When I was seventeen, I rushed into a burning building to save Leo.
A falling beam hit my head, and from that day on, I became simple-minded.
To save money for my rehabilitation, he dropped out of school and took on all sorts of dirty, back-breaking jobs.
Ten years later, Leo became the youngest entrepreneur in the city.
And I was still the idiot who needed her shoes tied and her meals spoon-fed.
Later, Leo started coming home later and later, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust when he looked at me.
Until that day, I accidentally broke the music box his assistant gave him.
For the first time, he lost his temper with me. He dragged me to the rooftop.
And ordered me to jump from the fifty-story building.
I didn’t understand why he wanted me to do that. I just knew that being a good girl earned me rewards.
I’d been afraid of heights since I was little, but now, I was even more terrified of him leaving me.
I smiled, taking a step back:
“Leo, please don’t be mad. I’ll listen to whatever you say.”
The moment my body tilted backward, a powerful force yanked me back.
I stumbled into his arms, and before I could even steady myself, a stinging slap landed on my face.
“Are you insane?! You’ll die if you fall from here! Don’t you even know what death is?!”
Leo’s voice cracked as he roared at me.
Feeling the sharp pain on my cheek, I belatedly started to tremble.
I didn’t know if it was from the fear of nearly falling, or the unsettling sting of his harsh scolding.
But I still instinctively raised my hand, wanting to wipe away the tears at the corner of his eyes.
“Leo, I’m sorry.”
But the next second, Leo roughly pushed me away:
“You idiot, what else can you say besides ‘I’m sorry’!”
Just then, the iron door to the rooftop burst open.
Chloe rushed in, looking frantic.
She glanced at the two of us, her face instantly paling:
“Leo, have you lost your mind? What are you doing bringing her to a place like this?!”
“If anything happened to her, you’d be charged with aiding and abetting suicide. You’d go to jail for that!”
Her voice was hoarse as she clutched Leo’s arm tightly, then pulled him into a fierce embrace:
“If you end up in prison, what will I do?”
At that moment, Leo finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably into her shoulder:
“I don’t know… I’m just so tired…”
Watching his trembling back, I vaguely realized something.
For the past ten years, I seemed to have truly become the source of all his pain.
After Leo calmed down, he noticed the large scrapes on my knees.
A flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes:
“Scarlett, does it hurt? I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to be so harsh just now.”
He helped me up, and together with Chloe, we went downstairs.
Back home, Leo found the first-aid kit and, as he had countless times before, carefully dressed and bandaged my wound.
But this time, though his movements were still practiced, his eyes held nothing but exhaustion and weariness.
After treating my injury, Leo handed me a piece of candy and gently told me:
“Stay home, be a good girl.”
Then, he took Chloe’s hand and walked out the door.
I was a little curious, so I quietly crept to the door.
I heard snippets of their conversation.
“Chloe, I’m really tired… As long as she’s alive, I won’t have a single day of peace.”
“You know what? I even thought that after she jumped, I’d just die with her…”
Hearing this, Chloe’s brows instantly furrowed:
“Leo, what nonsense are you talking about! You’ve already sacrificed a whole decade for that idiot, and you’re still thinking of throwing your life away too?”
Leo replied weakly:
“But what can I do? She became like this saving me back then. I owe her too much.”
Just then, Chloe suddenly noticed me eavesdropping behind the door.
She rushed over, grabbing my collar:
“Scarlett, even if you’re an idiot, you should at least have some shame, shouldn’t you? Do you really want to drag Leo down your whole life, content to just be a parasite?”
Leo quickly pulled her back:
“Chloe, why are you arguing with her? She doesn’t understand any of this.”
“Alright, stop it. Come with me for a walk. There are some company matters I need to discuss with you.”
Leo glanced at me, told me to stay home and be good, then left with Chloe.
After they left, I stood by the door, frozen for a long time.
A few neighbors happened to pass by and saw me.
They began to whisper amongst themselves.
“Oh, poor Leo, he has such a hard life. Busy with company matters all day, then he has to take care of an idiot when he gets home.”
“I heard that young lady, Chloe, has proposed to him several times, but Leo never agreed, all because he can’t let go of this idiot.”
