Chapter 7

If Elizabeth dared to leave with Daniel, Matthew swore he would personally break her legs and chain her to his bed. Even if she died, she would die in his arms.

Standing off to the side, Emily watched with a gloating, wishing Elizabeth would just run off with this strange man already.

Elizabeth stared at Daniel's face, and the pain of being killed by him in her past life surged through her heart.

It was this man!

He had treated her like a disposable toy. He had manipulated her devotion, weaponized her trust, and then casually, cruelly slaughtered her.

"Don't you ever touch me!" Elizabeth shrieked. Her eyes were full of hatred as she violently wrenched her arm from Daniel’s grasp.

A crisp slap echoed throughout the entire jewelry store.

The entire showroom fell deathly silent. Guests and staff froze, staring at the scene in absolute shock.

Daniel was stunned by the slap, covering his face and looking at Elizabeth in disbelief.

"Elizabeth, you..."

"Shut your mouth! Who gave you permission to speak my name? The sound of it coming from your throat makes me sick to my stomach!"

Elizabeth's whole body was trembling. In front of everyone, she straightened her back and declared loudly.

"I'm Matthew's woman! Even if he reduces me to his maid, or treats me like a dog at his feet, I am willing!"

"Daniel, get out of my sight! Don't you ever dare lay your filthy hands on me again!"

After saying this, she spun around and looked at Matthew in the distance with reddened eyes.

The anger in Matthew's heart suddenly disappeared when that slap landed.

He stared at the woman who was suddenly bristling with thorns, a hint of pleasure he didn't even notice himself flashing in his eyes.

But just as quickly, the paranoid shadows descended, darkening his expression.

What a convincing performance.

To soften his guard, these two were putting on such a show in public. How hard they must have worked.

"Mr. Moore..." Daniel managed to choke out. Meeting Matthew's gloomy gaze, a violent chill raced down Daniel's spineinstantly extinguishing any anger he felt from the slap.

Daniel took a deep look at Elizabeth, then turned and strode away.

Matthew withdrew his gaze; no warmth was left in his eyes.

Without sparring Elizabeth a single glance, he wrapped his arm loosely around Emily’s waist, walked to the car door, floored the gas pedal, and the black Maybach sped away.

Elizabeth watched the rapidly departing car, her chest seized with suffocating pain.

She couldn't let him leave! If his paranoia won—if he misunderstood her actions again tonight—she would never get another chance to prove her loyalty!

"Matthew! Don't leave me!" Elizabeth ignored the stabbing pain in her feet and started running after him.

The rough asphalt scraped against the soles of her feet, each step bringing piercing pain.

She didn't care, desperately chasing those two red taillights.

At the intersection, a truck approaching from the side blared its horn, the piercing sound cutting through the air.

Elizabeth didn't even flinch. Her eyes were locked entirely on Matthew's departing car as she charged straight into the middle of the active intersection.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" The truck driver's face went pale as he slammed on the brakes. The massive grill of the truck screeched to a halt mere inches from Elizabeth's side.

The Maybach ahead let out a violent, ear-splitting screech. The tires dragged two long black marks across the ground as it stopped abruptly by the roadside.

The driver's side door flew open with a savage kick. Matthew stormed out into the street. His face pale, the veins at his temple throbbing as they might burst.

He strode over in a few large strides. Grabbing Elizabeth by the collar of her ruined dress, he hoisted her entirely off the ground.

"Elizabeth! Do youhave a fucking death wish?!" Matthew's roar was so loud it made her ears ring.

His hands were visibly shaking. He was genuinely, fiercely terrified.

When he had glanced in the rearview mirror and seen the truck bearing down on her, his heart had completely stopped in his chest.

Elizabeth gasped for air, her face deathly pale. Looking at the man before her, tears suddenly spilled over her lashes.

"I'm not afraid of dying... I'm only afraid you won't want me..."

"Shut up!" Matthew snarled, finding her words utterly ridiculous. The violence in his eyes intensifying.

He pulled out a folding knife from his pocket and flicked it open with a swish, the cold light gleaming.

