Where Memory Let Him Rust

Seven years into our marriage, my husband Dominic Vance personally switched off my younger brother’s life support.

All because his idealized “first love” wanted that specific, life-saving medication.

That day, I knelt on the cold hospital floor, begging him to spare my only family.

He looked down at me, his voice a cruel caress.

“You’re not being good again.”

Later, my brother died, my baby was gone, and I was driven to madness by Dominic’s own hands.

Everyone assumed I would forgive him, waiting for him to come back to me.

They never knew the truth.

The moment Liam took his last breath, I decided to disappear from this world.

After that, Dominic turned the city inside out.

All he found in the end was a divorce agreement and a name scrubbed from the world.

He wanted me back with a desperate, frantic madness.

But this time, I was the one who didn’t want him.

Seraphina POV

The winter wind was as sharp as a blade.

I stood on the balcony all night, wearing nothing but a thin nightgown.

Dominic sat on the sofa, his voice soft yet chilling.

“What did you say to Aurora?”

Aurora Sterling was the acclaimed sculptor, lauded as a genius.

An hour ago, she’d deactivated all her social media accounts.

And now, Dominic was punishing me for it.

My body trembled uncontrollably.

“I didn’t… I haven’t even seen her.”

Dominic smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

“You’re not being good.”

He spoke softly, gesturing to the bodyguard behind him.

The bodyguard immediately handed him a tablet.

The screen lit up.

The surveillance footage showed my younger brother, Liam Hayes, lying critically ill in a hospital bed.

Someone unplugged his life support.

The heart monitor’s lines jumped wildly, and Liam convulsed from lack of oxygen, struggling in agony.

“No!”

My mind went blank, my blood felt like it had frozen.

I lunged forward, falling at Dominic’s feet, clutching his leg tightly as tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes.

“Dominic, I beg you! I truly don’t know anything!”

“I didn’t do anything, please save Liam…”

Dominic’s fingers traced my face, his touch light, yet it felt like he was examining an object.

“The backup power only lasts for three minutes,” he said. “Now, there are two minutes and fifty seconds left.”

Every second felt like a knife twisting in my heart.

I looked at the man I had loved for seven years, in so much pain I could barely breathe.

Three months ago, Dominic became obsessed with the aloof Aurora, beginning a very public pursuit of her.

Everyone waited to watch me become a joke.

Back then, he’d also stroked my face, saying, “Sera, it’s just a game. Men always have a desire to conquer a new prize.”

“You just need to be obedient, and the title of my wife will always be yours.”

I had no choice but to nod.

“Thirty seconds left.”

Dominic’s voice pulled me back to reality.

The image of my brother struggling painfully flashed in my mind.

I couldn’t lose him.

In extreme fear and despair, I lied to Dominic for the first time.

“It was me.”

I closed my eyes, my voice trembling.

“I forced Aurora away… I was jealous of her, so I sent someone to warn her to stay away from you…”

Dominic finally smiled, satisfied.

He leaned down, stroking my head like he was comforting a pet.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier if you’d just done that from the start?”

He warned me, “Don’t ever take matters into your own hands again. Remember your place.”

A subordinate rushed over, respectfully reporting, “Mr. Vance, we’ve found Ms. Sterling. She said she wanted to go to the art museum to clear her head.”

Dominic’s joy was undeniable.

He immediately stood up and strode out, his voice filled with an urgency I’d never heard before.

“Book every art museum in the city. Clear them out. No one is to disturb her.”

“And, lock Seraphina Hayes in the wine cellar.”

He didn’t spare me another glance from start to finish.

I was dragged into the cold wine cellar and couldn’t help but curl into a ball, slowly losing consciousness.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen, and a warm liquid slowly trickled down my legs.

I awoke to the searing pain.

My baby… my child…

I stumbled to the door, frantically pounding on the heavy wooden slab.

“Open the door! Save my baby!”

“Please, I beg you, take me to the hospital…”

My throat grew hoarse from screaming, my nails scratching blood onto the door.

From outside, the butler’s cold voice cut into my heart like a knife.

“Mr. Vance said this child wasn’t part of the plan. You’ll just have to reflect on your actions here.”

Total despair washed over me.

I collapsed to the floor, the physical pain a fraction of the agony in my heart.

Before my consciousness faded, I whispered.

“Dominic, the baby is gone…”

“And I don’t want you anymore.”

2.

Seraphina POV

The acrid smell of disinfectant in the hospital brought me back to consciousness.

My lower abdomen was flat. The place that once nurtured life was now just an empty void.

My baby was truly gone.

My tears soaked the pillow.

