Ninety-Nine Punishments for His Love

Chapter 3

Claire stiffened suddenly.

The surrounding laughter swelled even louder.

Julie playfully punched Arthur while laughing. "Arthur, she's the perfect little housewife, not like us who run around all day. Don't be so rough with her."

"Fine. Whatever you say," Arthur replied tenderly, his gaze at Julie shining with admiration.

Claire stood to the side, her clenched hands hanging stiffly.

Nearby, Julie continued sharing stories of her medical aid missions over the past three years. She once saved a traveler at a border region by giving salt to a high-altitude hypoxia patient, despite having no oxygen masks or medication available. She also once used a tamponade hemostasis to stop arterial bleeding for a tourist in a remote city, saving their life.

Everyone around them gasped in awe. "Julie, you're truly unlike ordinary girls! Your experiences and knowledge are things Claire couldn't even imagine in her wildest dreams!"

Even Arthur's eyes shone with admiration, his gaze softening further as he looked at Julie.

Then Claire spoke up, "The border region you mentioned is a plain area. There are no high-altitude plateaus nearby. Moreover, without oxygen masks or medication, patients shouldn't be given salt but glucose to generate ATP and alleviate hypoxia. Also, the packing hemostasis has low pressure, which means it only works for small surface tears. For a major arterial bleed, you use compression bandaging. Not packing."

Claire stared intently at Julie. "If you can't even get basic emergency protocols right, I seriously doubt you've done any volunteer work at all in the past three years."

Claire could tolerate many things. But misrepresenting life-saving first aid knowledge was unforgivable.

Julie's face paled instantly, a flicker of guilt flashing in her eyes.

She suddenly stood and pointed at Claire. "What would you know? You've done nothing but chase a man your whole life!"

The next second, she turned to Arthur, her fair face brimming with tears. "Arthur, this is exactly what she did three years ago! She's already starting on me, and I just got back!"

Arthur's face darkened with rage as he snapped at Claire. "Claire, apologize to Julie! And admit that you are wrong!"

Claire stood her ground stubbornly. She could apologize. But admit she was wrong? No. That would mean endorsing lies that could kill someone.

Seeing her refusal, Arthur's expression hardened, his anger barely contained. "We're still on the 97th punishment. Do you not want to get married?"

Suddenly recalling the three-year promise, Claire glanced at the whistle around her neck, clenched her fists, and lowered her head before Julie. "I'm sorry. I was wrong."

The jeers of Arthur's friends echoed in her ears.

"Claire must have lost her mind, making up all sorts of lies just because she's jealous of Julie!"

"See? Mention marriage, and she'll take any punishment. Only two more to go, and I can't wait to see how Arthur will deal with her..."

Claire finally trudged home through the heavy rain, struggling with every step.

As soon as she arrived, she came down with a fever. She found some medicine to take, then marked off another day on the calendar.

She softly touched the whistle. Only 13 more days, and she’d be free for good.

After taking the medicine, she grew drowsy and went to bed.

Arthur returned early the next morning.

The moment he arrived, he barged into the bedroom, hauled Claire out of bed, and dragged her out. "This is your fault. You made Julie upset last night. Now go apologize to her!"

The car headed straight for a tourist spot. When they arrived, Claire saw Julie standing on the high bungee platform.

Arthur pulled Claire out and pointed at the cliff below. "For your 98th punishment. Jump off here!"