The realization crashed over me like a tidal wave. I was crippled. Helpless.

I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, my cries echoing through the hospital room.

These past few days had been the darkest of my life. I had been falsely accused of a crime. I had lost my freedom. And now, I had lost my legs. All because of the man I once loved.

I couldn’t accept it. I didn’t want to accept it.

The officer, seeing me in such a state, quietly left the room.

After that day, Alger never came back. Not that I cared. His empty words disgusted me. But I wasn’t doing any better. I barely ate. I barely slept.

The food the officers brought me sat untouched. My body grew weaker and my face became gaunt. It was as if all life had been drained out of me.

One afternoon, the door creaked open. Assuming it was the officer with my meal, I weakly said, “I’m not hungry.”

But when I turned my head, I met Carly’s gaze.

Zelene's POV

Carly put on an act, pretending to be concerned as she asked a few meaningless questions. But her eyes told the truth—full of mockery.

I hadn’t eaten in days, and seeing her only made me feel sicker. I turned away, refusing to look at her. But she clung to me like a curse, refusing to leave.

"Sis, how could you be so careless?" she sighed dramatically. "Losing your legs like this… how are you going to live now?"

Then, without warning, she yanked the blanket off me. Her eyes landed on my wounds, and she immediately recoiled, covering her face.

"Ugh! That’s disgusting!" she shrieked. "So much blood—what a nightmare! Poor Alger. Even after all this, he still won’t divorce you."

I had been avoiding looking at my injuries these past few days, pretending they weren’t there.

But hearing her say that… I snapped.

I grabbed the glass of water from the table and hurled it at her. The glass shattered against her, and a sharp shard cut across her face.

Carly let out a piercing scream, clutching her cheek.

Before I could react, Alger came running in from nowhere. He immediately pulled Carly behind him, shielding her as if she were some helpless victim.

Then, he turned on me, his eyes burning with anger. "Are you out of your mind? Carly came to see you out of kindness, and this is how you treat her?!"

He didn’t even spare me a glance when my wounds were out in the open, raw and bleeding. But the second Carly got a tiny cut, he acted like the world was ending.