Chapter 5
11 2011 Voucherg
Shortly after, Leroy came back accompanied by others.
A harsh slap landed on Jolie’s face, making her drop to her knees. Her cheek quickly became red and swollen.
Leroy looked down at her in irritation, clicking his tongue.
“Jolie, how many times has this occurred? You know I seldom get angry, don’t you?”
He interlocked his fingers, leaning forward from the sofa to whisper in her ear.
“My patience has its limits. Why do you insist on testing me?”
“Leroy, I swear I didn’t push her! Can’t you see Jane did it intentionally?”
Jolie lifted her tear–streaked face, her vision blurred with pain.
She had hoped that Leroy’s past fondness for her would make him trust her words. But she was mistaken.
Leroy closed his eyes, his face darkening with sadness. “Jolie, regardless of the circumstances. Jane is injured, and that’s the reality!”
Jolie stood still, stunned. His bias towards Jane had escalated to this level. Her heart pounded with pain, and she clutched her chest as a wave of suppressed rage constricted her throat.
Leroy gestured, ready to command that she be taken to the basement, when Jolie unexpectedly coughed up and expelled a mouthful of blood.
0.009%
15:37
Chapter 5
He fell to his knees, tension evident.
“Jolie, what’s going on?”
Jolie wiped the blood from her lips and gently pushed Leroy back, feeling utterly disenchanted.
“Leroy, go ahead and punish me. I’ll endure however many buckets of ice water you choose to give.”
She realized it was a mistake to fall in love with him. She should have
recognized sooner that she was merely a stand–in, not worth grieving over when cast aside.
It was time for her to step away.
Noticing the hopelessness in her gaze, Leroy hesitated, his fingers curling as he spoke softly, “Perhaps this time…”
Just then, his assistant called. After a brief conversation, he turned back to her with a detached, icy stare.
“Jolie, Jane broke her leg. Ballet was her passion, and now she can never dance again.”
Jolie grasped the gravity of the situation immediately.
She extended her hands, indicating her readiness to be restrained and taken to apologize to Jane, or to the basement.
However, Leroy stood abruptly, pulled her up, and pushed her into a car. The vehicle sped through the streets toward their destination.
Jolie stepped out of the car and surveyed the scene, suddenly grasping what Leroy intended.
29.02%
15.37
Chapter 5
“Leroy, please, don’t do this. Leave my mother out of it.”
“Behave yourself. Given your fragile health, this is the only way to teach you a lesson.”
A fleeting look of cruelty passed over his face as he gripped Jolie’s neck, forcing her to witness the punishment.
“Dig it up!”
“No! Don’t disturb my mother’s grave!” She fought to escape, but Leroy held her firmly, his fingers pressing into her jaw.
“Pay attention, darling. This is what happens when you make me angry.”
Before long, the grave of Jolie’s mother was opened, revealing a black urn.
“Bring it here!” Leroy ordered, catching the urn securely as two bodyguards held back the struggling Jolie.
“This urn is all I have left of her, Leroy. Please don’t do this.”
Leroy paid no attention to her plea, his expression filled with annoyance.
“Darling, did you know Jane is also the only thing I have left? Now that she’s back, I just want her to be protected.”
As he spoke, the urn hit the ground with a heavy thud, causing fine ashes to spill out and scatter across the earth.
“Since you destroyed the gift Jane gave you, your mother’s ashes deserve the same fate!”
Jolie’s tears dropped like shattered beads, scattering onto the ashes and gradually soaking what remained of her mother.
58.209
15370
Chapter 5
She tried to gather the scattered ashes with her hands, but they slipped
away.
At that moment, a light rain began to fall.
28 Veucherin
“No, Mom, please stay! Don’t leave!” She removed her clothes, attempting
to shield the ashes with them and her body, but it was futile.
Jolie clutched at the ashes as they vanished in the rain, sobbing uncontrollably.
The rain fell harder, relentlessly washing everything away as if to erase her last glimmer of hope.
8901%
