My Husband Hurts Me for His Assistant Again: 96 Down, 3 to Go

Every time my sugar daddy husband spent the night at his female assistant’s place,
he would gift me a building. In the two years since our marriage, I had acquired 96
commercial properties scattered throughout the city. It also meant that he had hurt
me 96 times.
When the 97th property deed was handed to me, his assistant, Lauren, immediately
sent me a gloating video. “So what if Nathan gives you money? I’ve got his heart
and body. You may be a supermodel, but you can’t even get your own husband to sleep
with you, can you?”
I didn’t argue with her. Instead, I graciously sent her a set of new Victoria’s
Secret lingerie from my latest runway show. When my husband found out about my
generous gift, he rewarded me by allowing me to accompany him to a high-society
party.
During a party game, Lauren lost three times in a row and was dared to lick whipped
cream off a playboy’s thigh. She smashed a bottle and held it to her neck,
swearing, “Nathan, I’d rather die than let anyone humiliate me like this!”
My usually cold-hearted husband suddenly panicked and begged me to take the
punishment in Lauren’s place. “It’s just licking some cream. I promise I’ll spend
time with you properly after this.”
Everyone was waiting to see me make a fool of myself, but I calmly agreed without
making a fuss. He didn’t know that this was the 97th time he had hurt me. And I no
longer wanted to be his caged bird. I was just waiting to repay the life debt for
saving me, and then we would have no more connection.
“Well, well, looks like the supermodel agreed to lick it after all? Nathan sure
knows how to handle women!”
“What if she doesn’t lick the cream? Are they really going to make Lauren do it?
She’s Nathan’s true love!”
The mocking laughter around me was deafening, and I felt utterly humiliated
standing there. Amidst this nauseating display of arrogance, Nathan crouched in
front of Lauren, carefully placing a Band-Aid on her neck. Then he turned to me
with cold eyes: “Sophia, don’t try anything clever. Lauren’s waiting for you to
finish so we can continue the game.”
Lauren, Lauren… He only cared about Lauren, never once asking if I was willing. He
had completely forgotten that I was his wife. He had also forgotten that just a few
days ago, I had miscarried because of her, and I was barely able to stand here
today.
Seeing me hesitate, someone suddenly pushed me: “What are you standing there for?
Go lick it! Don’t tell me you’re backing out now?”
I stumbled but managed to steady myself. When I looked at Nathan again, his eyes
were completely focused on Lauren. “Ninety-six times,” I counted silently in my
head as I stiffly walked toward the man with whipped cream on his leg, a notorious
playboy in our circle.
Just as I bent down to kneel, the playboy suddenly grabbed my chin. He looked at
Lauren and said, “Miss Lauren, this isn’t right. She lost to me three times.
Licking once isn’t enough.”
“How about we play stuff the egg? If you can persuade her to do it, I’ll forget
about the punishment.”
Stuff the egg? What’s that?! An unnamed fear suddenly surged through me, and I
quickly looked toward Nathan. But in the next second, Lauren was already pleading
with him, clinging to his arm and pouting: “Nathan, it’s just a dare. Can’t you let
your sister-in-law agree just this once?”
Seeing Lauren’s small body trembling, Nathan was left with nothing but pity. He
looked at me intently: “Sophia, you were willing to lick the cream. So you wouldn’t
mind taking on another dare for Lauren, right?”
“Yay! Thank you, Nathan!” Lauren jumped up happily, her face full of smugness.
Watching Nathan gently pat Lauren’s head with a doting expression, I couldn’t help
but laugh at that moment. My dignity had been trampled on, and I had become nothing
more than a toy for them to torment and play with. Nathan, how could you be so
heartless? How could you still want me to participate in some kind of performance
art and be humiliated for her sake?
Oh, right, I almost forgot. Lauren was his unattainable moon. He had pursued her
for years without success, and then they were separated by their families. Lauren
had left the country overnight. Now that he finally had her, of course, he would
pamper and indulge her every whim. How could I possibly compete?
Suppressing the bitterness in my heart, I spoke stiffly: “Can that count as one
forgiveness voucher?”
The crowd laughed at my strange request, but Nathan put down the hand that had been
pampering Lauren and suddenly looked at me. He knew what I was talking about. After
a moment, he nodded: “It counts!”
I smiled bitterly: “Alright, I agree.”
Eight years ago, when I had just entered the modeling world, I was targeted by a
big boss and confined on an island. Along with other girls, I became a tool for men
to use at their business gatherings. I was lucky. Nathan was the first man I
encountered, and he fell in love with me at first sight. For my sake, he took over
those men’s businesses, sent them to prison, and saved my life. Later, I found out
that it was because my features strongly resembled Lauren’s.
On the night I was rescued, I asked him how I could repay this debt of gratitude.
His eyes were sincere: “Then marry me?”
I pinched him: “I’m serious.”
His breathing became ragged as he entangled with me and said: “Then… give me 99
forgiveness vouchers.”
“Forgiveness vouchers?” I curiously clung to his body, not understanding.
