Chapter 1: She Got Out, and He Still Wouldn’t Let Her Go
Chapter 1: She Got Out, and He Still Wouldn’t Let Her Go
It was raining when Lily walked out of prison.
The oversized sleeves barely wrapped around her frail body. A cold wind cut through the air, and she hugged herself, shivering.
Three years.
She hadn’t expected to make it out alive.
She stumbled along the wall, her movements slow and labored, her legs barely able to support her. Every step, once capable of graceful ballet, now felt like walking on the sharp edge of a blade, a painful reminder of what she had lost.
Just then, a black Cayenne pulled up and blocked her path.
The moment she saw the license plate, her face went pale. Her eyes flickered with a mix of emotions.
The window rolled down, revealing a man’s face–handsome, cold, and emotionless.
“Limping?” Mateo’s gaze swept over her legs, his voice flat and devoid of warmth.
Lily felt a sting in her eyes.
This is the fiancé she had loved for seven whole years.
The same man who personally sent her to prison.
Was he trying to show concern?
But from the very first day in prison, the other inmates had beaten her ruthlessly–said Mateo had paid them to give her “special treatment.”
“Get in.”
He rested one arm lazily on the car window. The tailored suit fit his tall frame perfectly. Everything about him screamed status and cold detachment.
C
If it weren’t for that person’s orders, he wouldn’t have bothered to pick her up himself.
Lily could tell he was already running out of patience with her.
Just like her parents had.
She’d been brought back to the Foster family when she was 14. At first, her parents had felt guilty and wanted to make it up to her.
・
But over time, under the influence of the fake daughter they’d raised for 14 years, they began to drift away.
The day Lily was framed by Eliza at age 21, all the long–suppressed resentment within the Foster family finally exploded.
“Yeah, your sister’s not our biological child–but what did she do wrong? We raised her for years. We brought you back, didn’t we? What more do you
want?”
“Lily, how could you do this to your sister? You didn’t grow up with us, so of course you’re hard to raise. Unlike you, your sister is obedient and sensible.”
What did she do wrong?
Why wouldn’t they believe her? Not even once?
10:16
From His Cell to His Uncle’s Bed
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Chapter 1: She Got Out, and He Still Wouldn’t Let Her Go
“Get in the car!”
Mateo glanced at her legs again, frowning slightly.
A scar stretched across her pale ankle, ugly and crooked like a centipede. It looked like it had been cut by something sharp.
He quickly looked away. “Adam Cross.”
His assistant stepped out of the car. “Miss Foster, Mr. Gates asks that you get in the car.”
Seeing that she still didn’t move, Adam reached out to pull her.
Lily flinched instinctively, squatting down with her arms over her head. Her voice shook. “No–please, don’t hit me…”
Adam froze, shocked. He hadn’t expected her to react like that.
She’d changed so much he barely recognized her.
Lily, before everything changed, was the bright and beloved girl everyone adored.
But now…
The light in her eyes was gone. All that was left was fear and a broken shell.
Three years in prison–how could the once–proud Foster family heiress end up like this?
Adam looked at Mateo, but his face was as calm as ever. Cold. Unreadable.
“Lily, how long do you plan to make me wait? It’s been three years. Hasn’t prison taught you how to behave?”
Lily slowly stood and got into the car, making sure to sit far away from him.
The heater was on, but after getting soaked and hit by the wind, she felt lightheaded.
She tried to hold it back, but still sneezed.
Just then, the car passed over a speed bump. She lost balance and fell forward, landing hard on the mat with one knee.
Mateo had been resting with his eyes closed. At the sound, he snapped them open.
He looked at her. “Lily, you really are pathetic.”
Pathetic?
Lily took a deep breath. His words made the floor mat feel like it was burning. She couldn’t even sit still.
Curling into herself, she whispered, “Sorry. I’ll clean the mat when we get there…”
Before she could finish, Mateo cut her off, voice sharp. “No need. It’s getting thrown out.”
Thrown out?
Because she touched it?
Lily’s lips moved slightly. A bitter look crossed her face.
She turned her head and looked out the window. Her eyes reddened.
She was dirty.
10:16
From His Cell to His Uncle’s Bed
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Chapter 1: She Got Out, and He Still Wouldn’t Let Her Go
In Mateo’s eyes, even the things she touched were dirty and had to be thrown away.
“In your eyes, only Eliza is clean, huh?”
His expression darkened. For once, he got angry. “Don’t you dare mention her. This is your last warning. If you ever go near Eliza again and prison didn’t teach you, I’ll make sure someone else does.”
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