Chapter 4
Half an hour later, the performance began.
On stage, Lillian twirled in a flowing Lillian dress, her movements graceful and ethereal like a true swan.
Each spin drew thunderous applause. Each backward glance made Leonard’s gaze burn hotter with
admiration.
Evelyn sat in the audience, catching a glimpse of his side profile-so focused, so transfixed. The light flickering in his eyes was something she had never received from him. Not once.
Only then did she realize how completely, absurdly wrong she had been.
Leonard had always loved women like Lillian-dazzling, radiant, center-stage. Not someone like her, the “dutiful wife” who spent her days by the stove.
In her last life, she tried so hard to please him-cooking what he liked, ironing his uniform to perfection, even silencing her laughter just because he said he preferred quiet.
She had forced herself into the mold of the perfect wife-softened every edge of her character-only to be met with indifference. Not even a passing glance.
But what Leonard would never understand was that an Evelyn who didn’t love him could also shine-so
brightly that no one could look away.
On stage, Lillian was attempting a complex solo spin. Just as she was about to finish-
“Ah!”
A sharp, gut-wrenching scream tore through the theater.
Lillian collapsed like a swan with broken wings. Blood seeped through her pristine dress.
The audience erupted into chaos.
“Oh my God! She’s bleeding so much!” someone screamed.
Leonard leapt to his feet, sprinted onto the stage, and scooped Lillian into his arms, bolting toward the exit.
At the door, he suddenly turned, his gaze cold as a blade slicing straight through Evelyn.
“Come with us. You share a blood type-if she needs a transfusion, you’ll have to step in.”
Evelyn stood frozen, a loud ringing in her ears.
When she’d nearly bled to death, he had refused to let Lillian donate-said her blood was too precious. But
now that the roles were reversed, Evelyn had become his disposable blood bag.
And still… she followed.
Not for him. For herself.
Because only when Lillian lived could this absurd marriage finally, completely end.
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At the hospital, Lillian was rushed into emergency surgery.
Soon after, the surgeon stepped out. “She’s out of danger. But…”
He frowned. “There were needles hidden in her dance shoes. If any had gone a bit deeper, her feet would’ve been permanently damaged.”
Leonard’s face darkened instantly. “Find out who did it,” he snapped at a nearby officer. “I don’t care what it
takes.”
When Lillian was wheeled out, she was sobbing. “Who would do this to me? Who could be so cruel?”
Leonard gently took her hand, his voice soft for the first time all night. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you justice.”
Minutes later, a disheveled young man was dragged in.
“Captain, we found him!”
Leonard’s eyes were like knives. His voice cut through the room like ice. “Why did you hurt Lillian?”
The man trembled and fell to his knees. “It-it wasn’t me! Someone paid me a hundred dollars to put the needles in her shoes!”
“Who?” Leonard asked, voice turning lethal.
The man’s eyes darted around. Then suddenly, he pointed straight at Evelyn. “It was her! She said she wanted Lillian ruined-said she never wanted her to dance again!”
Evelyn felt the world tilt. Her pupils constricted as she gasped, “You liar! I don’t even know you!”
Right on cue, Lillian burst into tears and clung to Leonard’s arm. “Just because you got jealous over some flowers, you’d go this far? Evelyn, how could you be so vicious?”
“I didn’t do it!” Evelyn’s voice cracked. “Leonard, please-just this once, believe me.”
But his eyes were turning colder by the second. He looked at her like she was a stranger.
Then he turned to Lillian. “If she did this to you… how do you want her punished? Whatever you say, I’ll make it happen.”
Lillian bit her lip, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Then break her legs. Just like mine were almost ruined. I never want to feel that kind of fear again.”
Evelyn went numb. It felt like falling into a frozen lake.
She looked at them-this golden couple-and couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Leonard! I swear it wasn’t me! How can you believe a random man over me?!”
Leonard didn’t even glance at her.
“Break her legs,” he ordered the guards.
“Ah-!”
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The pain came like a tidal wave. Evelyn bit down so hard she nearly split her tongue-refusing to scream.
The sound of bone cracking echoed in the room. Her vision went black as sweat soaked her dress.
Just before passing out, she saw Leonard gently wiping Lillian’s tears.
He didn’t even look in her direction.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Leonard decided even that punishment wasn’t enough. He ordered her thrown into the hospital’s walk-in freezer.
At minus F°60, she curled up in the corner, her body bruised and trembling from the bitter cold.
By the time the doctors pulled her out, she was barely alive.
They reset her bones without anesthesia. The pain was blinding.
When she finally woke, Leonard was standing over her, expressionless. “Does it hurt?”
Her lips were cracked and bloody. She couldn’t speak. Only her eyes screamed their silent question-How could you?
“If it hurts,” he said coldly, “then maybe you’ll think twice before ever hurting Lillian again.”
“I got the best orthopedic surgeon in the hospital to fix your legs. You should be grateful.”
With that, he turned and left. Didn’t even bother to look back.
Evelyn shut her eyes, tears streaming silently down her cheeks.
Just then, the door burst open. A staffer from City Hall rushed in, waving papers.
“Ms. Hart! We’ve finally found you. We need your signature to finish processing your mandatory divorce
application!”
Leonard spun around, stunned. “What application?!”
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