Chapter 7
1278 Words
JADE’S POV
The moment the knife slipped and scratched my skin, everything happened fast.
Too fast.
I felt the sharp sting first. Then warm blood trickled down my wrist.
Helen screamed my name, her voice shaking like the room was falling apart.
“Madam Jade! Jesus! You’re bleeding!”
My breath caught. For a moment, the whole kitchen felt like it was spinning. I staggered backward, my legs weak like they could no longer hold me.
Silas rushed forward… Not to comfort me, but instead, He snatched the knife from my hand and tossed it into the sink like it was nothing but a toy.
His fingers closed around my injured wrist. Tight. Too tight.
I cried. “You’re hurting me.”
He didn’t even look at my face. His eyes were fixed on the blood, watching it drip, watching it smear against my skin like someone inspecting a stain.
Immediately, His voice was calm. “You see what your foolishness caused?”
A tear escaped my eye. “I wasn’t… I wasn’t trying to hurt myself.”
He looked up then, expressionless. “You almost did. And you would have blamed me.”
I swallowed hard. “All I want is to protect my baby.”
“That is not your decision,” he snapped. “Not anymore.”
Helen stood behind him, shaking like she was about to faint. “Sir, let me get the first aid…”
“Leave,” Silas said sharply.
She ran out of the kitchen.
Only silence remained.
Silas pulled my wrist up again and examined the cut. Fresh blood trickled down. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it hurt. And what hurt even more was how cold he looked while staring at it… Like my pain meant nothing.
He let go suddenly, and my hand dropped to my side. I held it with my other hand, trying to steady my breathing.
I wanted him to say something kind at least… or Something human.
But instead, he didn’t. Immediately, his phone rang. He pulled it out from his pocket and answered without checking the caller ID.
“Hello… Yes, Silas speaking.”
Soon enough, His voice changed instantly… smooth, polite, fake. The voice he used for outsiders.
Then I heard him say
“A date?”
He laughed quietly. “No. My wife will not be available for that.”
My heart dropped even lower.
Wife? Not available?
He sounded irritated. Like I was blocking him from something important. He paused, then added,
“Yes, I’ll see you there.”
While I stood there bleeding in his kitchen, He hung up, then turned to me with the coldest eyes I had ever seen.
“Go and get ready,” he said.
I blinked. “For what?”
“There’s a charity fundraiser this evening. We are attending.”
“I’m not… Silas, I’m bleeding.”
He shrugged. “That wasn’t a request. It is important for my company. Soon enough, a stylist will come. Ask Helen to hide the injury and wear something long-sleeved as well.”
Tears rose in my eyes again. “Can’t we skip it?”
“No.”
His voice was final. “I need you there. You will behave. You will smile. You will look like my wife.”
He began walking out, then paused at the door.
“And Jade,” he said without turning, “if you try what you did today again, I will make sure you regret it.”
Then he left.
An hour later, two stylists arrived. They didn’t ask me any questions. They didn’t look at my face long enough to see my swollen eyes. They barely looked at the bandaged wrist Helen had wrapped for me.
They powdered over the injury on my wrist until my skin burned. They dressed me in a long-sleeved gown, fitted and elegant, something cream-colored that made me look like an ornament.
I stared at myself in the mirror… Yes… I was looking pretty, neat, and well put together, but it was all a lie.
Inside, I felt like someone had scooped out all the softness in me and left only fear.
“Madam, the car is ready,” His driver announced.
I nodded, even though I wanted to hide under the bed and never come out.
***
The event was huge…Lights were everywhere, Security stationed at the entrance…Cameras flashing non-stop.
Women in expensive dresses and men in suits that cost more than my yearly salary before marriage.
Silas stepped out first, adjusting his cufflinks like royalty. Then as I stepped out after him, something changed instantly.
His hand shifted, and his face softened. He began to smile and touched the small of my back gently. Almost tender… and anyone watching would swear he was a dream husband.
“Smile,” he whispered through his perfect teeth.
I forced one.
People turned and smiled at us.
“Oh, what a beautiful couple!” “Silas, your wife is stunning.” “You two should be models.” “You’re lucky to have her.”
Lucky?? To have me?? If only they knew!
Inside the hall, I saw familiar faces.
Painful faces.
Morgan…My stepmother. Her lips tightened when our eyes met. She didn’t give me a warm look, not even caring to answer my greeting.
Standing beside her was my father.
He nodded at me without emotion.
Like I was only a business deal.
Morgan leaned toward him and whispered something, still staring at me and he nodded again.
The silent treatment hit me harder than I expected. Silas tightened his hand on my waist.
To others, it looked romantic, but to me, it was a painful warning.
“Behave,” he whispered in my ear.
The room spun slightly…The noise, the people...their smiles, their admiration. It made my stomach twist.
We walked from one table to another.
Silas laughed, shook hands, talked about business with some men, and played the perfect man. And all I kept doing was nodding my head and smiling.
At one point, a woman with silver hair and expensive jewelry held my hand.
“You are glowing, my dear,” she said warmly. “Your husband speaks so highly of you.”
I almost choked, but Silas slid his arm around my waist, pulling me closer.
“She’s everything,” he responded to the lady with a smile.
After hours of suffocating smiles, Silas leaned close.
“I think it’s time for us to leave,” he muttered.
Relief washed over me for one second.
One tiny second.. Butdamn.. it didn’t last.
The driver shut the car door behind us, and Silas dropped the act instantly, as if he had just recovered from a spell.
His jaw tightened, and his eyes darkened.
He looked at me disgustingly like something he scraped off the floor.
Then he wiped the hand that had touched my waist.
Right in front of me.
“Ugh,” he said. “I need a hand sanitizer.”
I sat still, my breath shaking, with tears in my eyes..
Immediately, he spat on me! “You disgust me,” he whispered.
Just then, I realized I couldn’t hold the tears anymore, so I started crying, as I wiped his saliva with trembling fingers.
Tears spilled from my eyes, hot and helpless tears, but he didn’t care. He leaned back, pulled out his phone, and typed something like I wasn’t even there.
Just before the driver started the engine, Silas spoke quietly.
“Tomorrow morning,” he said, still looking at his phone,
“We finish what we started.”
The abortion… He was going to force it…
- Writer
