Chapter 3

Freya's POV

I didn't say anything. I silently walked behind Lena, lifted my swollen hands, and carefully started massaging her shoulders.

My hands were already burned by coffee and cut by glass.

Every time I applied pressure, a sharp pain shot through the wounds.

But Lena deliberately made things difficult for me. One moment she'd say the pressure was too light, the next too heavy, then she'd say I was massaging the wrong spot. She kept ordering me around, not letting me rest for a single moment.

"No, it's here. Press harder. Are you deliberately half-assing this?"

"Lighter! Are you trying to crush me? Freya, are you still holding a grudge against me? Are you trying to get revenge?"

I gritted my teeth and let Lena boss me around, not daring to resist in the slightest.

I knew that as long as Lena wasn't satisfied, Blake would make things difficult for me and for my mom.

Night gradually fell. The lights in the villa came on one by one. Blake sat on the sofa not far away, handling work. Occasionally he'd look up, see my exhausted state, and show not a trace of emotion.

Instead, he'd ask Lena gently, "Lena, feeling better? If she's not doing a good job, I'll get someone else."

Lena leaned against Blake's leg, smiling sweetly. "No need, Blake. Freya's doing great. I just feel bad for tiring her out."

While saying this, her hand secretly pinched me from behind, signaling me to continue and not to stop.

That whole night, I stood behind Lena, constantly massaging her shoulders and back without a moment's rest.

My hands hurt more and more, my shoulders grew increasingly sore, my whole body felt like it was falling apart, my vision kept going black, and I nearly collapsed several times. But I didn't dare stop.

Lena deliberately kept her eyes closed, enjoying my service, occasionally making things harder by having me change positions.

It wasn't until nearly dawn that she said with fake exhaustion, "Alright, thanks for your hard work, Freya. You can go rest now."

I staggered back a step, barely able to stand. My hands were so swollen they were unrecognizable, the wounds inflamed and red.

I hadn't slept all night. I looked completely haggard.

I didn't say anything. I kept my head down and shuffled back to my small, dark servant's room, collapsed on the bed, and instantly fell asleep.

The following days were even harder to endure.

Lena made things increasingly difficult for me. Blake, right in front of me, would be affectionate and intimate with Lena, not caring about my feelings at all.

He'd gently feed Lena, patiently wipe her hands, and when she was unhappy, he'd softly comfort her with sweet words. All that tenderness.

All that adoration used to be mine alone. Now it was all given to Lena.

And I could only be an observer.

A week later, Blake and Lena's engagement party was held grandly at the Jenkins Manor.

All the relatives and friends who'd had dealings with the Jenkins family, along with Blake's business partners, attended the engagement party.

The villa was brilliantly lit, filled with voices, radiating festive atmosphere everywhere.

Only I, wearing a faded servant's uniform, kept my head down, quietly working in the corners like an out-of-place outsider.

Many relatives and friends looked surprised when they saw me, then their expressions turned to anger and contempt.

Years ago, when the Jenkins family faced disaster and James and Emily died tragically, everyone heard that it was me and my gambling father who, for money, conspired with the Jenkins family's competitors, leading to that tragedy.

These past few years, everyone thought I'd taken the money and disappeared from the city. They never expected I'd appear as a servant at Blake and Lena's engagement party.

"Isn't that Freya? What's she doing here?"

"That's her, that's the woman who got Mr. Jenkins and Mrs. Jenkins killed. What an ungrateful woman!"

"James and Emily loved her so much back then, treated her like their own daughter, and she did something so ungrateful!"

Harsh words pelted me one after another. Someone deliberately walked up to me and bumped into me, making the tray in my hands fall to the ground, shards scattering everywhere.

"Useless thing, can't even hold a tray. Do you deserve to be here?"

"You dare show your face here? Shameless!"

My body trembled slightly. My fingers gripped the corner of my clothes tightly, nails digging into my flesh again, but I had no way out.

I looked up toward Blake in the distance, my eyes carrying a trace of pleading, begging him to help me. But Blake just coldly watched it all.

There wasn't a ripple in his eyes. He even pulled Lena closer protectively, tacitly allowing everyone to humiliate and torment me.

His silent approval hurt more than those harsh words, more than the deliberate difficulties.

Lena gently tugged at Blake's sleeve, putting on a kind and generous expression, and said softly to the surrounding relatives and friends.

"Everyone, please don't talk about Freya like that. What's past is past. I know she didn't mean it. Let's not make things hard for her anymore."

As she spoke, she deliberately pulled me to her side, intimately holding my hand, and in a voice only we could hear, threatened me.

"Freya, today I'm going to teach you a lesson, make you fully understand your place."

My whole body stiffened, my eyes full of confusion and unease. I didn't understand what Lena meant.

Lena's lips curved into a meaningful smile as she silently mouthed, "You'll know soon enough."

Then she immediately switched back to that gentle, kind demeanor, leaned into Blake's embrace, and said softly, "Blake, let's not let everyone make things hard for Freya. The engagement ceremony is about to start. Let's not ruin everyone's mood."

Seeing Lena being so generous, Blake's eyes grew even more tender.

He gently ruffled her hair and nodded. "Whatever you say, Lena."

The engagement ceremony officially began. Blake took Lena's hand and walked onto the stage step by step, accepting everyone's blessings.

The host cheerfully spoke words of blessing. On the big screen, footage of Blake and Lena's loving moments began to play.

There were scenes of them together at the hospital, Blake pushing Lena on walks, and videos of Blake proposing to Lena. The images were warm and romantic. Applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

Lena leaned into Blake's embrace, her face full of happy smiles.

But the next second, the images on the big screen suddenly changed.

The warm, loving videos turned into footage of Lena dancing before she became disabled.

In the video, Lena had a graceful figure and a radiant smile.

She danced on stage, agile and dazzling.

She was completely different from the woman now sitting in a wheelchair.

The entire venue instantly went quiet. Everyone's eyes focused on the big screen, then turned to Lena on stage.

Lena's face instantly turned deathly pale. Her happy smile froze on her face, her eyes filled with terror and despair.

She suddenly pushed Blake away, her hands frantically pounding her legs, letting out a heart-wrenching cry: "I don't want to see it! I don't want to see it!"