At that moment, he smiled: “Silly girl, if—and I’m just saying if—if one day I hurt
you 99 times, I’ll use these vouchers to make you forgive me 99 times. Once the
vouchers are used up, this debt will be settled.”
For the next five years, he poured resources into making me a supermodel and loved
me like a precious jewel. Until two months ago, when Lauren returned to the
country. Everything changed.
Now it was the 97th time. Just two more times, and my debt would be repaid. We
would have no more connection.
Seeing Nathan agree, the playboy took me into his private room, a dimly lit chamber
covered in silk. The table was full of hard-boiled eggs, and on the floor lay two
or three women with disheveled clothes, a rotten smell emanating from beneath them.
A chill ran down my spine as I realized with horror what Lauren meant by “stuffing
eggs”—they were going to insert them into my private parts.
Nathan, who had followed us in, suddenly narrowed his eyes and turned to ask
Lauren: “Wasn’t this supposed to be about eating eggs? What’s going on here?”
But Lauren ignored him and pushed me forward. “Mr. Seven, Miss Sophia used to be a
dancer. I’m sure her flexibility will satisfy you.”
“Don’t you want to try it yourself? Push your limits?”
As Lauren finished speaking, I was trembling in terror. I immediately looked to
Nathan for help. At least I was still his wife. He had loved me once. Although he
had tormented me a lot for Lauren’s sake, he surely wouldn’t hand me over to a
pervert to be tortured, right?
But to my surprise, Nathan walked to the bar, poured a glass of wine, and shoved it
into my hand. “Why don’t you toast Mr. Seven first to liven things up?”
Liven things up? Did he want me to entertain them? He… actually agreed?
In a daze, I saw Lauren give me a sinister smile. “Sister! Didn’t you hear what
Nathan said?”
Just as I was looking at Lauren, not knowing what to do, she suddenly kicked me in
the knee. In an instant, I lost my balance, and the wine in my hand spilled on the
playboy’s face. Then I fell onto the shattered glass, immediately cutting several
bloody gashes on my arm.
My eyes met the distorted, pale face of the woman on the floor. Lauren’s shrill
accusations rang in my ears: “Sister, if you didn’t want to toast, you could have
just said so. There’s no need to pretend to be crazy to anger Mr. Seven. Is this
how you act as Nathan’s wife? Are you trying to embarrass Nathan?”
The playboy’s expression froze for a moment, then he suddenly realized something
and stared at me with wide eyes: “You… you’re Nathan’s legendary wife?”
I said nothing, just sat on the ground, my body and heart aching almost to the
point of suffocation. The playboy reached out to grab my arm, but Nathan
immediately seized his wrist. Nathan glanced at my blood-covered face, his eyes
suddenly turning gloomy. He gritted his teeth as he looked at the playboy: “Get
out!”
The playboy was intimidated and had to leave, grumbling under his breath. “Nathan!
Are you crazy? If I had known she was your psycho wife, I wouldn’t have touched
her!”
As the playboy disappeared, I got up to leave, but my arm was once again gripped by
a large hand. “Sophia, aren’t you happy now that you don’t have to be punished? Did
those two years on the island not teach you how to behave? You only had to toast a
drink, and this would have been over. Why did you have to act crazy? You knew that
when I asked you to toast, I was trying to end this, didn’t you? Are you that
clueless?”
Looking at the angry Nathan, I responded with bloodshot eyes. This time, I finally
didn’t hold back and retorted: “Nathan! I’m your wife. If you had just made my
identity clear, this would have been over just the same.”
My words caught Nathan off guard, and he felt a bit guilty. Lauren, seeing this,
wanted to defend him. But Nathan frowned and spoke up to stop her: “Enough! Shut up
and wait for me in the car.”
After her footsteps faded away, he sighed: “I’m sorry, but I still need to explain.
I really didn’t know what ‘stuffing eggs’ meant. If I had known, I wouldn’t have
agreed from the start.”
“As for Lauren, I hope you can understand. After all, she just came back to the
country and saw that I was marr—”
Nathan stopped abruptly, but I could still guess what he was going to say. He
wanted to say that Lauren was in a bad mood because she found out he was married,
so she deliberately gave me a hard time, and he wanted me to forgive her.
Our eyes met, and Nathan seemed to understand the mockery in mine. He sighed again.
“Alright, I see you’re hurt. I’ll have the driver take you to the hospital.
Lauren’s not in a good state, so I need to check on her. We’ll talk about this when
I get back.”
Without waiting for my response, he added: “Although you didn’t complete the task,
I’ll allow you to count this as one forgiveness voucher.”
With that, he turned and left. Watching his retreating figure, I touched my still-
bleeding forehead and burst into laughter. But I didn’t care anymore. Just two more
times, and once I’ve repaid my debt, I’ll leave. From now on, I won’t suffer his
mistreatment anymore.
It was late at night when the driver sent me home. Nathan hadn’t returned, and I
didn’t bother to ask. The next day, his assistant brought his gift: two commercial
property deeds. He specifically emphasized that one was compensation for forcing me
to lick the cream, and the other was an apology for the egg incident.
