Chapter 1
“You’re finally awake! I’ll call the family doctor!”
Julian’s sister, Elara Harrington, immediately sprang from the chair, rushing out to usher a team of doctors into my room.
“Skylar Xu is our Harrington family’s treasure! Make sure you check her thoroughly!”
I lay there like a fish on a chopping block, pinned to the bed, letting them poke and prod.
Just answering a few robotic questions confirmed I was mostly fine.
As they left, I overheard someone sigh softly:
“Treasure? More like a cash cow, if you ask me.”
I looked down at the countless scars, old and new, etched onto my body from years of intense training.
Even if they saw them, they never once asked if I was in pain or if I was tired.
The only thing they ever cared about was whether my performance on the ice could generate more income for the Harrington family.
“Elara, I’ve done everything you asked. Can I leave now?”
She stared at me, surprised.
“Why the sudden urge to leave?”
My gaze dimmed as I shifted my eyes from her face to the window.
Soon, her secretary rushed in, breathless, reporting everything that had happened during the competition.
Listening to him, she took a deep breath, her voice low and stern as she gave an order:
“Bring Julian to me!”
The usually decisive businesswoman, after hearing the full story, seemed to feel a pang of compassion.
Pity, regret, and a touch of helplessness mingled in her gaze as she looked at me.
“I’m so sorry, Sky. I thought he’d settle down once he’d had his fun. I never imagined he’d let some outside woman hurt you…”
I shook my head.
“It’s fine. It was my obligation to repay their kindness. Once it’s fully paid, please let me go.”
My phone rang at an inconvenient moment. I answered, and a voice, arrogant yet deceptively sweet, came through the line:
“Skylar Xu, you’re 27 now. It’s time for you to step down.”
“You should thank me. That cut was merciful; I didn’t aim for your face, but it’s enough to end your glory days.”
“Whether it’s the Ice Princess or Julian Harrington’s wife, that position will finally be mine!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she let out a delicate giggle and quickly hung up.
I lifted my head and met Elara’s gaze. The unspoken understanding between adults kept us silent.
Recalling Tiffany’s words, I almost wanted to laugh.
Did she really think being Julian’s wife was as glamorous as it seemed?
Learning how to discreetly handle the women Julian grew bored of.
Knowing how to deal with those who would threaten suicide to demand legitimacy.
These were my mandatory lessons. From clumsy fear and cluelessness at the start, I had evolved into someone who handled it with practiced ease.
Outsiders only saw my calm exterior, unaware it was the result of five years of emotional attrition.
Five years that had mercilessly tortured a vibrant, beating heart until it barely clung to life.
Perhaps it was a woman’s empathy, but Elara didn’t try to persuade me to stay. She sighed deeply.
“The doctor said you injured your head, and it might cause stress-induced memory loss.”
“You need to avoid strenuous exercise and excessive fatigue for a while.”
“Once you’ve recovered, I’ll help you get a divorce and send you abroad.”
“As for Celeste Johnson, I don’t want to hear that name from outsiders ever again.”
She was warning me, subtly telling me not to leak the old scandal.
I softly replied, “I know.”
My family was poor when I was little, but I was discovered to have a talent for figure skating.
The Harrington family covered the substantial cost.
The price of accepting their sponsorship was marrying Julian Harrington.
To win the Grand Slam and help launch Harrington Sports’ brand.
Originally, this kind of good fortune wouldn’t have fallen to me.
Julian Harrington had a long-term girlfriend, Celeste Johnson, who he’d grown up with.
But then Celeste cheated on him with Julian’s brother-in-law.
Elara caught them in bed. She didn’t want this incident to ruin the relationship between her and her brother.
So she found some random excuse to divorce and sent Celeste abroad.
To completely sever this toxic connection, she even went as far as to drug Julian and me, ensuring we ended up in bed.
Unexpectedly, Julian agreed to marry me without any fuss.
When we first got married, I had just graduated, at an age when my heart was easily stirred.
Plus, I’d secretly admired Julian for a long time, so marrying him felt like a dream.
During that time, besides training, I would carefully inquire about Julian’s preferences.
I knew the staff looked down on me, thinking a country girl like me wasn’t worthy of their young master.
But I liked Julian. Even enduring their cold stares and impatience,
I’d brazenly ask them to teach me how to make Julian’s favorite dishes and his preferred soups.
I meticulously remembered he disliked spicy food, loved sweets, preferred plain, understated clothes that made him seem composed.
Even for water, he liked…
What temperature was it again? I suddenly couldn’t recall.
I shook my head, but it didn’t help; instead, it triggered a headache, making me gasp.
Elara looked worried and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’ll only stay for one more week at most.”
Because in one week, I would be joining Team E, becoming their youngest-ever head coach for figure skating.
She nodded her agreement.
Before sleeping that night, I felt a faint blank spot in my memory, specifically about Julian.
I tried hard to recall it, but it wouldn’t come back.
Instead, it only brought on palpitations.
It didn’t matter. Let it be forgotten.
From the moment he started bringing various women home, being intimate with them right in front of me.
Whispering sweet nothings, entwined with them on the very bed we shared on our wedding night.
I should have given up on him then, instead of lowering my standards, endlessly tolerating him.
He knew I was allergic to smoke, yet after every session, he’d light a cigarette and blow the smoke in my face.
He’d mock me in a contemptuous tone:
“The moment you worked so hard to climb into my bed, and said all those bad things about Celeste in front of my sister, you should have foreseen this outcome.”
“Skylar Xu got rid of Celeste Johnson, taking her place like a homewrecker. So you should know that after marriage, there will be other ‘Skylars’ who will get rid of you in the same way.”
“Do their actions on my body look familiar to you?”
“Are they just like the night you begged me for intimacy?”
“If so, you’re practically their mentor.”
He suddenly leaned close, the smoke from his nostrils stinging my eyes, making tears stream down my face.
He clasped the back of my neck, a warning in his grip.
“No matter how many I’ve slept with, none of them feel like you did that night.”
“Why don’t you personally teach them a few tricks, so they can please me better?”
“Or perhaps…”
He narrowed his eyes, looking at me like a predator about to bite my neck.
His gaze sent a shiver down my spine, an indescribable emotion swelling within me.
His hand expertly found my sensitive spots, leaving me utterly paralyzed.
“Is your body’s sensitivity and softness the result of all that scandalous figure skating practice?”
I stared at him, wide-eyed in disbelief, unable to believe those words came from his mouth.
In that moment, the romanticized image of him I’d held since childhood shattered into a million pieces.
I saw the ugliest, most primitive state of a man in him: vulgar and perverse.
I couldn’t bear it any longer. Tears welled in my eyes, my nails digging into his arm.
“Julian Harrington, you can say whatever you want about me, but don’t you dare desecrate the sport of figure skating…”
Amidst a whirlwind of thoughts, my pillow grew damp, my wet hair sticking to my cheeks.
It was itchy, and a little painful.
Drowsiness prevented me from discerning whether the pain came from my face or from the depths of my heart…
I just felt certain memories drifting further and further away…