The ward door opened, and Dominic walked in, followed by Aurora, her eyes swollen and red.

“Seraphina!”

Aurora rushed to my bedside, her voice accusatory.

“I just want to create in peace, why won’t you leave me alone? Wasn’t my leaving enough? Why did you have to send people to harass my family?!”

Baseless accusations enveloped me like a net.

I instinctively looked at Dominic, the man I once thought would protect me forever.

But his eyes held only sympathy for Aurora, not even a glance for me.

My heart felt like it was being torn apart.

“Dominic,” I said. “Our child… why didn’t you save him?”

Dominic finally turned his gaze to me, but his eyes were like those of a stranger.

“What right do you have to bear my child?”

He retorted, his tone full of mockery. “Didn’t I tell you to take your birth control? Who gave you permission to get pregnant?”

I felt like I’d been struck by lightning.

I remembered the birth control pills he’d forced me to take, remembered him constantly whispering, “Sera, it’s not the right time for a baby.”

It wasn’t that the time wasn’t right; it was that he never wanted my child.

“Dominic, don’t say any more,” Aurora gently interrupted him, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I don’t want to cause discord between you two, but you must give me an explanation for what happened today.”

Dominic immediately turned to comfort her, his voice softening. “Don’t cry, Rory. I’ll handle this and then we’ll leave.”

When he looked at me again, his eyes were utterly devoid of warmth.

“Apologize.”

Two words, weighing on my heart like mountains.

“I didn’t do it.”

I shook my head.

Dominic’s patience ran out.

He gave a look to the bodyguard by the door, his voice chilling.

“Will you do it yourself, or should I have them help you?”

The bodyguard’s towering figure loomed closer, full of oppressive menace.

I looked at Dominic, still hoping to gamble on a shred of affection he might have left for me.

I lost.

“Do it.”

With that cold command, the bodyguards no longer held back.

I was violently pulled from the hospital bed, my head forced down towards Aurora’s feet.

“I’m sorry.”

Those words drained me of my last bit of strength and dignity.

I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood, just to stop myself from crying out.

Aurora’s lips curved into a smirk, then she quickly reverted to her elegant facade, turning to Dominic. “Dominic, I should still leave. I don’t want to ruin your family.”

“Don’t go!”

Dominic grabbed her hand. To keep her, he didn’t hesitate to pull out his phone and call his lawyer.

“Prepare the divorce agreement immediately and send it to the hospital.”

“Compensation… make it half a billion.”

I looked up in disbelief at the man who had once defied his entire family to marry me.

Now, for a new flame he’d known for less than three months, he was abandoning me like this.

Soon after they left, the lawyer arrived with the divorce agreement.

He pushed the agreement toward me, relaying Dominic’s words in a businesslike tone.

“Mr. Vance said this is only temporary. Once his interest in Ms. Sterling fades, he’ll remarry you. Then you can have as many children as you like.”

“He also said for you to take the money and go abroad for a change of scenery after your seventh wedding anniversary. He’ll come pick you up once everything is settled.”

The lawyer’s words sounded like a sick joke.

Did he think I couldn’t survive without him? Did he think money and empty promises would appease me?

I laughed, tears welling in my eyes.

I picked up the pen and, without hesitation, signed my name at the bottom of the agreement.

Each stroke was decisive, etched with a force that felt like severing the painful entanglement of the past seven years.

I took the half-billion dollar check, but my heart had already died.

Dominic, I’m done playing.

3.

Seraphina POV

I lay in my hospital bed, scrolling through my phone.

The screen was filled with news of Dominic and Aurora.

“Business Titan Publicly Declares Love for Genius Sculptor”

“Dominic Spends a Fortune to Win a Beauty’s Smile”

I thought I had already given up all hope, but seeing these headlines still stung.

I went to the hospital, and through the glass of the intensive care unit, I saw my brother lying in bed, unconscious.

He was my only family left in this world.

“Liam, your sister has to go.”

My hand pressed against the glass.

“Once I’m settled, I’ll take you with me. We’ll go somewhere no one knows us and start over.”

From that day on, I began to prepare for my departure.

The first stop was the identity registration office.

I submitted an application to revoke my identity as Seraphina.

The second stop was the auction house.

The jewelry Dominic had given me was brought out one by one for appraisal.

Those gifts, once symbols of love, were now just a string of numbers in my eyes.

The third stop was the law firm.

I returned the beachfront estate Dominic had gifted me before our marriage.

After doing all that, I returned to that villa.

The fire in the fireplace roared merrily.

I found the jewelry box I’d treasured for seven years.

