Chapter 3
Wires wrapped around my ankles and wrists. Each time I struggled, the shocks intensified.
“Does it hurt? Not knowing where Melody is hurts me even more,” Marcus whispered in my ear.
Suddenly, the creak of a metal door echoed from deep in the basement.
Then came the sound of a child crying.
“Mommy!”
My blood ran cold instantly.
As Marcus released his grip, I screamed desperately:
“Marcus, don’t hurt her!”
Marcus glanced back at me.
That look in his eyes - it was like he was regarding a corpse.
A minute later, Marcus returned carrying Lily in his arms.
Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, but she still clung to her father trustingly.
“Daddy, why is Mommy tied up like that?” she asked in a small voice.
Marcus gently wiped the tears from her face and replied casually:
“It’s just for fun. Do you want to try it too, sweetheart?”
I shook my head frantically, horrified.
“Please, Marcus, I’m begging you. I’ll die to prove I never hurt Melody. Just please don’t harm our daughter.”
I was beyond desperate.
If my death could buy Lily’s safety, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.
As I prepared to bite my tongue, Marcus suddenly gripped my throat.
“You want to die? Your life isn’t worth much. You’d better stay alive until I find Melody.”
Just then, Marcus’s phone rang.
He set Lily down. She immediately ran to my side, crying softly.
She tried to undo the chains but didn’t know how.
On the phone, one of Marcus’s subordinates was reporting to him.
“Mr. Holt, we’ve found your wife.”
Of course. Melody was the one they called “wife.”
I was just “that woman.”
Marcus found Melody at the airport.
She had been trying to leave the country when his men spotted her.
I was dragged along, still chained, to the airport.
From a few meters away, I watched Marcus embrace Melody tightly, breathing heavily.
“Why do you keep running away? Are you trying to break my heart?” he choked out.
“Melody, you’re taking advantage of how much I care for you.”
Marcus’s voice cracked with emotion, trembling as he spoke.
Melody shrank into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
“But what can I do? I’m the other woman. I’ve come between you and your wife. I’m a sinner.”
“I deserve to die. I deserve to die! I’ve ruined Lily’s family. I was her most trusted teacher, and now she’ll hate me…”
As she spoke, she grabbed the Swiss Army knife from Marcus’s belt and tried to plunge it into her own throat.
In a split second, Marcus grabbed the blade.
Blood dripped from the knife onto Melody’s pure white dress.
Like a red rose blooming, shockingly vivid.
Melody immediately let go of the knife, staring at the man’s deeply cut hand in distress.
“Why…why are you so good to me? I’ve fallen in love with you. What am I supposed to do now?”
Melody wept as she pounded Marcus’s chest, crying so hard she could barely breathe.
Marcus tossed the knife aside and hugged her fiercely, as if trying to fuse her into his very bones.
I watched numbly, my heart too numb to feel anything anymore.
Marcus patiently comforted her. After a while, Melody’s sobs subsided.
She turned to look at me, tears falling again.
“I’m so sorry, Lily’s mom. I never meant for this to happen…”
“Don’t apologize to her,” Marcus interrupted, stroking Melody’s hair tenderly.
“It’s not your fault. I’m the one who forced you into this. I pressured you. My Melody is the kindest girl in the world.”
“Melody, you’re more important to me than anyone.”
Hearing this, Melody cried even harder.
The two gazed at each other with such passion, the scene looked tragically beautiful.
Marcus reverently kissed Melody’s forehead.
“Be good now. Don’t run off again. Stay by my side.”
Melody nodded weakly.
But she hadn’t eaten properly, and the stress caused her blood sugar to crash. She suddenly fainted in his arms.
Panicked, Marcus lifted her up, hands shaking.
He rushed off with her in his arms.
As he passed by me, he shot me a vicious glare.
That look - as if I were his mortal enemy.