Chapter 2

Shuheng sat among them with his legs crossed and lit a cigarette. Smoke blurred his handsome, aristocratic face.

“I was only playing with her at first. But she’s sacrificed so much for me. And she gave me Tangtang… I suppose I’ve grown a little fond of her.”

It was as though thunder had exploded beside Mianwu’s ears. Blood rushed to her head.

Seven years earlier, she had graduated from Jingbei High School with an acceptance letter from Qing University. She’d thought she could finally escape the bullying.

Then a classmate had come running. “Manqi and the others have cornered Shuheng! They’re going to break his legs!”

Her ears ringing, Mianwu had rushed out and thrown herself over him.

The club had struck her leg. She’d heard the bone crack.

Manqi frowned and moved to strike again, but police officers surrounded them.

“You called the police?” Manqi stared at her in disbelief. “Fine. Just wait. I’ll make you regret it.”

She’d kept her promise.

No hospital dared treat Mianwu’s leg. The broken bones had healed out of alignment, leaving it deformed. Her acceptance letter, the piece of paper that had held all her hopes, had been torn to shreds. Her future crushed, she’d survived on odd jobs.

Shuheng had once held her and asked, “Have you ever regretted it?”

Exhausted and utterly hopeless, she’d still answered, “No.”

Her parents, both police officers killed in the line of duty, had taught her to stand up against injustice and protect the people she loved.

She had done that. She didn’t regret it.

He’d watched her for a long time, then sighed. “Such a fool.”

“What?” She’d thought she’d misheard him.

“I said… marry me. I’ll protect you from now on.”

Married life had still been hard. Without qualifications, finding work was difficult. They lived cramped together in a tiny, shabby rental. But with two souls to keep each other warm, even that life had seemed bearable.

Eventually, Manqi appeared to grow bored and stopped tormenting them. Things improved. They had a daughter, bright and considerate and beautiful.

Everything had seemed to be getting better.

Then their daughter was diagnosed with leukemia.

They’d frantically scraped together money for treatment. It was never enough. When Mianwu had run out of options, Manqi had offered to pay her to be her punching bag.

She’d agreed.

The woman who had once refused to bow to power had let them break her. She’d endured every humiliation so Shuheng would have less to carry, so Tangtang might have a chance to live.

And now she was learning that he had lied to her from the very beginning?

She shook all over. She wanted to burst inside, grab his collar, and demand to know why. Why had he deceived her? Why had he driven her to this?

Then she heard him speak again.

“If she stays stupid and never finds out, I won’t abandon her. I’ll take care of Tangtang’s illness, too.”

Someone asked, “What if she finds out and makes trouble?”

Shuheng glanced at him. His voice was cold. “The Huo family won’t tolerate that kind of scandal. Neither she nor Tangtang would survive it.”

Mianwu stopped dead.

She could disregard her own life. She couldn’t disregard her daughter’s.

Shuheng heard a sound and turned, frowning. “Mianwu?”

He froze. A rare flicker of alarm crossed his eyes. “What did you hear?”

Her nails dug into her palms. “Nothing. I just got back.”

His relief was obvious. He came over and put his arms around her.

“These are my friends. They’ve helped me raise enough for Tangtang’s treatment. She can have her operation in two weeks. Don’t worry anymore. Take care of yourself. Remember, you’re carrying our second baby.”

No.

That baby was already dead. Manqi had beaten it out of her.

Pain seemed to tear through her belly again, deep into her bones. She pushed him away and rushed to the bathroom.

She opened her mouth and vomited blood.