They Cuffed Me, I Destroyed Their World

Chapter 2

When Adele woke up in a daze, a cloying sweet scent mixed with a raw, rank smell of earth hit her nostrils, worsening the nausea in her already unsettled stomach.

She stumbled into the bathroom and vomited violently.

When she finally caught her breath, she realized Xavier had brought her back home. Yet her bedroom looked as if it had been ransacked by a burglar, with her belongings scattered everywhere.

A sharp sense of foreboding rose in her chest.

She stumbled out of the bedroom and saw the living room was even more disordered.

Right at her feet, a wooden photo frame lay broken in half. Shards of glass were scattered across the carpet, and the only family photograph inside had been torn into tiny pieces.

This was the last photo her parents had taken with her before they passed away; it was the only one she had left.

Adele's breath caught instantly. She lunged forward, heedless of the glass shards cutting her hands until they bled, and gathered the fragments with trembling fingers.

This was the only keepsake her parents had left her, her last source of warmth and security. How could this have happened?

"The photo... w-who did this?" Her voice shook, each word forced out as if scraped from her throat.

No one answered.

She snapped her head up, her gaze sweeping across the corners of the living room. The next second, her heart felt as if it had been brutally seized by an invisible hand, so tightly it hurt to breathe.

Out on the balcony, the orchids that Adele's mother had nurtured so carefully during her lifetime were already dead. Dora squatted beside the flower pots, pouring cola into them while muttering to herself, "The pretty flowers need something sweet to drink too! If they drink something sweet, they'll grow tall!"

"Dora!" Adele's voice shot sharply upward, thick with disbelief and fury. "What are you doing?"

Startled by Adele's outburst, Dora dropped the bottle in her hand. She immediately pouted, her eyes filling with tears that began to stream down her cheeks.

"X-Xavier! I just wanted to give the pretty flowers something sweet to drink! Adele is being so mean..."

Xavier almost immediately strode to Dora's side and pulled her behind him to shield her. He furrowed his brow and said, "Don't be scared, Dora... Adele, is this really necessary? It's just a few potted flowers. Dora doesn't know any better. I'll air-ship you dozens of rare flowers as compensation!"

It was as if Adele had heard the biggest joke in the world. Tears welled up instantly. "That was the only photograph of my parents! These orchids are what my mother left me! She destroyed everything I had left!"

Xavier gave her a casual, dismissive glance, as if everything she valued was completely worthless to him.

"They aren't even worth that much anyway. Just let it be. Can't you be more generous? Don't be so petty."

Looking frightened, Dora threw herself into Xavier's arms. He gently patted her back, his tone soft with concern.

Watching this scene, Adele felt her heart turn ice-cold.

She thought of her son, still fighting for his life in the intensive care unit. She thought of how she had been detained, how her own brother had slapped her, and how they had used her son to blackmail her into signing that letter of forgiveness. Now even the last mementos she had left were destroyed, and he was still protecting Dora.

She felt her heart bleeding, and something inside her was breaking piece by piece.

Suddenly, her eyes caught the half-open refrigerator door. Her heart clenched, and she rushed over and pulled it open. A wave of cold air hit her face.

The next moment, her body froze, and tears rolled down her cheeks silently.

In the freezer lay the goldfish she had kept for two years. Their bodies were frozen solid into blocks of ice. Their once bright, lively eyes were now lifeless, stuck against the inner wall of the freezer.

Dora peeked out timidly from Xavier's arms and whispered, "The fish looked so tired swimming around. I just wanted to let them cool off."

Xavier simply patted her head and said softly, "Good job. Dora, you're so kind."

Then he looked at Adele, his tone laced with weariness. "C'mon, Adele, cut it out. Dora meant well; she just used the wrong method. Don't be so childish. I'm going to make Dora her favorite dish."

Adele stood frozen, watching Xavier tie on an apron and take out ingredients with practiced ease.

After all these years of marriage, she had never even known he could cook.

The living room was a total mess, and the cuts on her fingers were still bleeding. All of it felt like a thousand sharp knives slicing into her heart.

No one cared about her agony, and she no longer had any strength left to grieve.