His Jealousy Was a Mask, He Gave Her the Ring

Chapter 5

I staggered out of the company with my belongings, drifting aimlessly on the streets of the city.

Two years as a trainee, eight years of a relationship—all of it had come to nothing today.

I comforted myself. 'This is just life, it can't get any worse than this.'

The next second, my vision suddenly went black, and I caught a whiff of a pungent odor.

When I woke up again, I was in a defunct factory, my hands and feet bound tight.

In front of me stood four people who looked like teens. One of them held up her phone and compared my face to the screen.

"That's her, it's definitely her!"

The moment those words left her mouth, the other girls closed in around me.

"Hey! You're the one who forced yourself on Steven, aren't you?"

"You old hag! You don't deserve him at all!"

"Cut her hair off, so she never has the face to show herself in public again."

I shrank back in terror, and it finally dawned on me that these were Steven's fans.

When I saw one of them advancing toward me with a pair of scissors, I couldn't help but scream.

"I didn't force myself on anyone! Steven and I are in a real relationship!"

All four of them froze. One of them recovered first. "How can you prove that?"

I pointed toward my bag. "I can call him!"

Half-convinced, they passed my bag to me.

I fumbled my phone out with shaking hands and dialed Steven's number.

The ringtone went on for nearly a minute before it finally connected.

"Hello?" Steven's voice came through. It was quiet in the background, but I could make out a woman's soft giggle.

My voice trembled as I said, "Steven, tell your fans the truth. Tell them exactly what our relationship is."

He paused for two seconds, as if he was thinking through what kind of situation I was in right now.

Then he laughed.

"What are you throwing a fit about now? We don't have any relationship at all. Do you really have to force me to spell it out for you? You helped me land a few gigs, and now you think you can climb your way to the top? You've chased after me for all these years. How many times have I turned you down? Can't you just stop pestering me?"

My mind went completely blank.

"Steven, what did you just say?"

He cut me off, "Alright, alright, I don't have time to play your little games right now. If you keep harassing me, I'm going to call the police."

Hailey's soft, honeyed voice cut in, "Steven, don't be mad at her. I still need her to write songs for me in the future."

"What's there to be afraid of?" he said, and then the line went dead.

I froze completely, unable to get a single word out.

Everything around us went silent for about two seconds.

Then the girls exploded.

"f**k, so this b***h was the one stalking Steven!"

"So disgusting! She had the nerve to say they were in a real relationship. What a shameless b***h!"

"She even bullies a rookie! Watch me deliver some justice."

Before I could even process what was happening, a hand violently wrenched my hair and pulled my head back.

The back of my skull slammed into the concrete floor, and my vision dimmed.

Immediately after that, fists and boots rained down on my body—my shoulders, my waist, my legs.

Someone squatted down and started slapping my face—left cheek, right cheek, seven or eight quick slaps in a row. My ears rang, and the taste of blood flooded my mouth.

"This is for pestering Steven! You shameless w***e!"

They cursed and slapped, one after the other.

The girl holding the scissors grabbed a handful of my hair and chopped away wildly at it.

I tried to shield myself, tried to fight back, but my hands and feet were bound tight.

All I could do was cry and beg them. "I really didn't... It was him... It was him..."

Before I could finish my sentence, another slap came crashing down on my face.

"How dare you badmouth Steven?"

I started to regret calling Steven. After all, they'd only meant to cut my hair at first.

I had no idea how long they beat me for.

All I knew was that I was in agony; every inch of my body hurt.

Finally, one of them said, "Let's go. Don't let this blow up."

The sound of their footsteps gradually faded away.

Gravel from the ground bit into the flesh of my back. I tried to stand, but every time I pushed myself up even a little, I collapsed again.

All I could do was crawl bit by bit toward my phone.

The screen was already shattered, but luckily it still worked. I found the contact at the very bottom of my list.

This time, the call was answered in less than three rings.

"Amber?"

I coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Mr. Roberts... The promise you made before... Does it still stand?"

Howard Roberts answered right away.

"Of course!"

My voice came out faint and breathless. "Then… Come… Save me."