My weddings to Seraphina always ended in disaster. The first time, my drink was spiked with rat poison. I had a seizure on the spot, becoming the laughingstock of high society. The second time, I was stabbed three times at the altar. To this day, I still have to wear a urostomy bag. The third time, an SUV plowed into the wedding venue, crushing my tibia and ending my racing career for good. ... And every single one of these "accidents" was, without exception, the handiwork of Seraphina's mentally challenged childhood friend, Mason. Whenever I showed a flicker of anger or hurt, she was always the first to scold me. "Mason was injured saving my life. He has the mind of a six-year-old. Can you please stop picking on a child?" This time, Mason simply set the chapel on fire. I threw myself over Seraphina to shield her, and my entire body was covered in horrific burns. Seraphina stayed by my side for a whole month. But as I was being discharged, I overheard her talking to a doctor friend. "Just prescribe him whatever. Don't let him heal too quickly." Her friend was stunned. "But he was this badly injured trying to save you." Seraphina cut her off. "His sacrifice is nothing compared to Mason's." "I just can't stand seeing him bully Mason. He caused Mason to burn his hand, so he deserves to be punished." Her friend gasped. "And... the other times?" Seraphina answered without a second thought. "I taught Mason how to do all of it. His mind is permanently stuck at age six. I have to teach him how to fight back, how to protect himself." My breath hitched. All this time, all my suffering... had been a gift from the woman I loved most. If that's the case, then I'll just leave. 1 As I turned to walk away, the woman continued, savoring her words. "Julian made Mason drink expired milk, giving him food poisoning until he was foaming at the mouth. So I taught Mason how to drug him, to humiliate him in public, too." "He caused Mason to get a small cut that bled, so I made sure he felt that pain a thousand times over." "He was always showing off his race cars in front of Mason, making him feel inferior. So I made sure he could never be a race car driver again." My fists clenched, my eyes burning red. Her friend sighed. "If you don't love him anymore, why do you keep trying to marry him?" Seraphina's tone turned weary. "He sold his house to help me start my company, and he's been with me for so many years. I can't be too cruel." "But this is the last time. Once I've calmed Mason down, I'll take Julian abroad for the wedding. It's the least I can do to give him some closure." I don't remember how I left. When I finally snapped out of my daze, the sky was dark. A few voice messages from Seraphina were on my phone. "Julian, you're a grown man. Are you seriously playing the disappearing act?" "Can you stop this? I've been looking for you all day. Come home." I exited the chat and saw a post from a mutual friend. It was a picture of Seraphina and Mason, clearly having spent the entire day at Disneyland. I was sitting on a bench right outside the hospital. If she had really been looking for me, how could she not have found me? A cold night wind blew past, and a deep, relentless ache throbbed in my amputated leg. I suddenly remembered the first month after the amputation. I was a wreck, completely broken. Seraphina would kiss my stump countless times, whispering tender promises. "Julian, from now on, I'll be your crutch." To appease my anger at Mason, she took the blame herself, carving a piece of flesh from her own leg right in front of me. I thought she loved me. How else could she cry before I did whenever I felt the searing pain of a phantom limb? She even established a dedicated research team to design my prosthetic leg. She set up a charity foundation in my name, all to help me get back on my feet. But now I know. All that sweet, tender care was laced with a thousand calculated deceptions. Just then, a notification popped up on my phone: ticket purchase successful. A small measure of calm settled over me. I looked up to see fireworks exploding in the night sky, spelling out Mason's name in glittering sparks. The light was blindingly bright. My back, scarred and burned from the fire, began to ache with a phantom pain. I remembered then. Today was Mason's birthday. If it weren't for the fact that at his birthday party last year, he'd "playfully" pushed me down a flight of stairs, giving me a concussion and making me miss the most important race of my life, I wouldn't have remembered this day so vividly. It was past midnight when