Chapter 4

My dreams were chaotic and terrifying.

When I woke up again, I could distinctly feel that my lower right leg was numb.

In an instant, an overwhelming wave of despair and collapse washed over me. I burst into tears.

Seraphina actually did it! She just destroyed my life!

A person without a leg, let alone a racer, couldn't even be a regular person...

Tears fell onto the bedsheets, and hatred simmered in my heart.

Later, in the middle of the night, as the anesthetic wore off, the phantom pain in my leg was what truly broke me.

It threatened to shatter my very being.

I was drenched in sweat from the agony, gritting my teeth to endure.

My gaze was hollow and cold as I stared at the wall in front of me. For a moment, I even considered ending it all!

"Oh, look who's awake."

Just then, a familiar voice rang out. I hazily lifted my eyes.

Cole pushed the door open and entered.

He shook his head, feigning regret at my appearance, but his voice was full of triumph.

"Liam, look at you now! Seven years and you couldn't even hold onto a woman's heart, and now you're just a cripple. You lost to me in love, and it's the same in racing! You'll never beat me in this lifetime!"

"...What did you say?"

I rasped out, my pain-numbed brain taking a moment to process his words. The next second, I was utterly enraged.

"Get out! Get out! Never show your face here again! You bastards! I won't let you get away with this! I'll kill you! Get out! Get lost!"

Facing my madness, Cole seemed even happier. He even shrugged.

"See! Liam, your wife would do all of this for me! But you're a cripple now, so you probably can't understand how I feel."

"Get out!!"

I ripped the IV needle from the back of my hand, grabbed the medicine bottle, and hurled it. One bottle wasn't enough; I threw pillows, blankets, anything I could get my hands on.

But I overestimated my post-surgery physical condition.

In just a short while, I was gasping for breath, collapsing onto the bed, too much pain in my leg to speak.

Cole, arrogant, continued to mock me.

But as his words poured out, I suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness and numbness.

He was right. I had completely failed.

Was there any chance of turning things around?

In that moment, the breakdown that had amused Cole vanished, replaced only by a cold, empty numbness.

"...Why aren't you talking?! Liam! Say something! Weren't you the wildest before? World's best racer every year, weren't you?! Why are you silent now?!"

Cole froze. My sudden blankness made him angry and frustrated, seeking the superiority he craved.

For the next ten minutes, he repeatedly tried to provoke me.

"Why are you so quiet, you cripple?! Weren't you throwing things at me a moment ago? Who are you putting on this act for now?"

I weakly tossed a pillow at him, my voice weak and pale, gritting my teeth. "Get out!"

As the light pillow hit him, Cole finally found his chance.

The next second, he screamed, pretending to be injured, stumbling backward, speaking in disbelief.

"Liam?! How could you! I was just coming to check on you!"

Just then, the rhythmic click of high heels approached from outside the door.

Hearing his scream, the pace quickened, followed by the sound of Chloe opening the door.

"Cole?! What happened?!"

She looked at the mess on the floor and immediately turned to glare at me.

Seraphina, who arrived shortly after, also froze upon entering the room.

"Cole?! He actually hit you?!"

Seeing the two of them fussing over him with such concern, I curled my lips, a sudden, desolate laugh escaping me.

"Liam! Are you crazy?! Apologize to Cole right now!"

Seraphina, enraged by my laughter, stepped forward and grabbed my arm.

The next moment, disregarding my leg injury, she yanked me off the bed.

"Bow down and apologize to Cole right now!"

Chloe, having helped Cole, stomped her high heel directly onto the bleeding needle mark on the back of my hand. She spoke concisely: "Apologize!"

I lay on the floor, ignoring the pain in my hand.

All I felt was the thick bandage on my amputated leg, after all that jostling, starting to subtly seep blood.

My face turned ghastly pale from the pain.

Seeing my silence, Chloe cursed, grabbed my hair, and forced my head down to kowtow again and again.

"Can't you understand human words?! Apologize to my husband right now!"

They cruelly and humiliatingly made me apologize to Cole, only stopping when I lay on the floor, eyes half-open and barely conscious.

I don't know if it was my imagination, but for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of heartache and hesitation in Seraphina's eyes.

But it didn't matter anymore.

What was done was done.

Whatever my faults, I had received my punishment!

Now, I just wanted to escape them... escape this hell!

0