Chapter 3
With my revelation, Declan stopped pretending.
To raise money for Phoebe, he took nude photos of me while I was sleeping.
The man uploaded these photos online, selling them at a high price.
Soon, my photos spread wildly on the internet.
Everyone thought I was a depraved woman.
My parents, working out of town, were so angered by the news they ended up in the hospital.
Even my workplace, upon finding out, fired me.
While running errands on the street, I felt the stares.
“Isn’t she the one in those photos? So depraved.”
“I have more photos here, five dollars each.”
I couldn’t stand it anymore and finally called the police. Declan stopped pretending after I exposed him.
To raise money for Phoebe, he took nude photos of me while I was asleep and sold them online for a high price.
Soon, my photos were spreading wildly across the internet.
Everyone thought I was a slut.
When my parents, who were working far away, learned about it, they were so angry they ended up in the hospital.
Even my workplace fired me after finding out.
When I walked down the street, I was met with strange looks.
“Isn’t she the one in those photos? So shameless.”
“I have more photos here, five dollars each.”
I couldn’t stand it anymore and finally called the police.
The police handled the situation appropriately.
In the end, Declan managed to gather enough money to cure his first love.
I decided to leave and go somewhere where no one knows me.
I wheeled myself back to the room, quickly packed my things, and took out the divorce agreement I had prepared.
When I handed the agreement to Declan, he was a bit stunned.
“Divorce?”
“Harper, why are you being so unreasonable?”
Lately, he frequently visited the hospital where Phoebe was and often didn’t come home at night.
I stared at the ambiguous red marks on his neck, trying to suppress the bitterness in my heart.
“Let’s divorce.”
“I’ll let you be with Phoebe.”
“Harper, are you sure you want a divorce? Who else would want a cripple like you after we’re divorced?”
He said in a deep voice, almost growling.
“Harper, don’t forget, you were the one who crawled into my bed and forced me to marry you. If it weren’t for you, I could’ve been happy with Cora a long time ago. Now, I’m just catching up with her, why are you so bothered?”
“Get it straight, you ruined the happiness between me and her…”
His voice was full of regret for love lost.
I forced a smile.
“Yes, so now I’m letting you both be together.”
The man, pressed by my persistence, frowned deeply.
“Harper, you’re really hopeless!”
In the end, our deadlock ended with a deafening door slam.
He never signed the divorce agreement.
Four.
In the middle of the night, I was sleeping soundly when I suddenly felt a chill.
I opened my eyes to see Declan staring at me intently.
He probably drank a lot, the overwhelming smell of alcohol was irritating.
I noticed his slightly disheveled hair and reddened eyes.
“Harper…”
“Cora’s condition has relapsed. Just one visit to the arena could save her.”
I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
“Declan, do you still have a conscience? I’m already crippled, and you want my life?”
Before going to sleep, I heard Declan on the phone.
On the other end, a mocking voice said.
“As long as you let that cripple into the arena, I’ll give you ten million.”
“You know, many rich people want to see this show; we’ll definitely make a lot of money.”
Lost in thought, tears streamed down Declan’s face as he knelt in front of me.
“I’m sorry, forgive my selfishness, I have to cure Cora…”
I suddenly put on a cold face, letting out a low laugh from deep in my throat.
“No, I won’t do it!”
He wiped his tears, and upon hearing my refusal, his expression changed instantly.
He stared at me despicably, almost ordering with his tone.
“Harper, you have no choice. You harmed Cora, this is all your debt to repay!”
I suddenly panicked.
While I was off guard, he used sedatives to cover my mouth and nose.
When I woke up, I was already thrown into the beast arena.
The circular cage, made of iron bars, reeked of a metallic smell.
Looking through the bars, I saw the well-dressed rich people around.
They held delicate wine glasses, gently swirling them.
When they made eye contact with me, they wore an amused smile.
“Today will be a good show, I hear the main character is the wife of a cuckold…”
“And the highlight is, this fight was arranged by the cuckold for his lover…”
Laughter surrounded me.
I panted heavily, watching my surroundings warily.
Suddenly, I saw Declan on the platform.
His expression was unreadable; I couldn’t tell what he was feeling.
“Your wife is about to be torn into pieces by beasts, don’t you feel sorry?”
On the platform, Declan glanced at me with disdain.
“I’ll do anything for Cora!”
“And she’s in this mess because of her own sins.”
My eyes stung, but I couldn’t cry anymore.
I knew my situation was dangerous at this moment.
With a gunshot, several large, muscular tigers and leopards were released into the cage.
Before I could react, a tiger knocked me to the ground.
Pain shot through me, seeing stars, as I instinctively reached for my forehead.
My hand was sticky, obviously bleeding…
Declan on the platform seemed stunned for a moment.
But soon, he regained his composure, sneering coldly at me.
“Fight it, don’t let everyone down!”
To survive, I had to fight the beasts with all my strength.
There were gasps from the platform.
“This is the price of marrying the wrong man.”
My body and mind hurt.
Hurting so much I couldn’t breathe.
“Release two more beasts.”
The rich people’s eyes sparkled with excitement, seemingly eager for a more bloody scene.
I don’t remember how this farce ended.
Just before I passed out, I heard Declan’s voice from the stands, his eyes red.
He shook the lead man beside him vigorously.
“Bro, if this goes on, she might die…”
“Let’s not cause a death…”
In the end, a young-looking man saved me.
Everyone respectfully called him Mr. Six.
Looking at him, I felt he looked familiar.
In the weak light, I felt dizzy and fell heavily.
Before closing my eyes, I heard many sounds.
There were noisy voices, ambulance sirens, and Declan calling out to me.
Before Declan could reach me, a stranger picked me up and took me away from the scene…
Five.
Since I was rescued, Declan never saw me again.
He finally got a lot of money and saved Phoebe.
But Phoebe decisively abandoned him and got together with someone else.
My colleagues also clarified the situation about me supposedly leaking Phoebe’s photos.
Declan returned home in despair, coming to my room.
He trembled as he approached the table, picking up my things, gently caressing them.
He found a yellowed photo in the desk, touching my face in the photo, tears welled up in his eyes.
This photo, he took it.
When he flipped through my notebook, he realized I had known the truth all along.
The notebook was filled with my hatred.
“The man I loved for five years conspired with others to humiliate me, it hurts so much, he probably never loved me…”
“I hate him so much…”
But flipping back, it was all about my love for him.
“Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, Declan said fruit-flavored mooncakes are delicious, I can make them for him…”
“March 2nd, he was terribly drunk, I felt so sorry for him…”
“Declan is a good person, he helped me over and over… I think, no matter what happens in the future, I won’t regret meeting him…”
Reading this, his tears soaked the paper…
He never imagined that my evaluation of him in my heart was so high.
Compared to Phoebe, I was the one who truly loved him the most.
So, when Declan was drunk, nostalgia overwhelmed him.
Before, whenever he got drunk, I would prepare hangover soup for him and take care of him around the clock.
But now, he was the only lonely figure at home.
Using all his strength, he dialed my number, only to find it was disconnected…
He frantically searched for me on social media, only to discover he had long been blocked by me.
Now, he finally realized I had the courage to leave him.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
He murmured to himself.
“I’m sorry, I misunderstood you, I hurt you.”
“Harper, come back…”