Expressionless, I labeled the deeds with numbers 96 and 97, then carelessly stuffed
them into the safe.
The maid beside me smiled fondly: “Mr. Nathan really dotes on you, ma’am. He’s been
giving gifts more and more frequently.”
I smiled without saying a word. She didn’t know that these were just Nathan’s
compensations after hurting me each time. Looking at the safe full of property
deeds, I knew I would be able to leave soon. But before I left, I just wanted to
take one camera with me. It contained things I had to destroy.
Nathan was very exploratory when it came to intimate matters, and in the heat of
the moment, he would sometimes impulsively record our encounters with a camera. In
the past, those videos were just marital intimacy. But now, I didn’t want them to
remain. After all, if the videos were leaked, I would be ruined.
However, after searching every corner of the room, I couldn’t find that camera.
Just as I was about to search again, my agent called, yelling angrily. “Sophia, are
you crazy? Look at the internet! Your private photos are everywhere! How dare you
accompany other sugar daddies behind Nathan’s back? If you want to die, don’t drag
our whole company down with you!”
In an instant, my mind exploded, only hearing my agent’s words: “You’d better give
me an explanation for the videos online right now! And for Nathan’s fury, or we’ll
haunt you even as ghosts!”
The call was hung up, and I quickly opened my phone. I saw that the top trending
topic was my private video, with bold, explosive text: [Supermodel Sophia Sleeps
Her Way to the Top]. In it, Nathan’s face was blurred, while mine was clearly
visible in the center, flushed with desire. Millions of netizens were online
hurling abuse, calling me a slut who slept with multiple sugar daddies for
resources, a woman who would sleep with anyone.
My legs gave way, and I collapsed to the ground. But in the last moment before I
lost strength, I was suddenly caught in Nathan’s strong embrace. “Don’t look at
those things. It’s okay, I’ll handle it. Trust me!”
The comforting words had barely left his mouth when he turned, his face cold, and
roared at the room full of people. “Who did this! Tell me! Who did this!”
Seeing his unprecedented fury, my eyes suddenly stung with tears. But at the same
time, Lauren’s casual voice came from nearby: “Nathan, you mean the videos? I
uploaded them!”
The arm around my waist suddenly tightened. Nathan and I both looked at Lauren.
“Don’t look at me like that! I just happened to see them and thought sister’s body
was too amazing to be seen by only you, Nathan. So I took the initiative to share
them!”
“After all, beautiful things should be enjoyed by everyone, right?”
In an instant, blood rushed to my head. I got up to slap Lauren, but Nathan
steadily caught my hand. “Sophia! Enough!”
I was furious and grief-stricken, shouting: “But she—”
Before I could finish, Nathan glanced at the smug Lauren, then turned back to me
with a frown: “I’ll help you take down the trending topics. Let’s end this here.
Don’t cause trouble for Lauren, okay? You know, after all, she’s also…”
“No! Nathan, why should I let it go? She’s ruined my reputation! Why should I let
it go?”
“I want to sue her for defamation! She must pay the price!”
I stared at Nathan with bloodshot eyes, refusing to back down even a little.
“Sophia! You—”
Nathan took a deep breath, about to persuade me again. But Lauren tugged at
Nathan’s sleeve, pretending to sob with reddened eyes: “Nathan! Don’t say anymore.
I know I was wrong. Let sister sue me. I shouldn’t have been jealous, jealous that
she married you. It was my fault. If only I had persisted back then!”
As she spoke, Lauren’s eyes turned red, and she began to cry. “Sister, I really
know I was wrong. I’ll kneel and apologize to you. Please don’t make things
difficult for Nathan.”
“If it makes you happy, I’ll turn myself in right now and help clear your name! At
worst, let me be ruined too, but please don’t let this ruin your relationship.”
Seeing Lauren about to kneel before me, Nathan’s eyes turned cold again. He said to
me in a deep voice: “Sophia! Lauren already knows she was wrong. Let it go.”
“Your reputation is already ruined anyway, so why not just quit the industry and
enjoy being a rich housewife at home? Isn’t that good?”
I was shocked by his blindness, unable to believe he would still indulge her to
this extent. I was about to speak again, but in the next second, I received a hard
slap across the face, leaving it stinging.
His knuckles were red, his breathing rapid, his eyes filled with unprecedented
violence. He threw a disclaimer at me: “Be good and sign this. Once the storm blows
over, I’ll help you make a comeback.”
“But if you dare to report this to the police, don’t even think about stepping out
of this door again!”
“I won’t sign!” I gritted my teeth, staring at him.
But no matter how much I struggled and refused to sign, Nathan forcibly pressed my
handprint onto the disclaimer. As I collapsed to the ground, exhausted, a feeling
of helplessness and pain that I had never experienced before swept over my entire
body, like thousands of needles piercing my heart.
They left, but their casual conversation was like poisonous insects crawling into
my ears: “Nathan, is sister okay…”
“She’s fine. As long as she still wants to make a comeback, she’ll listen to me. At
worst…”
“I’ll count it as one forgiveness voucher. She still has dozens left, she’ll
behave.”