I got home. Sounds of laughter and splashing came from the bathroom. The maid looked at me nervously. "Mr. Mason won't let us touch him. The madam is helping him bathe." I froze, struck by lightning. No wonder I would wake up in the hospital in the middle of the night to find Seraphina gone for hours. I fought down the volcanic rage threatening to erupt from my chest, forcing myself not to imagine the intimate scene unfolding behind that door. But then I heard Mason's happy shout from inside. "I love taking a bath with my big sister!" It was followed by a muffled grunt from Seraphina, her voice strained with restraint. "Be good, Mason. This part of you is only for your sister and the maids to see. Don't let anyone else touch you here, understand?" "And you can't touch my... my chest, either." Mason planted a loud, wet kiss on Seraphina's cheek. She let out a soft laugh. The sound of running water resumed. I walked into the bedroom, and what I saw there nearly drove me insane. 2 My parents' photos, the ones I kept hidden in the closet, were now pinned to the wall. Countless darts punctured their faces. They were the last pictures I had of them. My fingers trembled as I pulled out the darts. I clutched the mutilated photos to my chest and sobbed. Meanwhile, the two in the bathroom were still playing. I shot to my feet and stormed to the bathroom door. Just then, Seraphina emerged, helping a naked Mason out. His body was pressed tightly against hers. The moment he saw me, he clapped his hands and yelled, "The cripple's back!" I glared at him, the air sucked from my lungs. Before I could say a word, Seraphina spoke first. "Mason has the mind of a child. I was just helping him with his bath. There's no need to look at us like that." She turned and gently laid Mason on the bed. With practiced ease, she dried his body and helped him into his pajamas. She attended to every detail, even applying his lotion herself. Mason looked at me with smug pride and pouted. "Sister promised she'd only ever bathe me, right?" Seraphina smiled without hesitation. "Yes, I promised." I stood there, clutching the ruined photos, a crushing weight settling on my chest. No wonder when I fell and passed out in the hospital bathroom, she would rather call a nurse than come in and help me herself. She was keeping a promise to Mason. She cared so much about her promise to him, but she'd conveniently forgotten the one she made to me ten years ago, in that tiny, rundown apartment. She'd sworn through her tears that she would love me with her life. Standing behind them, my voice was a low murmur. "Seraphina, let's get a divorce." The room fell silent. After a long moment, Seraphina tucked Mason into bed. She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "There, you go to sleep now." Then, she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room. The force of her grip tore open the freshly scabbed wounds on my body. She shoved me against the wall in the dim hallway. "Julian, I've had a long day. Don't start this now." I met her eyes, a sarcastic smile playing on my lips. "Oh? Is that because you were looking for me all day?" Seraphina looked away, her voice a muddled attempt at placating me. "Julian, I've already made the wedding arrangements. We'll go abroad this time, without Mason. There won't be any more accidents." "Don't be angry, okay?" She reached for my hand but froze, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly before she quickly pulled away. I understood instantly. She had felt my scars. She was repulsed by the hideous, worm-like ridges of burned flesh on my skin. Seeing the tears welling in my eyes, a look of pity crossed her face. She started to pull me into an embrace... But a sudden cry from Mason echoed from the bedroom. Seraphina immediately spun around and rushed back in, knocking me to the floor in her haste. She didn't even notice. I sat there on the cold floor and started to laugh, a low, hollow sound. I pulled out my phone and called my lawyer. "Draw up the divorce papers for me. And I want you to sell all of my shares in Pierce Industries to Seraphina's biggest rival." A bitter, ironic laugh escaped my lips. "Roxanne Hawthorne... I think she's going to love this little gift." Through the crack in the door, I saw Seraphina coaxing Mason to sleep, right there on the bed with him. In the dim light, I thought I saw a flash of a triumphant, mocking smile on Mason's face. A terrifying possibility struck me. I called for the maid and asked her to pull up the security footage. I was told the cameras were broken. My brow furrowed. "Where are my clothes and luggage?" I asked. The maid looked uneasy. "Mr. Mason... burned them." As if afraid of my reaction, she quickly added, "The madam said to let him. For fun." The knot of rage in my chest tightened, my fingers curling into fists. I went to the guest room and didn't fall asleep until three in the morning. I hadn't been asleep for long when I was jolted awake by hot milk splashing across my face. Mason lunged at me, his fists raining down on my body. "You damned cripple! This is my house! Get out!" I gasped in pain, pushing myself up and slapping him hard across the face. The next second, a searing sting exploded on my own cheek. 