Inside were the cufflinks and tie clips I’d made myself, each one he’d once treasured like gold.

I tossed them into the fire, one by one.

As the flames consumed them, my heart, too, turned to ash.

I had just turned around when I froze.

Dominic and Aurora stood behind me, I don’t know when they got there.

“What are you burning?” Dominic asked, his face expressionless.

I lowered my eyes, not answering.

“Find that sapphire necklace and give it to Aurora.”

A needle-sharp pain pierced my heart.

That sapphire necklace was a family heirloom.

He had once personally placed it on me, promising me a lifetime.

Now he wanted me to give it to another woman with my own hands.

I was no longer his wife.

I nodded silently and turned to go upstairs.

Aurora followed me into the walk-in closet. The moment she shut the door, her facade crumbled.

“Seraphina, what are you still doing here? Waiting for Dominic to change his mind? Dream on!”

I ignored her, took a box from the safe, and handed it over.

Aurora took the necklace, admired it for a moment, and then a malicious smile curved her lips.

She suddenly smashed the necklace to the ground, and the sapphire shattered into fragments.

Before I could react, Aurora shoved me towards the top of the stairs!

Caught completely off guard, I tumbled down the staircase.

My forehead hit the sharp edge of a step, and blood streamed down, blurring my vision.

Upstairs, Aurora picked up a shard of the sapphire and deliberately cut her own leg, then collapsed to the ground, letting out a terrified scream.

Dominic rushed over at the sound. He saw me, bloody and disheveled, and Aurora, with a cut on her leg, looking utterly pitiful.

He only glanced at me before rushing to Aurora, sweeping her into his arms.

“Did she hurt you?”

His eyes were cold and sharp, piercing me.

Aurora trembled in his arms, her voice choked with sobs.

“Dominic, I just wanted to look at the necklace. Seraphina wouldn’t give it to me, she’d rather destroy it. She even said she’d push me down the stairs. I was scared, so I fell, and then she rolled down too…”

She was lying.

“She pushed me!” I struggled to explain. “Look at the surveillance! The surveillance!”

“Aurora wouldn’t lie to me.”

Dominic cut me off, his eyes filled with disgust.

He held Aurora, looking down at me sprawled on the floor.

“It seems I’ve indulged you too much, making you forget your place.”

He handed Aurora to a maid, then turned and took a whip from the wall.

“Today, I’ll teach you what it means to obey.”

The whip whistled through the air as it lashed across my back.

I curled into a ball, in searing pain.

I wanted to beg, to explain, but facing his emotionless eyes, I couldn’t say a word.

In the throes of agonizing pain, I despairingly closed my eyes.

I remembered when everyone opposed our relationship, his family especially, punishing him severely.

Dominic had been beaten almost to death protecting me, yet he still held me tight, saying,

“Unless I die, no one will ever touch her.”

He also said I was more important than his own life.

But now, the one wielding the whip against me was him.

Love can vanish.

Perhaps it was never love at all.

Just a madman’s possessive obsession with his property.

4.

Seraphina POV

I woke up in my own bed.

Dominic sat on the sofa beside the bed, a cigar between his fingers, smoke curling around him.

Seeing me awake, he stubbed out the cigar and spoke in a commanding tone.

“Aurora was upset by you and won’t eat. Go and coax her.”

I looked at him silently, then finally spoke.

“Mr. Vance, we’re divorced.”

“Mr. Vance”-that address infuriated him.

Dominic’s face darkened. He rose and walked to the bed, roughly caressing my lips with his ash-stained fingers.

“Don’t throw a tantrum with me.”

He leaned in, his eyes dangerously narrowed. “I don’t like it when you’re disobedient.”

I smelled the familiar scent of tobacco on his fingers, and my stomach churned.

I lowered my eyes and nodded.

Dominic smiled, satisfied, stroking my head like rewarding a pet.

“That’s better, now be a good girl.”

He personally applied medicine to the wounds on my back.

The ointment was cold, and I trembled with pain when it touched my injuries.

But his touch made me feel even colder than the wounds.

“Aurora has a party tonight. Prepare a cello solo to apologize to her.”

I couldn’t refuse, so I could only nod.

As night fell, the maid dressed me in a luxurious haute couture gown.

The silk rubbed against the wounds on my back, throbbing with pain, but my heart ached even more.

I was led into the ballroom and immediately became the center of attention and ridicule.

Aurora was an artist, and the socialites, eager to curry favor, were all dressed simply and elegantly.

My ornate attire made me look like a clown who’d stumbled into the wrong circus.

“Isn’t that Mrs. Vance? Why is she dressed like some flashy parvenu?”

