It was unexpected when Ben’s fiancee, Lina Manning, showed up at my door.
However, instead of the confrontation I imagined, she examined me gently.
“Are you alright after everything that happened?”
“Don’t pay attention to what they say. It’s perfectly normal in our circle to have a mistress, as long as you make Ben happy.”
I felt heat wash over me. “It’s Ben… who won’t let me go!”
Hearing this, Lina’s expression changed. “Sherlyn, don’t get cocky!”
A slap struck my face, and I felt warmth in my nose.
I retaliated with a slap of my own.
Lina, furious, shouted, “No one dares to take what belongs to me, Lina!”
With that, she stormed off.
Lying in bed, I felt weak and lost my appetite for food.
Ben returned late at night, reeking of alcohol, and lay down beside me.
He must have been truly drunk, reminiscing about the past and revealing a softer side.
“My mother, when I was young, would put me in a cold water tank just to see my dad. It’s a pity I nearly became a fool from fever, and she didn’t care.”
“I think when we’re little, we do silly things, always fantasizing that our parents will love us at some point.”
“But they never did. Not once.”
“Even my first birthday, at the amusement park, eating my first bowl of longevity noodles, it was you who gave it to me. Isn’t that laughable?”
I listened to his painful memories without any particular emotion.
I thought if I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have given a ticket to a stranger out of anger when my parents forgot my birthday.
I wouldn’t have felt sorry for him when I discovered our birthdays were the same, cooking him a bowl of noodles.
Back then, Ben had bite marks on him, bruises on his face, and it made me sad, so I offered him some medicine.
“Ben, you must stay safe and healthy.”
His head nestled in my shoulder. “Sherlyn, you looked like you cared for me back then, didn’t you?”
I stared at the ceiling, silent. Life truly felt terrible; that tiny bit of kindness had ruined my life.
He clutched me as if I were a lifeline.
“Ben, your fiancee loves you and cares for you. Can you live well and let me go?”
Ben lifted his drunken face to look at me. “Sherlyn, don’t make excuses to leave me.”
“We’re fake. If it bothers you, I’ll break off the engagement with her.”
“So now, can you just hold me?”
I shut my eyes, turned away, pretending not to hear. He sat there, staring at me for a long time.
I thought Ben was just rambling from his drunkenness, but the next day, he actually called a press conference to announce the cancellation of his engagement to Lina.
Ben sat calmly under the spotlight.
“My relationship with Miss Manning has soured; parting ways is the best choice.”
A reporter sharply asked, “Is this related to the recent scandal about your mistress?”
Ben remained unflappable, ending the press conference with a simple, “No comment.”
On the way back, I was arranging flowers by the window.
He embraced me from behind, kissing my neck and ear.
“Sherlyn, did you see the gift I prepared for you today?”
“Even though you’ve been so cruel to me, I can’t bear to see you suffer. My love, are you satisfied?”
I set the flowers down and met his gaze.
“Ben, you don’t understand what love is.”
“What do you want to hear? That I love you? Ben, my love for you is dead!”
“You’re pathetic, forcing someone who doesn’t love you to love you. Sadly, no one will ever love you!”
His hands tightened around my neck, veins bulging, but he ultimately didn’t squeeze.
“It’s alright, Sherlyn. You will love me.”
Ben’s tactics were endless; he was contacting a psychiatrist to try hypnotizing me.
He didn’t even try to hide it from me; no matter how much I screamed and fought, it was futile. This villa was filled with people watching me.
I resisted with fasting and thoughts of suicide.
But Ben didn’t care. “Sherlyn, it doesn’t matter if you die; I’ll go with you, but everyone related to you won’t have it easy.”
Desperately, I cried, “Ben, one day I will definitely kill you!”