Chapter 6

Freya's POV

After Blake went abroad, Lena completely threw off all restraint.

Her ways of making things difficult for me got worse and worse, even more ruthless than when Blake was around.

Before, when Blake was here, she would still put on an act of being fragile and magnanimous.

But now, she couldn't even be bothered to pretend anymore.

Every day before dawn, she would make me come to her room to serve her as she got up.

Even though my legs hadn't fully recovered, she never wanted to wait even one second. If I was the slightest bit slow, at best I'd get a scolding, at worst a beating.

She suddenly told me that she had transferred my mom from her original hospital to a private hospital owned by the Jenkins Group.

"Freya, don't overthink it."

She sat in her wheelchair, her tone fake and sweet: "I'm doing this for your own good. The private hospital has better conditions, with dedicated staff to take care of your mom. It's way more reliable than the old hospital, and you can serve me here with peace of mind."

How could I not understand what she was really thinking?

The so-called dedicated care was just surveillance.

She was using my mom to threaten me, to make me obediently listen and let her control me.

If I showed even the slightest resistance, she could make a move against my mom at any time.

I wanted to object, wanted to go to the hospital right away to see Mom, but I didn't even have the right to leave the Jenkins Manor.

I spent every day in torment, having to endure Lena's harassment on one hand, while worrying about Mom's safety on the other.

I didn't know if she was doing okay at the private hospital.

Whether she was being bullied, whether she was taking her medicine on time.

I wanted to call the hospital to ask about her condition, but Lena had already taken away my phone, not giving me even a chance to contact the outside world.

In the afternoon, the villa's doorbell rang. I limped over to open the door.

Standing at the door was the property manager, holding a large bouquet of gorgeous begonia flowers.

A full nine hundred and ninety-nine of them, in full bloom, their fragrance filling the air.

My heart jumped suddenly, and for a moment, I actually thought the bouquet was for me.

When I was little, Blake knew I loved begonia flowers.

Every spring, he would pick the most beautiful begonias to give me.

He said begonia flowers suited me best - gentle yet resilient.

I instinctively reached out my hand, wanting to take the bouquet, murmuring: "Thank you..."

But just as my fingertips were about to touch the petals, a voice suddenly snapped me back to reality.

"Freya, you don't actually think these flowers are for you, do you?"

Her tone was full of mockery.

My outstretched hand froze in mid-air, the color draining from my face instantly.

I felt embarrassed and humiliated, and could only silently pull my hand back.

Lena gently stroked the petals, deliberately showing off: "Blake had these sent back from abroad. These flowers are specifically for me, don't you dare touch them!"

"Look at yourself and what you are - just a servant, how could you deserve them?"

I felt a bit awkward: "You like begonia flowers too? I never heard you mention it before."

Lena laughed softly: "People change. Just because I didn't like them before doesn't mean I don't like them now. Besides, whether I really like them or not doesn't matter - what matters is that Blake thinks I like them."

As she spoke, she pulled out an elegant card from the bouquet and held it in front of me, deliberately making sure I could see it clearly.

The handwriting on the card was all too familiar to me.

Blake's handwriting, strong and powerful.

He used to write me all kinds of cards too.

[Lena, missing you.]

I deliberately looked away.

Seeing my restrained expression, Lena smiled even more smugly.

But the next second, she casually threw the card on the ground and ran over it with her wheelchair.

"Freya, remember this - everything I have now, even if I throw it away, it will never be your turn!"

I didn't say anything, just bent down and carefully picked up the crumpled card.

I clutched the card tightly in my hand.

From that day on, a bouquet of begonia flowers was delivered to the villa every day.

Reminding me over and over again to know my place.

Days passed one by one, and my legs gradually got a bit better.

Although they still couldn't recover to how they were before, at least I didn't have to lean against the wall to move around slowly anymore.

Early morning, just after dawn.

I was woken up by a strange noise.

The noise was coming from Lena's bedroom.

It sounded like someone walking around, and soft voices talking.

I felt confused, and a bit uneasy.

Lena's legs weren't working properly - if she fell and got hurt, I'd be in deep trouble when Blake asked about it.

Fear drove me toward Lena's bedroom.

I walked to the bedroom door and stopped quietly, noticing the door wasn't fully closed.

I instinctively glanced inside.

With that one look, I froze completely.

Inside the bedroom, Lena wasn't sitting in her wheelchair at all.

Lena was standing steadily - there was no sign of disability whatsoever!

Aiden, who was supposed to be on leave, was also standing nearby. He looked somewhat nervous, advising in a low voice: "Ms. Johnson, you should still be careful. If someone finds out, there'll be trouble! And Mr. Jenkins..."

"Finds out?" Lena laughed coldly: "So what if someone finds out? Blake cares about me so much, even if he knew, he wouldn't blame me."

"Besides, that Freya won't live much longer anyway. Even if she finds out, it just means her death date comes sooner."

"But Ms. Johnson, what if..." Aiden tried to persuade her, but Lena cut him off.

"No what ifs!" Lena's eyes turned cold, her tone becoming vicious.

"She's just a worthless piece of trash I've been playing with - what's there to be afraid of? The only reason I'm keeping her at the Jenkins family is because I haven't had enough fun yet. But soon, she and that weak mother of hers will be reunited in hell!"

My heart jolted violently, my whole body trembling.

So Lena's disability was fake!

So she had been deceiving Blake all along!

So she had been planning to kill me and my mom all this time!

Overwhelming shock and fear instantly engulfed me.

I instinctively wanted to back away, to escape from here quickly, but because I was too nervous, my foot slipped and I accidentally knocked over a decorative vase by the door.

"Crash..."

The ornament fell to the ground with a crisp sound that seemed especially harsh in the quiet villa.

The movement inside the bedroom stopped instantly.

The air seemed to freeze, so quiet I could hear my own violent heartbeat.

Beating so fast it was almost bursting out of my chest.

I was so scared my whole body went rigid, not even daring to breathe loudly, standing frozen in place.

This is bad.

My palms were covered in cold sweat.

I knew I absolutely couldn't let Lena discover that I knew her secret.

I wanted to run, but I didn't dare make any more noise.

After a few seconds, Lena's wary voice came from the bedroom.

"Who's out there?"