I Was His Pillow, Now I Leave Him

Chapter 5

Lillian just stood there, watching Emilia destroy her most cherished possessions piece by piece with a reckless, unbridled smile on her face.

Even though her sister's body had already been cremated and what lay before her was merely an empty coffin, a sense of desolation still swept uncontrollably through her heart.

She wished, more than anything, that she had never loved Brandon.

Through the reflections in the shattered glass, Megan's face became distorted, pulling Lillian along with it into a swirling vortex of memories.

That year, Brandon was twelve years old, and his cold attitude had gradually softened under Lillian's persistent kindness.

Upon learning that she had a younger sister who was gravely ill, he secretly snuck her out to visit the hospital.

"Lillian, is this your sister?" the young Brandon had asked, peering into the hospital room with curiosity.

Megan had just undergone another surgery. Covered in tubes from head to toe, she looked painfully fragile and frightening.

The young Lillian replied, "Yes. Her name is Megan Adkin."

Brandon, in his youth, felt deep pity for this sickly girl. Holding Lillian's hand, he had promised solemnly, "Don't worry, Lillian. I'm going to treat Megan like my own sister. The Dawsons will definitely get her treated!"

That face, once filled with childish sincerity, gradually merged with the cold, unfeeling countenance before her.

Summoning strength from some unknown source, Lillian violently broke free from Brandon's restraint and lunged toward Emilia.

Slap! A resounding, crisp slap landed across Emilia's face.

Struck so hard that she staggered back a step, Emilia clutched her cheek, completely dazed.

She clearly had not expected Lillian to actually dare to lay a hand on her right in front of Brandon.

With eyes bloodshot and wild, Lillian reached out, trying to grab Emilia once more.

"Brandon, it hurts so bad... my stomach... my stomach..." Reacting in a split second, Emilia fell backward along the trajectory of Lillian's hand, landing squarely on a pile of shattered glass as a pool of crimson blood began to seep out.

"Emilia!" Brandon's expression changed drastically. In a single stride, he rushed forward and gathered Emilia into his arms.

"Brandon, our baby..." Pale-faced, Emilia looked up at Brandon with reddened eyes. Her unshed tears pooled heavily, making her look incredibly fragile and pitiable.

Brandon hastily scooped her up. "Lillian, you keep pushing my buttons over and over! Do you seriously think I'm just going to let this slide?"

He shoved her away violently. Before Lillian even had a chance to defend herself and explain that she hadn't pushed Emilia, she heard Brandon hand down her sentence.

"Tie Lillian up and give her the family punishment! And nobody lets her leave this house without my say-so."

With that, he hurriedly left with Emilia in his arms, without so much as a backward glance.

The family punishment...

Hearing those words, Lillian's body swayed almost imperceptibly.

The Dawsons' traditional punishment was a brutal flogging, a rule passed down for generations.

She had only endured it once before, when she first arrived at the age of ten, taking the blame for a mistake Brandon had made.

She still remembered how Brandon had held her battered, wound-covered body back then, vowing that he would never let her suffer like that again.

Now, the very person ordering her punishment was also him.

Inside the cold hall of the Dawson estate, the air hung heavy with the scent of aged wood and dust.

"Ma'am, we're so sorry."

Crack! The sharp sound of a whip ripping through the air echoed right before landing heavily on her back. An agonizing, blinding pain immediately exploded through her entire body.

Lillian bit her lip hard, refusing to make a single sound.

One strike, two strikes, three strikes...

Her body began to tremble. In her dazed state, she seemed to see Megan again, watching her smile and say, "Don't cry. It doesn't hurt..."

A sudden, violent throbbing pain gripped her lower stomach, and a warm fluid began to trickle down her inner thighs.

"Stop, stop right now! She's bleeding!" Lillian heard the panicked, frantic voices of the staff ring out.

"Wait, could it be..." The staff exchanged glances, completely at a loss for what to do.

An older, experienced maid suddenly gasped in horror. "Is she having a miscarriage?!"

A shiver ran down their spines, and the butler hurriedly called Brandon. "Sir, Madam is..."

"I don't want to hear about her. She messed up, so she took the punishment. I know how the family flogging works. It's just a surface wound to teach her a lesson. Tell Lillian this is what happens."

Brandon's voice, still dripping with a bitter chill, echoed through the room, immediately followed by the faint sound of a cloying female voice on the other end.

Collapsed on the floor, Lillian had already fallen into a semi-conscious state, yet his words still reached her with agonizing clarity.

The call was disconnected. Her lips moved faintly. "Don't... don't you dare tell Brandon about this baby..."

With those words, her vision went black, and she could no longer hear a thing.

The staff wanted to rush Lillian to the hospital, but they were stopped by the bodyguards guarding the door, leaving them with no choice but to take her back to her bedroom.