No, there aren’t any left. There’s only one more time. Nathan, I won’t be your
puppet anymore.
After sitting stunned on the ground for a long time, I finally went back to my room
and took out my diary. Although everyone says the modeling world isn’t much cleaner
than the entertainment industry, I really loved this career. Standing on the
runway, bathed in spotlights—that confidence was where I found my value. But now,
it had been utterly destroyed. Perhaps even heaven was telling me it was time to
go, to not linger anymore.
Tears flowing, I wrote down today’s events in the book, ending with the number 98.
Every time he hurt me, I would record it in my diary to remind myself not to
soften. But Nathan’s voice suddenly came from behind: “What does 98 mean?”
Seeing him reach for the diary, I quickly closed it and stuffed it into the drawer.
“Nothing.”
He sensed my panic and seemed to think of something: “You girls are so delicate,
always writing grudges in your little books. Is this the grudge book you
mentioned?”
He was referring to our wedding after we got married, when he lost the wedding
rings. He had to use two soda can tabs as a substitute to exchange rings with me.
That night, I was so angry I kicked him off the bed: “Nathan, you’re killing me.
I’m going to curse you in my grudge book.”
He laughed through his tears: “Write whatever you want, I can always win you back.”
Realizing he had misunderstood, I didn’t bother to explain and just nodded
halfheartedly. Remembering the sweetness of our newlywed days, his cold face
finally showed a rare smile: “Alright, I said I could definitely win you back, so
no more holding grudges. Come take a look.”
He handed me a property deed and casually pulled me into his arms. “It’s a new
building in the city center. I specially kept it to give you as a gift.”
“The video has been urgently dealt with. Next month, I’ll let you make a comeback,
okay?”
The maid outside peeked in enviously. But I remained stiff and unmoving, saying
flatly: “Whatever you say.”
Seeing that I was unmoved by either kindness or harshness, his brows furrowed, a
hint of anger in his eyes: “Are you determined to make an issue of this?”
I looked up, my eyes dark as I stared at him: “No, how would I dare, Mr. Nathan?”
My words immediately set Nathan off. “Sophia, I took those videos, and I was
careless in letting Lauren see them. If you’re angry, take it out on me.
Understand?”
For a moment, it felt like a heavy stone was pressing on my chest. He could do
anything for Lauren, even humble himself in front of me, or sacrifice himself for
her. I suddenly felt so tired. I didn’t want to be entangled with them anymore.
So I calmly agreed: “I understand.”
Seeing that his punch had hit cotton, he frowned and gritted his teeth, staring at
me for a long time before finally slamming the door as he left.
The next day, Nathan sent a message asking me to come to the golf course. I was
going to reply that I wouldn’t go, but the next second a message came: “I’ll count
it as one forgiveness voucher.”
Looking at these words, thinking this was the last time, I eventually went. As soon
as I entered the private golf course, I didn’t see Nathan. Instead, someone kicked
me from behind, knocking me to the ground.
Lauren’s voice drifted over: “Don’t bother looking. I’m the one who invited you.”
As she finished speaking, two bodyguards restrained me. Then clubs began to rain
down on my legs furiously. Blood splattered as I screamed in agony. Fighting
through the excruciating pain, I shouted: “Lauren, have you gone mad!”
She smiled sweetly, but her eyes flashed with venom: “Sophia, how dare you! You’re
already a pariah, yet Nathan still won’t divorce you. He even says he needs to make
it up to you and help you make a comeback.”
“Sophia, tell me! How dare you?!”
Nathan treats her like a goddess, and even his casual words to placate me are worth
her making such a big fuss? Utterly exasperated, I said coldly: “I’m not trying to
compete with you.”
Seeing that I knew my place, she snorted and said haughtily: “But I just can’t
stand the sight of you. You’re a supermodel, right? Well, I’ll break your legs and
see how you seduce Nathan then!”
Looking at the sticky blood on my pant leg, she retched in disgust. Her eyes fell
on a golf ball nearby. As if suddenly thinking of something, she smiled eerily.
“Strip her pants!” Her voice was shrill.
“Last time we didn’t get to stuff the egg. What a pity. There’s a ball right here.
Sophia, I guarantee you’ll feel ecstasy today!”
She caressed the golf ball in her hand and ordered the bodyguards to strip my
pants. I struggled desperately, roaring like a wild beast. Lauren giggled in my
ear, grabbing my face, her manicured nails leaving bloody scratches: “Don’t scream!
You’ll feel so good soon, better than any man! I promise you’ll be addicted!”
Looking at her ugly face, I flashed back to Nathan’s countless rebukes, disgust,
and cold stares because of her. Tears suddenly poured out, giving me the courage to
throw caution to the wind. I was leaving anyway. Why should I let her bully me!
Just as my pants were about to be pulled down, strength came from nowhere. I
suddenly pushed away the bodyguards and charged at Lauren. Then I opened my mouth
and bit down hard on her hand. Lauren let out a piercing scream, frantically trying
to tear my mouth away. But I wouldn’t let go no matter what. The taste of blood
filled my nose as I bit off half of Lauren’s finger.