Matthew grabbed Elizabeth's trembling hand and forcefully shoved the knife handle into her palm. He gripped her wrist in a vice, violently jerking her arm forward until the razor-sharp tip of the blade pressed directly against the left side of his chest—right over his heart.

Matthew stared into her eyes, his voice hoarse.

"Right here! Stab here! One thrust and I'll never stand in the way of you and Daniel again!"

The cold knife tip pierced through his shirt, pressing dangerously tight against his burning skin.

Elizabeth's hand trembled so violently the handle dug painfully into her own palm.

Memories from her past life instantly flooded her mind. She had done exactly this. She had held a blade to the chest of this man—the only man who had ever truly loved her—all to protect Daniel.

An agonizing, suffocating regret seized her heart.

"No... I won't do it..." Elizabeth's entire body shuddered violently as she suddenly opened her fingers.

The knife clattered harmlessly against the asphalt.

Without a second's hesitation, Elizabeth threw herself forward. She wrapped her arms desperately around his lean waist, burying her tear-soaked face into the solid wall of his chest.

"Matthew, I won't kill you, I love you... I only love you in this life..."

"I just want to stay by your side, please, don't send me away, don't abandon me..."

Elizabeth, in his arms, was trembling all over from crying, her tears quickly soaking the fabric on his chest.

Matthew's rigid body went entirely stiff. His hands, hanging uselessly at his sides, twitched. As if wanting to hold her, but the next second, he forcefully pushed her away.

Elizabeth staggered back two steps, nearly falling.

Matthew looked down at her, his eyes returning to that terrifying, empty void.

"Bravo, Elizabeth. Keep up this level of performance, and Hollywood might just give you a call."

He stepped closer, backing Elizabeth into a corner.

"Love me? What do you love me with? With the hand you used to slit own wrists just so you could escape me and marry Daniel?"

He reached out and roughly seized her left arm. His thumb dug ruthlessly into the hideous, jagged scar carved across her inner wrist.

It was the ultimate proof of her past devotion to Daniel, and a poisoned thorn permanently wedged in Matthew's heart.

"When you were bleeding out in that bathtub, painting the porcelain red... when I was on my knees outside the operating room begging the surgeons to save you, why didn't you say you loved me then?"

"Now you want to talk about love? If you don't find it disgusting, I do!"

Matthew roughly threw her arm aside. He pulled a pristine silk handkerchief from his pocket and vigorously wiped his fingers, as if her very touch had contaminated him.

"Get lost." He turned his back on her, his posture absolute and resolute.

"Don't ever appear in front of me again.If you do, I cannot guarantee I won't strangle you with my bare hands."

Elizabeth stared at his retreating back; all the strength drained from her body.

He didn't believe her. No matter what she said or did, he wouldn't believe her anymore.

She had dug her own grave. She's the one who killed Matthew, who had eyes only for her.

"I'm sorry... Matthew, I'm sorry..." Elizabeth suddenly raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the face.

The crisp sound of the slap was especially loud on the empty street.

Matthew's steps paused, but he didn't turn around.

Another slap.

Elizabeth used all her strength. Her already pale face instantly swelled up red, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

"I was wrong... I was blind..."

"I never should have hurt you... I shouldn't have believed that bastard..."

She cried while slapping herself.

She absolutely loathed the stupid, naive girl she used to be. If beating herself to death right here on the pavement could make him even a fraction less angry, she would gladly die.

The sounds from behind made Matthew's heart tighten again and again.

Damn it! Matthew suddenly turned around, rushed back in a few steps, and grabbed Elizabeth's wrist as she was about to slap herself again.

"What are you doing!" He looked at Elizabeth's badly swollen cheeks, a sharp pain shooting through his heart.

This woman always knew how to hurt him the most.

Elizabeth was forced to stop, looking at him through tear-blurred eyes, her voice broken.

"Matthew... don't be angry... you can hit me, you can kill me, just please don't send me away..."

She had let go of all her dignity, only begging him to look at her once.