“Not anymore, Mr. Vance’s woman now is Aurora.”

The piercing whispers stung my ears.

I remembered another time, at a party, when someone mocked me as nothing but eye candy by Dominic’s side.

The next day, that person’s company went bankrupt.

Back then, he sheltered me under his wing, forbidding anyone from speaking ill of me.

Now, he had personally pushed me into an abyss of public ridicule.

The lights in the ballroom dimmed, and a spotlight shone on the entrance.

Dominic, escorting Aurora, resplendent in a flowing white gown, slowly entered, receiving everyone’s gaze.

Aurora whispered something in his ear, and he snapped his fingers.

A server brought a cello to me.

“Begin.”

Dominic’s voice came from across the crowd, cold and distant.

Under everyone’s gaze, I took the incredibly familiar cello.

Dominic had made it for me with his own hands; it was one of a kind in the entire world.

I once loved the cello more than anything. But after marrying him, he said my music could only belong to him.

Now, even that rule was broken for Aurora.

I took a deep breath and placed the bow on the strings.

As the bow fell, an impassioned, sorrowful melody poured out - Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata,’ third movement.

Each note was like a blade, severing my past with Dominic.

This piece was my final farewell to him.

Never again would we meet.

From then on, I would never love Dominic again.

Aurora, displeased, interrupted the performance.

She clung to Dominic’s arm, looking down at me with a mocking sneer.

“Seraphina, I know you’ve been wronged, but there’s no need to fish for sympathy in an environment like this, is there?”

“This piece hardly fits the mood of the evening.”

I lowered my eyes, silently enduring the humiliation.

Seeing that I didn’t retort, Aurora grew even more displeased, shaking Dominic’s arm playfully.

“Did you bring her here just to humiliate me?”

5.

Seraphina POV

Dominic simply smiled at Aurora’s complaint.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, leaned down, and kissed her forehead, gently coaxing, “Alright, don’t be angry. I’ll dance the first waltz with you, as an apology, how about that?”

A graceful waltz melody began, and Dominic led Aurora onto the center of the dance floor. They naturally became the focus of the entire room.

I watched their swirling figures, feeling no ripple of emotion.

I quietly put away the cello, intending to turn and leave this place.

I had only taken a few steps when several women dragged me into a corner of the terrace.

“Seraphina, do you remember us?”

The woman in the lead grabbed my chin, her gaze venomous.

I recognized them.

These women had once been prominent socialites, but because they had offended me, Dominic had retaliated against them with cruel methods.

One’s father went bankrupt and committed suicide, another was publicly jilted and disfigured by her fiancé, and another had her entire family’s business uprooted.

The extent of their fear of me in the past was now matched by the depth of their hatred.

“Ms. Sterling told us to entertain you,” another woman sneered, picking up a bottle of red wine from a server’s tray.

“Ms. Sterling said that whoever could make your life a living hell tonight, she would put in a good word for them with Mr. Vance, helping us get back what we lost.”

“So, don’t blame us for being ruthless.”

Cold wine drenched me from head to toe, soaking my gown.

Then, a sharp slap rang out across my face.

They took turns stepping forward, unleashing all their pent-up resentment on me.

Someone smashed a wine bottle, using a sharp shard of glass to slice my arm, leaving streaks of blood.

I wanted to scream from the pain, but my mouth was tightly covered.

“Let me go…”

I found an opening, pushed the crowd away, and stumbled towards the ballroom.

I hadn’t run far when a towering champagne pyramid toppled directly in front of me.

I fell awkwardly into the shattered glass, my palms and knees bleeding profusely from the cuts.

“What game are you playing now?”

Aurora appeared at some point, looking down at me with contempt.

“Seraphina, even if you’ve fallen out of favor, there’s no need to harm yourself to gain sympathy, is there? That’s not a very clever trick.”

“It was you!”

I pointed at her, my voice trembling. “You sent people to hurt me!”

Aurora covered her mouth and laughed exaggeratedly, as if she’d heard the funniest joke.

“I sent people to hurt you? Seraphina, you overestimate yourself. The way you are now, are you even worth my effort?”

The women who had attacked me on the terrace also came over, angrily testifying for Aurora.

“Ms. Sterling, don’t let her fool you! She tried to bribe us to harm you, and when we refused, she got angry and is now feigning victimhood to frame you!”

“That’s right! We can all testify!”

At these words, the guests gathered around, pointing and whispering about me.

“How vicious! Just because she’s out of favor, she can’t stand to see others happy!”

“Women like this deserve to be scorned!”

I don’t know who started it, but champagne, red wine, and cake came flying at me one after another.

