Misconception

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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"Since you have refused anesthesia, it will be very painful," warned the doctor through his mask as he looked down at Julie Lin.

Lying on the cold operating table, Julie Lin put her legs on the stirrups and raised her hand to touch her belly. "It doesn't matter if it will be painful for me. I want to know whether the baby in my belly will feel the pain."

Seeing the expression on Julie Lin's face, the doctor couldn't help but shake his head. "Do you regret it now? Why didn't you protect yourself at that time? Men can do whatever they want because they don’t have to suffer the consequences. But as a woman, don't you know better? Now that you're pregnant, you want an abortion. It is harmful to your health."

Julie Lin wanted to say that she was not a promiscuous woman and that the child belonged to her legitimate husband. But she held her tongue and smiled bitterly. What was the point of giving explanations now? Since that fateful night, three months ago, her so-called husband, James Leng, hadn't shown his face to Julie Lin. He didn't even answer her calls.

James Leng must have regretted having sex with her again after getting drunk that night.

When the doctor looked at Julie Lin, he felt that she wanted to say something but stopped. He asked impassively, "What's the matter?"

Julie Lin covered her belly. Before the operation, she had felt a sharp pain in her belly, as if her baby was struggling to survive.

She took a deep breath to calm down and looked up at the doctor. "Where is my phone? Can I just see it once again?"

She wanted to give herself and her baby one last chance.

"You are already on the operating table. What else do you want to do now?" asked the doctor impatiently.

Julie Lin tried to sit up and implored the doctor in a soft voice, "Please?"

The doctor let out an exasperated breath and turned to the nurse. "Bring her phone."

Julie Lin immediately dialed James Leng's number. It just kept ringing for a long time. When she was about to give up hope, the call suddenly connected.

"What's wrong with you now?" asked James Leng callously.

Julie Lin explained hurriedly, "After that night, I..."

Before she could finish her sentence, James Leng interrupted, "Don't tell me that you're pregnant! Julie, you are a scheming woman! The first time you slept with me, you leaked it to the media and caused a big scandal. So I was forced to marry you. The second time you slept with me, you got pregnant? What a coincidence! Even if you are carrying my child, I won't accept it. I won't allow a conniving woman like you to give birth to my child. You should be content with the fact that you've become Mrs. Leng. You shouldn't... "

Julie squeezed her eyes shut and hung up the phone. She had expected this response from him, but she also wanted to fight for her child. Smiling wryly, she touched her belly again.

This baby was as unlucky as her. Even before it came into this world, the baby was going to be hated by its biological father. Why should she give birth to this baby and give it the same wretched future as hers? It was already unfortunate that the child was in her womb, if it was born without the love and acceptance of its father, it would have a horrible fate.

Julie's phone was ringing incessantly. It was James Leng. She could imagine how angry he must be after she hung up while he was still talking. Nobody dared to hang up on the great James Leng!

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