“What are you doing?” Nathan’s stern roar came from behind. As he rushed in, he
came face to face with my blood-covered face and half-stripped lower body.
Realizing Lauren was bullying me, he was shocked! He kicked the bodyguards away and
quickly pulled up my pants, his eyes filled with anxiety. “Sophia, what happened?
Don’t be afraid, I’ll… take you to the hospital!”
But Lauren suddenly screamed, showing him her bloody half-finger, her cries shrill
and almost piercing the air: “Nathan, she bit off my finger! My hand is ruined!”
“It hurts so much! Nathan, save me, please!”
Nathan’s expression changed dramatically. He turned to look at me in shock, caught
in a dilemma. But after just a moment, he tossed me a few words and hurriedly
picked up Lauren. “The survival time for a finger is low. I’ll take her to the
hospital first. Call an ambulance yourself. I’ll come pick you up later.”
Hearing this, my heart suddenly plummeted into an endless abyss. So, he wasn’t
unaware of Lauren’s vicious nature. He was just biased.
I looked up at him, my eyes full of desolation: “Nathan, this is the last time.”
Nathan looked at my completely hardened expression and suddenly felt a pang in his
heart, feeling as if he had lost something important. But feeling the broken and
shattered person in his arms, he still chose to abandon me without hesitation.
As he was leaving, he looked at me earnestly, pleading: “I know you’re wronged.
I’ll definitely give you an explanation this time.”
“Just… don’t call the police… please.”
Watching his back disappear with my own eyes, I didn’t go to the hospital. I just
dragged my injured leg back to the villa. Sure enough, as soon as I got home, the
maid handed me the 99th property deed. It was for this villa.
I locked it in the safe. Along with my diary, divorce agreement, and contract
termination papers, I placed them on the table. I took a note and left him a line:
“The life debt is repaid, love cannot continue. Nathan, let’s divorce.”
I took what little luggage I had and checked in for a flight to Yunnan. Nathan,
this is how it ends between us.
As the plane streaked across the sky, Nathan returned home, exhausted. The room was
empty and silent. He was confused and called me. He noticed the note on the bedroom
table and was about to pick it up when a cold, mechanical female voice came from
his phone: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is not available…”
And in the next second, when he saw the large characters on the note, his pupils
suddenly constricted! “The life debt is repaid, love cannot continue. Nathan, let’s
divorce.”
Nathan’s mind went blank, barely recognizing the word “divorce.” He picked up the
paper, turning to the last page, and only then did he clearly see the three large
characters signed: Sophia.
He finally realized that Sophia really wanted to divorce him. Looking at the
contract termination agreement laid out before his eyes, he angrily smashed his
phone. Then he called my agent, roaring furiously: “You dared to terminate her
contract behind my back. Do you want to die?”
The agent was terrified and could only weakly explain: “Mr. Nathan, didn’t you tell
us that Lauren was seriously injured, and unless the sky was falling, not to bother
you?”
Nathan’s body stiffened. He remembered receiving a call when the experts couldn’t
treat Lauren. But he was so anxious at the time that he cursed the caller and hung
up. Who knew it was about Sophia’s contract termination?
“How could you let her leave without my signature on the termination agreement?”
Nathan was determined to vent his anger on someone today. The other side sighed
again: “Mr. Nathan, have you forgotten? You signed the contract five years ago.”
“She’s your wife. You gave her special approval for termination back then, and you
even paid the breach of contract fee out of your own pocket…”
Nathan’s lips had lost all color as he gritted his back teeth. That did happen. But
he had long forgotten about it.
At that time, he was passionately in love with Sophia. He signed her to his own
company, poured resources into making her a star, just to give her the best
treatment and ensure she wouldn’t be constrained. He even spent all the liquid
assets he had, angering his grandfather, who punished him with twenty strokes of
the family rod.
After his wounds healed, Sophia was so worried about him that she developed a fever
in the middle of the night and almost died. He was terrified and mobilized all his
connections in the city to save her. He cried like never before at her bedside:
“Sophia! You can’t have anything happen to you, you can’t die. Even the King of
Hell can’t take my wife from me!”
And when Sophia woke up, her one sentence made him cry tears of joy: “Is this your
way of proposing to me?”
As the memories flooded back, Nathan’s eyes stung. His self-perceived doting had
almost cost Sophia her life back then, and now it had made her disappear from his
world completely.
Didn’t Sophia say she loved him? Then why did she leave him…
His nails dug into his flesh, but he couldn’t feel any pain. His heart continued to
ache. The world seemed to return to those dark days when he was besieged within the
Jin family, desperately fighting for power. Those were the darkest days of his
twenty years, suddenly plunging into an icy hell, all warmth around him vanishing.
Only Sophia stayed by his side, loving him. She stayed up late with him, coaxed him
to sleep, took him to see a therapist, accompanied him in extreme sports. She gave
him love, becoming his emotional pillar. How could someone like her leave?
Nathan crouched on the ground, burying his head in his arms, questioning the air
over and over. But no one could give him an answer.
