Chapter 4

Gideon didn't come home all evening.

I returned to my room and tore off the calendar on the wall.

After tonight, two more days. Just two more days and I could leave this place.

Lying on a bed less than a meter wide, I fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, a disturbance woke me.

I opened my eyes. A dark figure was straddling me, clawing at my clothes.

I screamed and instinctively pushed him away, running for the door.

But I discovered the door was locked.

In the cramped space, I had nowhere to escape.

In my panic, I hit the light switch. The room brightened.

And I finally saw the face of the person before me.

"Seth!"

"So you found me out."

He advanced on me step by step, his eyes filled with pathological madness.

Past experiences replayed vividly, like a dull knife scraping across my heart. I frantically pounded on the door for help.

But received no response.

Seth didn't seem in a hurry either. He said leisurely, "I'd advise you not to waste your energy. I sent everyone away. Your Gideon is out on a sweet date with the mayor's daughter right now."

"What do you want?"

I forced myself to stay calm.

"What do I want?"

He suddenly grabbed me and threw me onto the bed.

The forceful impact made me unable to dodge. My head slammed hard against the wooden bed frame. Dizziness.

My clothes were torn to shreds.

Without any foreplay or preparation, he violently forced his way in.

Tearing pain struck.

Along with the crazed, satisfied smile on his face, tears of agony streamed from my eyes.

His expression twisted. "I've liked you for so many years—why wouldn't you even look at me? How is it? Aren't I so much better than Gideon?"

"At least I haven't dated as many girlfriends as him."

"From beginning to end, I've only ever liked you."

"Why don't you just be with me?"

His eyes were bloodshot, frighteningly insane.

The pain in my body became unbearable. I used all my strength to kick him away.

I rushed to grab my phone from the table.

My first instinct was to call Gideon.

Seth didn't seem in a hurry to stop me. He pulled me back again.

His heavy body pressed down on me.

Squeezing out what little air remained in my body.

I could barely breathe.

At the same time, the mechanical voice announcing no answer came through the phone.

Seth laughed. He leaned down close to my ear. "Want to know the truth? He's the one who sent me here tonight."

"Otherwise, how do you think I got in without any obstacles?"

His casual words landed in my ear.

But they felt like a heavy stone pressing on my chest.

Suffocating. I could barely breathe.

Tears kept streaming from my eyes. I bit my teeth hard and stubbornly called again and again.

But still no answer.

Until I don't know which attempt, the call connected.

But what came through was an indescribable sound.

"Gideon, gentle~ It hurts~"

"Hello."

Gideon's panting voice came through.

I hung up in a panic, no longer able to muster any strength to struggle.

I fell back heavily.

I covered my eyes, already blurred with tears.

Letting the pain roam freely over my body.

Penetrating my entire being.

Seth's greasy hands pathologically rubbed my skin.

Until it reddened. Until it broke.

He suddenly grabbed my throat, repeating over and over, "From the first moment I saw you, I fell for you. Why wouldn't you look at me even once? Why did you insist on dating that poor nobody Gideon?"

"Let me tell you the truth—if Gideon hadn't sabotaged things behind the scenes, the Sullivan family wouldn't have fallen so quickly."

"And your father—do you think he killed himself in prison for no reason?"

I froze, slowly moving my hands away.

My blurred vision focused on the person before me.

His face was twisted. "It's all thanks to Gideon! If he hadn't made a special trip to the prison to threaten your father with your future, your father wouldn't have killed himself."

What!

Those words were like a heavy hammer striking my spine.

With this, my last shred of hope in Gideon collapsed.

The tiny bit of strength supporting my mental world was pulled away.

I shook my head mechanically. "No... impossible."

"This has been an open secret in our circle for a long time. You're the only one who's been kept in the dark."

I remembered the slightly guilty expression Gideon showed whenever my father was mentioned.

Instantly, I felt like I was plunging into an abyss.