3 Seraphina stared at her hand, stunned. When she met my cold, resolute gaze, a flicker of panic crossed her face. "Julian, I didn't mean to—" Mason burst into loud, theatrical sobs, pointing an accusing finger at me. "Sister, the bad man hit me! It hurts! I need kisses to make it better!" Seraphina's expression immediately hardened. She turned, cupped Mason's face in her hands, and gently blew on his cheek. "Shh, it's okay, Mason. Sister will kiss it and make the pain go away." Then, she looked at me. "Apologize." Mason lifted his chin smugly. "Did you hear that? Seraphina told you to apologize to me!" In that moment, I saw it clearly in his eyes—the undisguised hatred and mockery. That wasn't the look of someone with the mental capacity of a six-year-old. It was the same look of jealous resentment he used to give me back when he was pathetically trailing after Seraphina and me. Seraphina had always complained to me about Mason's obsessive advances. But after the boating accident, after he suffered a severe brain injury while "saving" her, her attitude did a complete one-eighty. No matter what Mason did, she demanded that I endure it. But my parents had also died in that accident. They gave their life jackets to Seraphina and Mason so she could get back to me, and then they were swept away by the waves, their bodies never recovered. Mason lost his memory. I lost my parents. And now, it seemed, I was about to lose the woman I loved, too. I stared defiantly into Seraphina's eyes. "Not happening." Mason's wails grew louder. "Sister, he's mean!" Seraphina's eyes darkened. She patiently soothed him, "It's okay, it's okay, Mason, don't cry." "How do you want to punish the bad man? Sister will help you, okay?" With that, she dropped the gentle facade, her voice laced with impatience. "Julian, I'm giving you one last chance. Apologize to Mason!" A sarcastic smile touched my lips. I lifted my pant leg, revealing the cold metal of my prosthetic. I lifted my shirt, exposing the urostomy bag. I pulled down my scarf, showing the gnarled, hideous scar on my neck. My eyes were red as I asked in a dead, flat voice, "Seraphina, is this not enough?" "Punish me? For what? What exactly did I do wrong?" A look of shock flashed across Seraphina's face. She quickly averted her gaze, unable to meet mine. But a moment later, her eyes darted back to my face, searching for something. Finally, she said stiffly, "Mason is just a child. He was only playing." "Do you really need to hold a grudge over it?" "Besides, it's not like I didn't compensate you. You were always happy to accept the company shares, weren't you?" There it was again. Every time Mason hurt me, she told me not to pick on a "child." Then she would throw money at me. Not as compensation, but as a handout. A dismissal. If I hadn't overheard her confession, I might have gone on believing I was the petty one. Seeing the raw pain in my eyes, Seraphina's breathing quickened. She sighed, about to step forward to comfort me. But Mason immediately started scrambling towards the window. "If sister won't get revenge for me, then I don't like sister anymore!" "I'm going to find Mommy and Daddy!" Seraphina's face went white with terror, her voice shaking. "Mason, get down from there! Now!" Her eyes were red with panic. "Get down, and I'll promise you anything!" Mason pointed at me. "I want to ride the doggy! And I want to hear the doggy bark!" Seraphina understood immediately. "Fine," she agreed instantly. "I'll make him be a doggy for you to ride. Just please, get down." She then turned to me, her expression matter-of-fact. "What are you still standing there for? Can't you see Mason is about to kill himself?" "Get on the floor. We need to calm him down." The word "dog" sent an uncontrollable tremor through my body. 4 Vivid images of my childhood bullies flashed through my mind. Their voices, calling me a