The phone on the ground was still ringing: “Sigh, Sophia is pitiful too. Her legs
were beaten until she was crippled. She can’t be a model anymore.”
“But at least she retired from the industry while still hot as an international
supermodel. People will remember her, so she won’t be too lonely!”
A tear fell on Nathan’s phone as he urgently wanted to know exactly what had
happened: “How badly were her legs injured?”
The agent’s voice immediately turned angry: “It’s really despicable. Those people
specifically wanted to ruin her. They didn’t touch anywhere else, just completely
destroyed her legs. It’s a sin!”
“Originally, there was hope for treatment, but who knows why it took so long to get
her to the hospital. Her right leg is beyond saving now.”
Only her legs were injured? Specifically to ruin her career?
Nathan’s heart ached as he thought about Lauren being behind this. His chest felt
like it was being squeezed by a large hand, and overwhelming guilt washed over him.
But right now, he only wanted to find Sophia immediately!
“Sophia, answer the phone, answer the phone!”
“I never agreed to this. How can you just say we’re divorcing?”
In the empty room, only the repeated unanswered ringtone and Nathan’s angry shouts
remained. The maid came up to check and was frightened by his behavior. Her eyes
also reddened: “Mr. Nathan, the madam loves you very much. She’s probably just
throwing a tantrum. What couple doesn’t fight? Once she calms down, she’ll probably
come back.”
“She won’t. This time she’s really angry…” Nathan remembered Sophia’s dim eyes when
she said her last words to him that day: “This is the last time.”
He vaguely understood the meaning of those words now. The end is the end.
He held his head and broke down crying: “Don’t end it, I don’t want it to end.
Sophia, I want you to come back!”
“If I had taken you to the hospital first, if I had let you treat your legs first,
if I hadn’t been soft on Lauren, would you not have left… I actually had a chance
to keep you…”
The memories of that day tumbled chaotically in his mind. Nathan’s mental state was
somewhat disturbed, and he couldn’t come back to his senses for a long time.
After turning the whole house upside down, he found that all of Sophia’s
identification documents were gone. Nathan unconsciously shed tears as he looked
around the room once more. She had left, but she hadn’t taken anything with her.
Many of the couple items she had bought—toothbrushes, clothes, accessories—were all
still there, untouched. Along with various gifts he had given her, expensive
jewelry, she hadn’t taken any of it.
He didn’t often stay at home, but every time he came back, the house was filled
with the fresh fragrance of flowers and her smiling embrace. But now the flowers in
the vase had withered, and that gentle figure who always waited for him to come
home was gone forever.
Only now did he realize how many of Sophia’s passionate waits he had missed. He
didn’t even know where to look for her. But he had to find her. He knew he
absolutely couldn’t lose her!
He called his private investigator, his tone harsh and urgent: “Sophia is gone.
Send people to find her, spare no expense! Even if you have to turn the whole city
upside down, find her!”
After calming down, Nathan mobilized his entire network to search for her.
Meanwhile, he anxiously waited at home, reviewing everything that had happened
before. He had always given gifts to appease Sophia after each incident. Why did
she still leave? Could it be that she didn’t receive the gifts?
Calling the maid, he asked urgently: “Oh right, sir, the madam said the safe is
full now.”
Nathan’s temples throbbed as he rushed to the study to open the safe. He had never
understood why Sophia wanted a safe as tall as a person in the study. When the
workers were installing the safe, he had asked about it. Sophia had smiled and
said: “It’s a secret! When the safe is full, you’ll know.”
At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it, assuming it was just a bored girl’s
game. But now he looked at the safe full of property deeds, numbered from 1 to 99.
Yet he still wore a bewildered expression. Was her secret to vanish from the world?
Leaving him divorce papers and a contract termination agreement. Then completely
disappearing from his world.
What about the 99? Earlier, when she was writing in her diary, she had recorded the
number 98. What did all this mean? Nathan felt an immense sense of helplessness
wash over him. Suddenly, his cigarette craving hit again.
Speaking of diaries, right, she had left him a diary on the table. Remembering that
Sophia had left him a diary on the table, he rushed to the bedroom, eager to see if
he could find some clues in it. Sitting on the floor, he opened the diary’s title
page, which had a passage written on it:
“I gave Nathan 99 forgiveness vouchers. Only after he hurts me 99 times will the
debt be considered repaid.”
“But I hope this debt can take a lifetime to repay.”
“Nathan, I bet you won’t hurt me even once.”
“Because I truly love you, and I don’t want to leave you.”
Just reading these lines made Nathan’s hand, which had just lit a cigarette, start
to tremble. He vaguely recalled that over the past five years, Sophia often asked
about the forgiveness vouchers. Because she asked so frequently, he remembered that
Sophia would unconditionally forgive him 99 times to repay the debt, but he had
completely forgotten the most important latter half of the promise. Once the debt
was repaid, she would leave.
But in his memory, he had many chances left, didn’t he? Could it be that in just a
few short years, he had already hurt Sophia 99 times? Surely Sophia’s diary hadn’t
really become a grudge book against him?
