Chapter 4
“Grayson,” her voice trembled, “don’t you see what condition I’m in?“]]
She raised her arms, revealing patches of angry red welts. There wasn’t a single spot of normal skin left, and the deep bloody scratches were unbearable to look at.
But after a moment of silence, Grayson remained cold–hearted: “Evelyn hasn’t slept for an entire day. The bracelet must be finished tonight!“]]
“And if I refuse?” Aurora’s eyes reddened, but she had no tears left to shed. “Will you lock me in that room again and let those venomous insects bite me to death?!”
Grayson couldn’t bear to look at her tear–strained face and closed his eyes wearily
“Rory, just bear with it. Once Evelyn fully recovers and I’ve repaid my debt to her, we’ll go back to how we were before.”
His promise delivered, he placed several finger–thick thornbush branches on the nightstand, his demeanor returning to cold detachment. “Remember, if you refuse, the guards will help you. The thorn bracelet is said to be most effective when soaked in human blood.”
With that, the guest room door slammed shut.]]
“Mrs. Hart, don’t waste time,” the guards stated dutifully as they surrounded the bed. “Mr. Hart said you must pull out all the thorns with and each bead must be hand–sanded by you personally.”
That night, Aurora was dragged from her bed by the guards and didn’t close her eyes once.
your fingers.
Her fingers were punctured with bloody holes, the sandpaper turning them into strips of raw flesh. Every movement brought excruciating pain.
Finally, at dawn, Evelyn’s satisfied laugh echoed from the master bedroom: “Grayson, this bracelet really works! My headache disappeared the moment I put it on.“]
Grayson’s tender response followed: “Good. Now sleep, sweetheart. Til stay with you.”
h the urge to laugh
Aurora curled into the corner of her bed, clutching her bloodied fingers as crimson drops stained the sheets. Her eyes burned with t bitterly
Once, when a rose thorn had pricked her finger and drawn a single drop of blund, Grayson had been devastated with worry. Now, he could take a bracelet stained with her blood and use it to make another woman happy
Grayson….how dare you say we’ll go back to how we were?
How could we ever be the same?]
My love for you is completely exhausted ||
The next day, with Evelyn sleeping soundly thanks to the bracelet, she was in high spirits and took Grayson out for a day trip
Aurora only learned about their trip to Greece to watch the sunset through Evelyn’s Instagram posts.
The photo showed Santorini’s white walls, with Evelyn’s hand firmly held in Grayson’s long fingers. The caption read: “In the tenth year of loving you, my dream finally comes true…
Staring at the photo, Aurora felt a hollowness in her chest like wind blowing through an empty space, yet strangely, she no longer felt pain.
She quietly removed the wedding ring from her finger, then went to the garden and uprooted every single bellflower, cutting them into pieces and throwing them into the trash
After this, she scheduled a post on her hate–filled account to publish in one month. She wrote: “By the time this letter is published, I will likely be gone…”
That farewell letter took her a very long time to write. As she typed the final period, the sound of a car suddenly echoed through the courtyard, and
Grayson rushed into the mansion.[]
“Why did you destroy the bellflowers, Rory? Weren’t they your favorite? I planted them with my own hands years ago.”
For some reason, his face was unusually pale, with traces of blood seeping through his sleeve.
Aurora looked at him calmly, asking nothing as she closed her laptop with a snap. “The roots were rotting. We should plant something else in the future.”
Hearing her mention a “Tuture, Grayson’s anxiety visibly eased. “Fine, I’ll plant new ones for you later,”
