Beatrice had no idea how long she had been biting her lip.

With both feet beginning to feel like they were not on the cold floor, the blonde woman with the beautiful irises bestowed upon her was clearly overwhelmed with anxiety. The only thing she couldn't hide and had to end up being real, was because ever since her hands that were clasped together on her lap started to feel cold.


She was afraid. She was alone, even though her mother --Madam Collins, was sitting right next to her.

"I hope you agree with what I have to offer, Mrs. Collins." Ryan Lueic's distinctive voice echoed in the sizable living room. A single lamp with a faint yellow accent seemed to hang above, but it was off as the sun was still shining brightly outside.

"If you agree to the deal, then we won't go down any paths," continued the middle-aged man who was wearing a bright white short-sleeved shirt. His wife, Patricia Lueic, sat right beside him. Since stepping onto the floor of the Collins mansion a few tens of minutes ago, Patricia had been trying hard to keep a smile on her face.


At the very least, she had to be professional even though she did not like being there.

Madam Collins seemed to glance at Beatrice who now chose to keep her head down. Her knees felt weak, with fingers that did not stop moving due to the extreme awkwardness. The woman's face turned deathly pale, as if the blood in her body was slowly being sucked out of her.


"Mr. Lueic, I truly apologize." Madam Collins' voice sounded hoarse, as she did not expect to receive the Lueic nuclear family at her mansion today. Moreover, it turned out that their guests' intentions were to sever all existing ties.

Ryan's eyeballs moved along with the faint nod he gave, as Madam Collins continued slowly.

"It was my fault for making that decision in haste," Madam Collins said again. The dim light in her daughter's eyes was the only reason why she once again tried to explain everything. "But believe me my daughter has truly returned, and she is serious about making things right. Doing it all over again with Rey would probably-"

"Things are no longer the same, ma'am," Ryan Lueic interrupted carefully. That wasn't what he was here for, and he really didn't want to waste time. Especially when he remembered he hadn't had coffee yet that day. He'd better hurry up, and then they could go back.

The look on Madam Collins' face turned flat, with a glance that she again directed at her only daughter.

Perhaps this is the fate you must face, Beatrice. Your punishment came too soon.

"The fact that Rey doesn't want Beatrice back now should be accepted gracefully," Ryan Lueic replied in an overly sage tone. "After all, we like Luana, and intend to have her as a daughter-in-law in the Lueic family."

Beatrice's eyeballs widened, her head involuntarily tilted to now stare straight at Ryan. Looking at the middle-aged man who did not seem to waver in the slightest, even though she was supposed to be the daughter-in-law for the family.

"But, sir." Madam Collins tried once more. "She is a servant and you cannot-"

"Sorry to interrupt your sentence, Madam." This time it was Patricia who opened her lips slowly, with her head held high. "That's why we made the agreement, isn't it? Regardless of Luana's status, we just want her. After all, she is carrying a child for the Lueic family's bloodline."

Like being struck by lightning right in the solar plexus, Beatrice felt her body relax with a single blow. The sentence that Patricia had just spoken right before her eyes had made the young woman lose her mind, as well as being stunned by the fact that had just been revealed.

The fact that Rey really loved Luana.

The fact that Rey, her ex-fiancé, had made love to that low-caste woman.

Two facts that were enough to break the heart of Beatrice Collins, who had always thought that her decision to run away from her own wedding was not a wrong choice. But the more she thought about it, the greater the regret became.

Beatrice's lips were paralyzed, unable to move even to utter a word. What she thought when she saw Rey's parents arrive for the first time was that maybe they wanted to ask her back. Her sudden visit to Leipzig a while ago had seemed rash and presumptuous, but Beatrice thought Rey's parents would be on her side.

She had hoped they would come to offer her another party, but look how that hope had been dashed to pieces. Add to that the fact that the entire Lueic family accepted Luana's status, which seemed to make Beatrice want to rip her life from her body.

That much pain. That painful. Where should she put her face now?

"Therefore, I hope we do not incriminate each other, ma'am." Ryan Lueic's voice was heard again. His throat felt dry, but he did not touch the tea served by the Collins family servant on the table. "I don't want the relationship between the two families to go sour, so please accept my conditions for you to let Luana go."

There were no more loopholes.

Ryan and Patricia's presence there was indeed to ask for the rights to Luana who was now still a servant in the Collins family, until finally that status could be removed with the agreement that Ryan had prepared before this.

"Think about it," Ryan said again. "Forcing something that shouldn't be will only hurt all parties, don't you think?"

The charismatic old man now tugged at the corners of his lips to show a friendly smile, hoping that what he had outlined earlier to release Luana from the Collins family would be approved by his host.

Madam Collins turned to her daughter to check on Beatrice, who must have had her heart broken by a mere word. They say the tongue can be so sharp that it can kill, so that was what Beatrice was going through right now.

Her eyes were empty, as Rey was completely gone from her.

There was no love left in their relationship, because Rey had decided to throw her away just as she had thrown him away. Forcing her brain to think, Beatrice now ventured to open her lips softly.

"May I... see Luana?" she asked with a blank look in her eyes. There were no tears in her eyes, but Patricia, who was now looking at Beatrice intently, knew that the woman was hurting.

Shaking her head faintly, Patricia apologized.

"I'm sorry, Beatrice," she said in a low but very gentle tone. "For now, you probably can't. Come back later when things are going well, then you might be able to see her."

Again, like a hundred knives plunging into her chest, Beatrice could only sigh softly. Her punishment had come, and there she was to receive her trial. She felt like dying, especially when her family-who was supposed to be her family-was now guarding Luana so closely.

Wasting no more time, Beatrice Collins lifted herself up from the sofa. The crystal clarity that she thought would never come was there to greet her, just as she turned away without saying a word.

Trotting down the stairs to reach the doorknob of her room, Beatrice ignored the call of her mother's voice that repeated her name. Entering her room and flopping onto her soft bed, she let the pain take over her body and mind for now.

Apparently, this is what it feels like to be thrown away.

Grabbing her cell phone to type a few words into it, Beatrice pressed the send button with her chest pounding.

Beatric Collins:

Rey, is this what being dumped feels like? Is this how you felt when I left you on our wedding day?

Beatric's fingers were still tightly gripping her cell phone, when a few seconds later a voice sounded softly. A reply message from Rey.

Rey Lueic:

Are you enjoying it now? Trust me Beatrice, everything you feel will be worth it.

And those words sent by Rey succeeded in making Beatrice's tears break out, with the incredible throbbing she felt in her chest. Pounding her heart, which also flowed in every stream of her blood.

Now she knew, she had really made a mistake.