Chapter 3 The Price
781 Words
A sharp wave of pain tore through her body. Seraphina forced herself back to the present, pushed him away, and hurried toward the exit.
"I'm going home," she said weakly.
Julian's expression darkened at her indifference.
"Seraphina, do you really hate seeing me that much?" he asked coldly. "You can leave, but before you do, you have to do something for me."
"What is it?" she asked.
Large beads of sweat formed on her forehead. The pain was so intense that even her voice trembled.
Blinded by anger, Julian failed to notice. A cold smile curved his lips.
"Elara wants to buy some lingerie as an anniversary gift for me," he said casually. "She's tired and needs to rest, so you'll go out and buy it for her."
He paused deliberately. "If she isn't satisfied, you will keep buying until she is."
Seraphina bit down so hard on her lip that she nearly drew blood. "What if I refuse?" she asked quietly.
"You won't refuse," Julian replied.
Without looking at her, he took out a bank card and tossed it at her face.
"One trip is worth one hundred thousand. Two trips are worth two hundred thousand. Seraphina, don't you love money? You were willing to sleep with me for it. This is easier money than that."
Julian was not wrong. During their three years of marriage, every time he touched her, he threw fifty thousand at her afterward. He called it payment.
They were husband and wife, yet he priced her openly. Every time before, Seraphina had bent down and picked up the money in front of him.
She needed expensive imported medication. She wanted to live. She had always hoped for a miracle. She had imagined a day when a doctor would smile and say, "Ms. Vale, you are cured."
Then she would finally explain everything to Julian and erase the hatred in his heart.
But the diagnosis had already sentenced her. She had one month left. Unlike every time before, Seraphina shook her head. "I don't need money anymore."
Julian studied her with suspicion, then narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly.
"What is this? Have you finally found something you care about more than money? Do you hate Elara that much?" He added lightly, "After all, she is your biological sister."
For some reason, although this was the first time in three years that Seraphina openly defied him, Julian did not feel angry.
Instead, he felt a strange flicker of satisfaction. If she hated Elara, did that mean she still cared about him.
The next second, Seraphina's words froze the smile on his face. "One trip is worth two hundred thousand," she said calmly. "If you agree, I will go."
Her pale lips trembled slightly, but her eyes were resolute. She would rather let him continue hating her. If he hated her, then when she died, he would not suffer. He had grown accustomed to hating her anyway.
Julian lost control instantly. "Get out," he shouted. "Go buy it now. If Elara is not satisfied, do not come back today."
Seraphina picked up the bank card from the floor and left without another word.
Outside, rain had begun to fall. She made more than a dozen trips back and forth.
By the time Elara finally grew tired of trying on lingerie and dismissed her, every strand of Seraphina's hair was dripping with water.
When Seraphina returned home, she developed a fever. Her temperature rose to forty degrees. Her consciousness blurred.
In her haze, she returned to the year she was eighteen. Back then, she and Julian had been poor students. Life had been difficult, but he had loved her deeply.
That winter, he worked five jobs at once. His hands were cracked and swollen from the cold, yet he refused to buy himself a pair of gloves.
Instead, he saved his money and bought her a branded wool scarf. When she wrapped the warm scarf around her neck, tears filled her eyes.
She told him she did not deserve something so expensive. She scolded him for being foolish and asked why he did not save the money to buy gloves for himself.
His hands were covered in frostbite. Seeing it hurt her more than anyone else.
Julian had looked at her firmly and said, "Seraphina is the best girl in the world. She deserves the best. I will work hard to earn money for her. One day, all my money will be hers."
Later, he did earn a great deal of money. He won her back.
But the money he earned was not used to give her the best. It was thrown at her face to humiliate her.
- Writer
