Chapter 5

Fiona POV

Luca's hand froze in midair.

Five years.

He'd personally sent me to that closed school, but did he know what I'd endured there?

Just as he stood frozen in shock, Winona appeared in the living room doorway.

She'd changed into pajamas and draped on a cardigan, walking over gracefully.

Seeing the wounds on my back, she gasped and covered her mouth in surprise.

"Oh my God, Fiona, what happened to your back?"

She didn't wait for Luca to answer before offering her explanation.

"I've heard that some girls hurt themselves to gain sympathy."

She pulled on Luca's arm, her voice gentle.

"Luca, think about it. Fiona was at school the whole time. How could she have gotten such serious injuries? Unless..."

She didn't finish, but the implication was clear enough.

Luca's gaze turned cold again.

"Beyond saving!"

He looked at me, the last trace of warmth vanishing.

"You disgust me!"

He stood up.

"Basement. Two days. No food."

I felt nothing inside.

At school, being locked in dark rooms was routine.

No food was even more common.

I almost found it laughable.

He thought this was punishment. To me, it was relief.

At least for two days I wouldn't have to see him and Winona.

"Okay."

I answered softly, stood up from the floor, and walked toward the basement step by step.

With each step, the wounds on my back tore open. I left a trail of bloody footprints behind me.

Emma came to the basement secretly with a medical kit and a bowl of hot porridge.

It was damp and cold down there, with only one dim light.

"Why didn't you explain?"

Emma cried.

"If Mr. Thorne knew how much you suffered at that school, he'd surely feel sorry for you!"

Feel sorry?

I thought of many years ago.

Back then, Luca would have felt sorry for me.

He once cancelled important plans just to take me to see a movie and make me happy.

When I couldn't sleep, he'd rush back through the night just to tell me a story.

When I was sick, he'd clumsily make soup and nearly burn down the kitchen.

Those days of being cherished were as clear as yesterday.

But now?

He'd pushed me into hell with his own hands, and when I struggled to crawl back, he snuffed out my last hope.

The contrast between memory and reality cut like a knife.

I closed my eyes.

"I'm tired."

She sighed, set down the porridge and medicine, and quietly withdrew.

The door closed.

Darkness surrounded me.

A tear slid down and disappeared into my hair.

In my dream, Luca lifted me high in the air, laughing as he said.

"Our Fiona is the most adorable little princess in the whole world."

When I woke, there was only the cold wall and endless chill.

It's all... in the past now.