dog, forcing me to crawl on the ground, echoed from the depths of my memory, a battering ram against my heart. The suffocating feeling was so intense I didn't even notice my fingernails digging into my palms, drawing blood. After ten years together, Seraphina knew better than anyone where the scars on my wrists came from. Every time she touched them, her eyes would well up with tears, and she would swear that the people who had bullied me would pay. But now, she had become one of them. When I didn't move, she called for the bodyguards. Her voice was merciless. "Julian, I gave you a chance." "Don't blame me for being cruel." At her signal, a bodyguard kicked me hard in my good knee. With a sickening thud, I collapsed to the ground. I struggled violently, but Seraphina leaned in close, her voice a cold, low whisper in my ear. "Julian, just play along. We're just appeasing Mason." My eyes blazed as I gritted out, "Seraphina, divorce! I want a divorce!" She grabbed my chin, her grip like steel. "Julian, I've been too soft on you all these years. You live in my house, eat my food. It's time you learned your place." "Divorce me? Don't forget, your grandmother is in that expensive nursing home. And I'm the one who pays the bills every year." The thought of my grandmother stopped me cold. I went limp, giving up the fight. Seraphina let out a soft chuckle, her fingers tracing my swollen cheek. "That's better, Julian. We're a family. Mason is my savior, which makes him your savior, too." "You should never, ever have laid a hand on him." "And when you do something wrong, there are always consequences." Seraphina instructed the bodyguards to lift Mason onto my back. She even took the leash from Mason's dog and fastened it around my neck. Mason shrieked with delight, whipping my back and yanking my hair. "Crawl!" he screamed. "Crawl!" I don't know how long it went on. From dawn till dusk, I crawled in circles, my knees leaving bloody trails on the pristine floor. Mason, seemingly tireless, rode on my back, his laughter echoing through the grand villa. And Seraphina just sat there, watching his smile with a look of utter adoration, a foolish grin on her own face. She even took out her camera, capturing every moment of his "joy." The prosthetic leg ground against my raw flesh, my wounds tore open again, and the urostomy bag broke, filling the air with a foul stench. Black spots danced in my vision. At the brink of exhaustion, I looked at Seraphina and begged, "I'm sorry. It was my fault." "I apologize." But Seraphina remained seated, a regal, distant figure, her gentle smile directed only at Mason. "Mason, are you happy with this punishment?" Mason finally slid off my back. I breathed a sigh of relief. But his next words sent a chill of pure terror through me. "Sister, I forgive the ugly monster!" "As a reward, can he go play with my pet snakes?" Seraphina pinched his cheek affectionately. "Of course. Whatever makes you happy." My eyes widened in disbelief. "Seraphina, I'll die." She replied with chilling nonchalance. "They're pet snakes. Not venomous." I scrambled, trying to crawl away. But I was pinned to the floor. Seraphina gently stroked what little was left of my hair. "Julian, after this, we'll go abroad for our wedding." Mason excitedly had the bodyguards drag me to the temperature-controlled room where he kept his hundreds of snakes. As they shoved me through the door, a manic, triumphant gleam shone in Mason's eyes. He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "You figured it out, didn't you, Julian?" "Tsk. In that case, you can go die." Instantly, the scent of my blood drew countless snakes toward me, their tongues flicking, their bodies coiling around my limbs. Through the crack in the door, I saw Seraphina's silhouette as she led Mason away. I closed my eyes in utter despair... The next morning, Seraphina came downstairs holding two plane tickets, frowning at the empty dining table. She looked at the maid. "Didn't the master get up to make me breakfast?" The maid trembled. "M-Ma'am... isn't he still in the snake room?" Seraphina shot up from her chair, her voice sharp. "What? Didn't I tell you to let him out!" A thick, cold dread began to creep into her heart. The snakes weren't venomous, but the larger pythons... they could eat a person. Just then, her assistant hurried in, a strange look on her face. "Ma'am, Mr. Mason's latest intelligence test results just arrived from the lab." "And... and this is from Mr. Julian. It's a divorce agreement..."
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