I was now in our basement, with my wrists tightly shackled to the cold floor.
Zachary sat beside me. The tenderness in his eyes was gone, replaced by an icy, merciless resolve.
“What are you hiding?” he demanded.
I closed my eyes, tears sliding silently down my face, unable to answer.
“If you won’t talk,” he said, his voice sharp and cold as a blade, “then I’ll make you understand real pain.”
He lit a cigarette, took a drag, and then pressed the burning tip against my skin.
A scream tore from my throat as the stench of burning flesh filled the air.
Dizziness washed over me. I didn’t know if it was the pain or the exhaustion overtaking me, but I felt the heat of the cigarette again.
My mouth opened, yet no sound escaped.
The audience’s words were filthy, cruel, and venomous, but they were nothing compared to what I had already gone through. Their cruelty no longer had the power to hurt me.
Maybe death would be a kind of release.
I bit down hard on my tongue, the metallic taste of blood spreading through my mouth.
"Something’s wrong... she's trying to commit suicide!" the doctor shouted.
Zachary sat beside me, his grip tightening around my neck as he forced my mouth open.
Blood surged out, choking me as I gasped for air.
“So this is how far you’ll go to protect him?”
Zachary’s eyes were bloodshot, his teeth grinding in fury.
The doctor hurried over, attempting to tend to my wound, but the struggle had already sapped most of my strength. I could do nothing but lie there, helpless, completely at Zachary's mercy.
I managed to give Zachary a faint smile, and the effect was instant. His anger flared, and the crowd below started to stir, their voices filled with righteous fury.
“She’s too arrogant! How dare such scum still live!”
“Die, you bitch!”
The hall erupted in noise, but the giant screen flickered again, revealing a new scene.
It was during our high school days, sitting at desks and chairs that seemed like relics from a past era.
With my backpack over my shoulder, Zachary and I left the classroom and headed toward the middle school section.
After standing at the school gates for a while, we heard a cheerful voice calling out to us.
“Zach! Sis! I’m here!”
Zoey skipped toward us, her backpack bouncing as she caught my arm.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a lollipop.
“I knew you were the best, Sis!” Zoey beamed with joy, her eyes lighting up.