The Flames of Retribution

Without waiting for her to stop me, I turned and ran out of the hospital. I hailed a taxi and went straight to Segway, which was more than ten kilometers away. Anthony sure knew how to torture people. Segway and the Hedon Club were located on opposite ends of New York. I sincerely offered my condolences to Bella's period for making her crave a bowl of shaved ice in the middle of winter. No one stopped me when I walked into the Hedon Club carrying the shaved ice. Most people here knew me. However, I didn't quite like the way they addressed me: Anthony's lapdog. I went all the way up and just as I pushed open the door, I heard Anthony talking to someone. "Claire? I can make her do anything I want." His voice was cold and indifferent, devoid of any emotion. "She's as obedient as a dog. Would you throw away something like that?" Those who had mocked me on countless occasions all chimed in and laughed, "That's true. If I had such a good dog, I would definitely keep her on a tight leash." I stood still. The conversation inside continued. "Mr. Reed, aren't you afraid of being too harsh and driving Claire away?" Anthony smiled and reached out to pinch the cheek of the girl beside him. He leaned close to her shoulder suggestively. "Dogs are the most loyal creatures." Everyone else laughed knowingly. "But then again, Claire is quite pretty, and her figure is great." "You must have slept with her, Mr. Reed. How was it?" "I find it dirty." Anthony lit a cigarette casually. "Would you sleep with a dog?" Another round of laughter erupted. It was during this burst of laughter that I smiled and met Anthony's gaze. ***** The girl in Anthony's arms was very young. She looked like she was still a college student, with beautiful, innocent, wide eyes that blinked at me. She seemed to be better than the girl who had forced me to drink last night. I thought to myself. But the opposite was true. As the girl took the shaved ice I handed her, she "accidentally" spilled the ice-cold soup all over her fair legs. "Oh!" The girl stood up from the sofa like a startled rabbit and "accidentally" knocked the entire bowl of shaved ice over, spilling it all over me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just too startled. I know you didn't mean to either. I'm fine." The girl's beautiful eyes were very moving, with tears welling up in them. "Anthony, don't blame her." "I... I'm really fine." She had said everything that needed to be said. I had nothing to say. I could only stand there motionless, looking down at the shaved ice all over me. I felt a little sorry for the clothes I was wearing as I thought to myself that she didn't have to do this. Anthony would have found fault with me anyway. After all, I had smiled at the door just now. He hated it most when I smiled. As expected, in the next second, Anthony stood up abruptly and kicked the coffee table. The coffee table was knocked away and hit my leg. As I fell to the ground in pain, I was still thinking, 'This is great. It's the last time.'  "Claire, you really are an ungrateful b***h! You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Anthony stepped forward and lifted me up from the ground. My face turned red from the force. "Say something! Are you mute? Why were you smiling just now? Who allowed you to smile?" The people around me had never seen Anthony like this before. They were so scared that the entire room fell silent. "S-sorry..." I gasped, speaking haltingly. There was no need for me to explain, and he wouldn't listen anyway. "Claire, apologize to Bella right now, or get the hell out of the Reed family home with your things!" The high fever had already made me delirious, but I still caught his last sentence. It was like music to my ears. I steadied myself and gently struggled, freeing my clothes from his grasp. Anthony thought I was going to apologize, so he easily let go. "Okay." I smiled at him. "Goodbye then, Anthony." With that, under everyone's shocked gazes, I straightened my back and walked straight out of Room 1808, which had been a nightmare for so many years. Behind me, Anthony's furious roar was completely cut off as the door closed. "Claire, don't you regret this!"