They Betrayed Me, So I Ruined Their Wedding

Chapter 4

When I found my mom, several nannies were pinning her roughly to the ground, her breath already coming in ragged, shallow gasps.

Her back was a raw, bloody mess of torn flesh, but her eyes still bore into Zoey. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you dead!"

Three deep bloody scratches slashed across Zoey's face, clear proof my mom had gotten her.

She gripped the whip in her hand so tight her knuckles whitened, and snarled through gritted teeth, "My wedding is tomorrow! How am I supposed to show up my face looking like this?! You rotten old hag! Ninety-nine lashes left, and I'm going to beat you to death today!"

The second I realized what was happening, I lunged forward to shield my mom.

The doctor said her condition had been improving for years, so why had she suddenly snapped like this?

SNAP!

The whip lashed into my body with brutal force.

I yelped, the searing pain tearing through my skin.

Zoey stared down at me from where she stood, a cold, triumphant sneer, twisting her lips. "Hahaha, Ellie! Your mom couldn't beat my mom, and look at this, ou can't beat me either!"

My whole body froze solid. "What did you say?" My gaze snapped to the family photo she held in her hand.

There was my father, the man who'd abandoned his wife and child, wrapping an arm around another woman's waist, the picture of doting love.

So, Zoey's mom was that mistress from all those years ago!

Zoey's mocking laughter echoed in my ears. "This is what you get! Who told your mom to call my mom a homewrecker back then? Now you've turned into the real homewrecker, and I got my mom's revenge for her! Let me tell you the truth. I let you get together with Stanley on the day you two made it official. You were such a total simp for him just because he was nice to you once in a while. You've never been loved by anyone, have you? You poor little thing.

"Now you have two choices. Either you take these ninety-nine lashes for this dying old b***h, or you go live stream right now and tell the whole world that both you and your mom are homewreckers! Haha!"

Every word was a poison-tipped needle, stabbing straight into the deepest, most raw wound in my heart.

Rage exploded through my skull, and I launched myself at Zoey like a madwoman. But before my fingertips could even brush her sleeve, Stanley's furious roar blasted from behind me.

"Ellie! Don't you dare!" He kicked me hard across the floor, his glare boring into the sharp pair of scissors lying on the ground. "You lunatic! If you want to die, go kill yourself alone! Don't you touch Zoey!"

I clutched my mom's mangled, bleeding body to my chest, and tears streamed down my face in silence.

Stanley hesitated for a split second. He even moved forward on instinct to help me up. But Zoey stumbled straight into his arms, sobbing prettily, tears streaming down her face like a heartbroken victim.

"Stanley, Ellie said her mom's crazy, and killing people doesn't get the death penalty! It doesn't matter if something happens to me, but my baby in my belly..."

The flicker of pity that had touched Stanley's face vanished in an instant.

The bodyguards seemed to get the message immediately. One of the bodyguards snatched the whip off the ground and slammed it hard into my body.

Agony exploded through every inch of my body, swallowing me whole.

I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat.

But Stanley wouldn't even look at me anymore.

That was when my mom, who'd been barely breathing moments before, suddenly pulled me tight against her chest, shielding me completely with her own body.

Tears streamed from her clouded, foggy eyes, and she whispered softly against my ear, "Baby... Mom's useless. She let you suffer so much. This time... let me protect you, baby..."

As I felt her breath growing fainter and fainter against my neck, I turned to Stanley, sobbing and begging for help.

"I admit I was wrong! I'm sorry! Please, please save my mom!"

But no matter how hard I begged, no one answered me.

My tears ran dry, and the ninety-nine lashes finally stopped.

By the time my mother had lost too much blood and slipped into shock, Stanley finally strolled out of the room.

He deigned to glance my way at last. "A few lashings won't kill you. Look at what a mess you've gotten into. Your mother is just as much to blame! This'll teach you two brats a lesson you won't forget!"

I wiped the blood trickling from the corner of my mouth, and through my tears, I started laughing, a sharp, bitter laugh that bubbled up out of nowhere.

"Stanley, I wish I'd never met you in this life."

Stanley stood, a cold sneer spilling from his lips. "Cut the drama, don't cause a scene at the wedding. I'll buy your mom a villa to live out her days. You can live with Zoey and me, or if that's too awkward for you, you can move into the house next door."

I shook my head slowly, my entire body numb, my mind completely empty. "No need. We'll never see each other again."

"Hmm. Suit yourself." With that, Stanley swept Zoey up into his arms and hurried straight to the hospital.

End of Ellie's POV

Then came the wedding day.

On his way to the wedding venue, Stanley was involved in a serious car crash.

When he arrived at the hospital, he spotted Ellie's mother's caregiver carrying a large duffel bag and hurrying toward the exit.

Ignoring his own injuries, Stanley stepped in front of her to stop her.

"Ma'am, where are you going?" he asked. "Aren't you supposed to be taking care of Ellie's mother?"

The caregiver looked at him as though he had lost his mind and snapped irritably.

"Are you out of your mind? Miss Ellie's mother's funeral is today. Do you expect me to go down to the cemetery and keep taking care of her there?"