Amidst the insults and attacks, my gaze cut through the crowd, landing on the face of the man I had loved for seven years.

Dominic stood not far away, calmly watching it all.

His eyes were empty, devoid of pity, anger, or even the slightest ripple of emotion.

That look seemed to be blaming me: Why are you always disobedient, always causing me trouble?

In that moment, all the wounds on my body began to ache.

The worst pain wasn’t my skin being sliced by glass, or my face being swollen from blows.

It was his indifference.

His coldness hurt more than any physical assault.

I felt like everything was meaningless.

Explain? Who would believe me?

I gave up struggling, forcing myself to stand up from the chaotic mess on the floor.

Every movement pulled at my wounds, making my vision blur with pain.

I glanced at Dominic. Seeing no intention from him to intervene, I limped towards the door.

With every step, the glass shards on the floor dug deeper, leaving a trail of blood behind me.

But I didn’t stop, and I didn’t look back.

Leave this place.

Leave Dominic.

Only this single thought remained in my mind.

6.

Seraphina POV

I woke up in the hospital again.

After being discharged, I began preparing to take my brother away.

I contacted a private recovery center on the outskirts of town, anonymously donating a large sum of money to ensure they would secretly admit my brother, Liam.

Once my new identity was processed and the contracts were signed, I could leave this city for good.

Harboring a final sliver of hope, I went to the hospital to visit my brother, but at the ward door, I saw the last people I wanted to.

Aurora’s parents were struggling with a nurse, trying to snatch Liam’s life-saving imported medication.

“We’re taking this medicine! Our son needs it too!” Aurora’s mother, Sophia, shrieked.

“No! This is Mr. Hayes’s life-saving medicine!” The nurse desperately shielded the medicine box.

“Let go!” I rushed forward, pushing Sophia away. “Who allowed you to touch my brother’s things?!”

Sophia staggered back. Before she could throw a tantrum, Aurora walked from the end of the hallway, her smile beautiful and cruel.

“I allowed it,” she said. “Seraphina, I’m taking this medication.”

Behind her, Dominic’s bodyguards easily restrained the nurse and me.

“Don’t go in!”

I struggled desperately, only able to watch as Aurora’s parents rushed into the ward, lunging for the medicine box.

I charged in without hesitation, spreading my arms to block the medicine box.

“Don’t touch my brother! Get out!”

Sophia’s eyes darted. She suddenly fell backward, pretending I had pushed her, letting out a piercing scream.

When Dominic entered, he saw Sophia on the ground groaning, Aurora’s eyes red and looking utterly wronged, while I stood there like a madwoman.

His face darkened.

“You can’t even restrain one woman?”

He coldly reprimanded the bodyguards, his displeased gaze implicitly permitting them to use any means necessary.

The two bodyguards stopped being polite, brutally dragging me away, one on each side.

“Let me go! Dominic!”

I shrieked, my voice hoarse. Seeing the medicine box about to be taken, I desperately cried out to the man who had once sworn to protect me for life.

“Dominic, no! That’s my brother’s life-saving medicine!”

“Please! I beg you…”

Dominic only looked at me with cold indifference, saying with dissatisfaction,

“You’re not being good again.”

Those three words were like a bucket of ice water, chilling me to the bone.

I was violently pushed to the ground by the bodyguards, my forehead hitting the bed frame, my vision blurring.

I could only watch as that life-saving medicine was carried away by Aurora’s family like a trophy.

From start to finish, Dominic stood there, not moving an inch.

“Liam…”

Ignoring the pain, I scrambled on all fours to my brother’s bedside.

I saw Liam’s body begin to convulse, his face turning purplish-blue.

“Doctor! Someone, quickly!”

I frantically pressed the emergency bell above his bed, but there was no response.

I rushed out of the ward, screaming in the empty hallway, but no one answered.

I ran to the elevator, pressing the down button frantically, but the elevator was locked on the first floor.

It was Dominic’s warning to me!

He’d cleared out the entire floor, locking down every escape route.

He was using my brother’s life to punish my defiance.

I rushed to the stairwell, tumbling and scrambling down the stairs.

I fell countless times, my knees and elbows scraped raw, but I felt no pain.

When I finally returned to the ward with doctors and nurses, it was too late.

The searing flatline on the monitor announced Liam’s death.

I looked at the young boy on the bed, his body lifeless, his face forever eighteen, unable to shed a single tear.

The pain in my heart was so extreme it had turned to numbness.

I regretted it.

Not regretting loving Dominic, but regretting ever meeting him.

If I could go back, I wished I had just watched him die in that alley, beaten to death before my very eyes.