Nathan felt an inexplicable panic, even afraid to continue reading. But he was too
curious. He wanted to know exactly how he had hurt Sophia, so he turned the page.
“1st hurt: Nathan, you can lose the wedding ring, why don’t you lose your wife too?
I’m drawing a circle to curse you!”
“3rd hurt: He hired a new beautiful assistant, clearly she’s his true love, yet he
pretended not to know her in front of me!”
“23rd hurt: There’s an extra lipstick in his car. I know it’s Lauren’s. Have they
already become so intimate?”
“54th hurt: I just found out they’ve been intimate. He doesn’t want me to know
about Lauren, and he no longer introduces me as his wife to others.”
“68th hurt: I’m just an empty shell of a Mrs. Jin now. His friends ordered me to
strip dance, he agreed, and I’ve gotten used to it.”
“98th hurt: Lauren leaked our intimate videos online. I really can’t hold on
anymore.”
“99th hurt: Lauren sent people to break my legs. She said it was a pity they didn’t
stuff eggs in me last time, so this time they wanted to stuff a golf ball in. I
didn’t give in and bit off her finger. Nathan chose to save her first. Let it be,
I’ll always be abandoned by him.”
The diary recorded every incident clearly, even including the words he and Lauren
had said. It was as if he was standing in Sophia’s shoes, personally experiencing
everything firsthand. The words were very depressing and suffocating, filled with
melancholy thoughts between the lines.
The cigarette in his hand flickered on and off, and Nathan just curled up by the
bed, reading the diary all night long. He finished an entire pack, and the room was
filled with a choking haze of smoke that seemed like it could suffocate him. When
daylight broke, his eyes were bloodshot. His whole being was overflowing with
sadness and haggardness, and endless despair and desolation.
Now, he seemed to empathize with Sophia. But it was all too late. He couldn’t find
Sophia anymore. He was a beast! Sophia was clearly the victim, Lauren was clearly
so vicious and ruthless, yet he still sided with Lauren. He even planned to silence
Sophia, to stop her from going to the police, to make her swallow her broken teeth
with blood.
Why! Why treat Sophia so badly! Just because she was quiet and didn’t cry? He was
guilty, he was sick, he was a beast! He would avenge Sophia!
Once he made up his mind, Nathan immediately sent people to capture Lauren and
imprison her in the basement. Crying out to heaven and earth, but no one answered.
On the third day of Lauren’s confinement, Nathan finally deigned to see her. She
was bruised and swollen, crawling to grab Nathan’s pant leg, begging pitifully:
“Nathan, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Please don’t kill me. Everything I
did was because I love you. I felt insecure, afraid you’d be taken away by someone
else. I really love you too much, I couldn’t control myself.”
Nathan gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him: “So because you couldn’t
control yourself, you had to frame her, beat her, and even leak her intimate videos
and photos online, ruining her reputation in front of everyone? Lauren, didn’t I
tell you that Sophia was my wife and not to touch her? But what did you do?”
“She decided to leave me, and it’s all your fault! You’re the sinner, and I must
make you pay the price!”
With that, he threw the bank transfer records in her face: “And having people break
her legs so she can never be a model again, can’t even walk properly. Lauren,
you’re really ruthless. I was truly blind to have ever liked you, such a disgusting
woman!”
Before he finished speaking, Lauren suddenly let out a shrill laugh, raising her
bloodshot eyes to look at him: “Yes, I’m shameless, I’m despicable, I deserve to
die!”
“But Nathan, do you think Sophia is any cleaner? Didn’t you make all those choices
yourself afterwards? Is it so hard to admit your own filth? Wasn’t it you who
pushed her to me, letting her be trampled? Wasn’t it you who handed her over to
those disgusting men to enjoy? You allowed all of this!”
“She left because you’re too dirty! You’re the one who should pay the price!”
Seeing Lauren completely drop her facade and even become somewhat deranged, Nathan
instantly felt sick. Every word stabbed into Nathan’s lungs, making it hard for him
to breathe. He grabbed Lauren’s neck with his large hand, pinning her against the
wall, snarling: “Losing her was my fault, I admit it. But without you, Sophia and I
wouldn’t have ended up like this. You’re the source of all this!”
“You’re right, I am dirty. I’ll find her and atone for my sins, but I must avenge
her first!”
Lauren was chilled to the bone by his cold, murderous gaze. Nathan suddenly threw
her to the ground and ordered the bodyguards: “Play with her some more, just keep
her barely alive.”
Realizing things had gone too far, Lauren’s eyes widened in terror. She wet herself
in fear and screamed hysterically: “Nathan, I was wrong, I was wrong! I’ll
apologize to her, I can leave, emigrate to another country, anything! I won’t come
between you two anymore. But you can’t do this to me, you can’t do this to me,
Nathan!”
Nathan handed Lauren over to a group of thugs, then, ignoring her screams and
pleas, he took various photos and videos of her and posted them online, inviting a
barrage of insults and cyberbullying from netizens. In an instant, Lauren became a
pariah, hated by everyone.
