Lina sat on the edge of the bed, her body aching from the bruises Damian had left behind. Her fingers trembled as she picked up her phone from the nightstand, scrolling through her contacts until she found the number: Mr. Wolfe.
She hesitated. Calling Damian’s father wasn’t something she did lightly, but she was desperate. She pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear, her breath shaky as it rang.
“Lina,” came Mr. Wolfe’s calm but firm voice. “Why are you calling me so late? What happened?”
Lina let out a sob, her tears flowing freely as she gripped the phone tighter. “Mr. Wolfe, I can’t do this anymore,” she said, her voice breaking. “I don’t want this marriage. I can’t stay here with Damian!”
There was a pause on the other end. “Calm down, Lina,” Mr. Wolfe said, his tone sharp. “What’s happened? Why are you saying this now?”
Lina cried harder, the words spilling out in a rush. “He’s a monster! He dragged me by my hair! He hurt me, Mr. Wolfe! He said horrible things-he blames me for everything that happened to Aurora!”
Mr. Wolfe’s voice grew colder. “What exactly did Damian say?”
“He said it’s my fault Aurora is in the hospital,” Lina sobbed. “He said I’m the reason she’s fighting for her life. He told me I disgust him, that my body doesn’t even please him!”
Mr. Wolfe sighed deeply. “And what did you expect, Lina?”
Lina froze, confusion replacing her tears for a moment. “What are you talking about?”
“You played your part, didn’t you?” Mr. Wolfe said, his tone calm but laced with judgment. “You pushed for Aurora to be removed, and now you’re surprised Damian blames you? What exactly did you think would happen?”
Lina’s voice rose, her frustration boiling over. “I didn’t want this! I only wanted her gone so Damian would notice me, so we could finally be together!”
“And she’s gone, isn’t she?” Mr. Wolfe replied coolly. “You got what you wanted. The problem is, Lina, you didn’t think about the consequences.”
Lina let out a bitter laugh. “Consequences? Don’t act like you’re innocent in all this, Mr. Wolfe. You’re the one who arranged for her to be sold. You made this mess, and now you want to act like I’m the only one to blame?”
The line went quiet for a moment, and Lina’s heart raced. Finally, Mr. Wolfe spoke, his voice colder than ever. “Be very careful about what you say, Lina. You wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for me. Don’t forget who gave you this opportunity to marry Damian.”
“Opportunity?” Lina spat. “You call this an opportunity? Being dragged by my hair? Being treated like trash?”
“You wanted Damian,” Mr. Wolfe said simply. “I gave you the chance to have him. But you underestimated him. Damian is not a man who can be controlled, Lina. You thought removing Aurora would make him love you, but all you did was turn him against you.”
“I didn’t think she’d end up like this!” Lina cried. “I thought she’d just disappear, that she’d be out of the way. I didn’t want her to get hurt!”
Mr. Wolfe chuckled darkly. “You didn’t want her hurt? Then why didn’t you stop me when I sold her? You knew exactly what was going to happen, and you said nothing.”
Lina’s tears fell harder, her guilt mixing with her anger. “I didn’t think it would matter! I thought Damian would forget about her!”
“Well, he hasn’t,” Mr. Wolfe said bluntly. “And now you’re facing the consequences of your choices. Damian knows what you did, Lina. Do you think he’ll ever forgive you for it?”
“I don’t care about his forgiveness!” Lina snapped, her voice rising. “I want out! I can’t take this anymore!”
“And where will you go?” Mr. Wolfe asked, his voice calm and mocking. “Do you think you can survive without Damian’s protection? Do you think you can go to the police and expose us? If you try, you’ll end up worse than Aurora.”
Lina’s heart sank at his words. “You’re just like him,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Cruel and heartless.”
“No,” Mr. Wolfe said smoothly. “I’m realistic. I warned you about Damian, but you didn’t listen. You thought you could control him, and now you’ve realized how wrong you were.”
Lina sniffled, wiping her tears away with shaking hands. “Are you going to help me or not?”
Mr. Wolfe sighed again, his tone softening slightly. “I’ll come to the house,” he said. “We’ll talk about this in person. But Lina, understand this: I can only help you if you help yourself. Don’t make things worse before I arrive.”
Lina clutched the phone tightly. “You’ll come? You promise?”
“Yes,” he said. “Stay where you are. I’ll handle Damian.”
The call ended, leaving Lina staring at her phone, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She hated the way Mr. Wolfe spoke to her, as if she were a foolish child who didn’t understand the game she had played.
Her hands tightened into fists, and she muttered under her breath, “They’ll both regret this. Damian and his father.”
She didn’t notice the faint sound of footsteps outside the door. Damian had been passing by, his sharp ears catching the tail end of her conversation. A cruel smile curled at his lips as he walked away, his mind already racing with plans.
“Let him come,” Damian murmured to himself. “It’ll be fun to remind him who’s really in charge.”