at him.

“Or do you think this pathetic act will make me feel sorry for you? You really don’t get tired of playing the victim, do you?”

Anathea looked at his angry expression and found it almost amusing. “So, in your eyes, my suffering is just some kind of performance?”

She’d gotten hurt, yet in his mind, she was putting on an act?

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