But even so, Nathan didn’t stop. As Sophia’s husband, he sued Lauren for
intentional injury. In the end, due to overwhelming evidence, Lauren was arrested
by the police and sentenced to 7 years in prison.
But I don’t care about any of this anymore. My body had already been ravaged to
this sorry state, and I had originally planned to end my life. I came to Yunnan and
had already found a river to jump into. In a moment of calm, I climbed over the
railing of the bridge.
A male voice suddenly sounded behind me: “Jumping is cold and painful, very
uncomfortable! Why not wait until it’s warmer?”
I turned around and saw a handsome young man with clear features. Seeing me stop my
movement, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and leaned against the railing.
“Actually, I don’t want to live either. Although Yunnan is like spring all year
round, it’s still too cold to jump in the river this season.”
“If you’re not in a hurry, keep me company. When it gets warmer, we can jump
together. It’s better to have a companion.”
I looked at him, thinking this proposal wasn’t bad. And so, I met my destined
person, Carter.
He was the owner of a local bookstore in Yunnan, with an interesting name called
“Wait for Me Bookstore.” After he took me to the bookstore, I became free labor
there. Days passed peacefully and quietly.
However, I would occasionally ask him: “The weather is warm now, when are we going
to jump in the river?”
But he always delayed: “There’s no sun today, it won’t work.”
“I didn’t eat breakfast this morning, not enough energy to jump.”
“The color of my socks isn’t auspicious today, we might choke. Let’s not.”
Until three months later, he said: “It’s warm today, we can go now.”
Then, he took me to the bridge and confessed his feelings to me. I turned to jump
into the river. Carter suddenly pulled me back, his eyes full of shock: “Wait, I’ve
been so obviously flirting with you every day, why do you still want to end your
life?”
“Isn’t having a sweet romance with a handsome guy better than feeding yourself to
the fish?”
Seeing that I didn’t speak and just kept trying to climb the railing, panic finally
appeared on Carter’s face: “Sophia, if you won’t listen to a handsome guy’s sweet
words, fine. If you’re going to jump today, I’ll go with you. At least I’ll be
keeping my promise to you.”
He then quickly climbed over the railing and stood on the edge of the bridge. I
climbed over too, then stood there staring at him. Just as his chest was heaving
violently, about to jump with all his might, I suddenly spoke, catching him off
guard: “Even though you didn’t bring flowers for your confession, I’ll still
graciously agree to be your girlfriend.”
“Happy now? Don’t jump, Carter.”
“Just do it for me.”
Carter looked at me in shock, his eyes wide. But suddenly his eyes reddened, and he
tightly grasped my hand.
Actually, that day I wasn’t planning to jump either. I just had a sudden whim to
stand high up and see further. But I ran into Carter, who had really come to jump.
That day, the look in his eyes was truly one of despair and lifelessness. So I
decided to go home with him. After all, saving a life is better than building a
seven-story pagoda.
I don’t know what he had been through, but since he decided to confess to me, I
became his reason to live. He probably wouldn’t want to die anymore.
Life as a bookstore owner’s wife was ordinary—just arranging books, making drinks,
and petting our broken little dog every day. But one day, a haggard and weary-
looking man suddenly appeared before me.
He begged for my forgiveness, said he knew he was wrong, and that he had avenged me
by sending Lauren to prison. He said I was his wife, that he would make it up to me
and spend a lifetime atoning, but he couldn’t divorce me.
It was only then that I realized this man was my ex-husband, Nathan. Actually, I
had known early on that we probably wouldn’t have a good ending. He was a wealthy
tycoon, and I was the songbird he kept. This kind of setup was bound to end in
tragedy. But I just wanted to hit that wall once, even if it ended in spectacular
ruin.
Although it wasn’t very long, it was unforgettable. Keeping him, forgiving him,
letting him go. I couldn’t do any of it. It was like sitting by a lake, thinking it
was the sea. I was breathing in the lake breeze, believing it was the ocean wind.
But a lake is always a lake, the sea is still the sea, you are you, and I am me.
If I had to say what meaning this time had, I’m not sure I could articulate it.
Perhaps those who loved me gave me strength, those who criticized me kept me clear-
headed, and those who hurt me made me stronger. Life is like that. Maybe many
things have no meaning, or rather, all things have their inherent meaning.
I looked at him calmly and only said: “Nathan, just sign the divorce papers. I
don’t want to commit bigamy.”
Then I left, and he stood there stunned for a long, long time. A month later, I
received an anonymous package. It was the divorce certificate, with a note
attached: “I’m sorry.”
I could only sigh. If “sorry” was enough, what would we need the police for?
The day I got the divorce certificate, I dragged Carter to the civil affairs bureau
and got our marriage license. Actually, Carter had asked me why I didn’t want to
get to know him better first. Wouldn’t it seem too hasty to get married like this?
I was a bit confused: “Because I love you, so I want to marry you.”
“If one day I don’t love you anymore, then I’ll divorce you and find someone else.”
“Just live in the moment. Why worry and hesitate?”
“Besides, a bold life needs no explanation…”