“If you ask me, Leo is just too kind. In this situation, he should send that idiot to a psychiatric hospital.”
“Or if she just died, Leo’s life would be much easier…”
Hearing those words, my heart gave a violent lurch. I couldn’t help but walk closer.
The neighbors saw me approach, fear crossing their faces as they took a few steps back.
But I just blinked, nervously asking:
“Auntie, Uncle, if I go to the psychiatric hospital, will Leo not be sad anymore?”
Seeing them not answer, I pressed on:
“Then… if I die, will Leo be happy?”
The neighbors didn’t answer my questions.
They just scurried away, as if avoiding something dirty.
Watching their retreating backs, I suddenly remembered.
Last year, for my birthday, Leo had taken me to a park far from home.
He told me to sit on a bench, gently stroking my head and saying:
“Scarlett, wait for me here. I’ll be back soon.”
But I waited from noon until the sun began to set, until the streetlights flickered on one by one.
He never came back.
In the end, I had to find my way home myself, relying on vague memories, one step at a time.
I remember thinking then, that after being gone for so long, Leo must have been frantic with worry.
But when he opened the door and saw me, there wasn’t a trace of joy on his face.
Only disappointment and sorrow.
It was only now that I vaguely understood.
He actually wanted to abandon me that day, didn’t he?
A wave of sorrow washed over me, and my nose stung.
I crouched down, burying my face in my knees, tears gushing out uncontrollably.
But soon, I remembered what the neighbors had said.
If I truly disappeared, would Leo’s life be much easier?
Would he finally be able to smile happily?
Thinking this, I wiped away my tears, stood up, and gathered my courage to step out of the house.
I walked aimlessly along the road for a long time, not understanding traffic lights or directions.
I didn’t know how to find the “psychiatric hospital” they spoke of.
Distracted, a speeding car suddenly swerved towards me.
I froze in place, my legs rooted to the spot.
Just then, a pair of hands violently pulled me back to the side of the road.
Still shaken, I looked up, only to see Leo’s face, filled with terror and lingering fear.
“Scarlett, I told you to stay home, didn’t I? What are you doing running out again?!”
“You idiot, can’t you just make my life a little easier for one day? Do you just want to drive me crazy before you’re happy?!”
Seeing him so distraught, I shivered, whispering:
“Leo, I want to go to the psychiatric hospital. I just wanted to go there and…”
Hearing this, Leo froze.
A flicker of confusion and guilt crossed his eyes, then he sharply asked:
“What are you babbling about?! Did those people put ideas in your head again?”
I quickly shook my head, a little nervous:
“No, I want to go myself. Leo, please take me there, please.”
No sooner had the words left my lips than Leo suddenly cupped my face, his voice trembling:
“Scarlett, I’ll never abandon you, never!”
“I’ll protect you and take care of you my whole life. Don’t overthink things anymore.”
Looking at his reddened eyes, I nodded obediently.
But deep down, I knew.
Just now, when that car was about to hit me.
I had actually seen Leo standing by the roadside earlier.
In those few seconds, he had hesitated again.
The next morning, Leo took me to the hospital for a follow-up.
Although I didn’t understand what the doctor was saying, seeing his tightly furrowed brows,
I realized my condition might have worsened.
This thought weighed heavily on my heart.
No, I couldn’t go on like this.
I couldn’t keep dragging Leo down.
While he went to get the car, I quietly slipped away from the parking garage.
I turned and ran outside.
This time, I had to succeed. I had to find that place.
But as soon as I reached the entrance, I ran straight into Chloe.
Seeing me alone, her face instantly darkened.
She violently grabbed my arm, making me flinch in pain.
“Scarlett, how did you sneak out alone again? Can’t you make Leo’s life a little less difficult?”
She gnashed her teeth and hissed.
“It’s always you, always you!”
“Because of you, Leo rejects me again and again. Haven’t you ruined his life enough? Do you have to ruin my happiness too?”
Her gaze suddenly turned sinister.
As if having made a decision, she stared at me intently, muttering to herself:
“Leo, you’re always so kind, always too soft-hearted…”
“It’s okay. This time, I’ll help you get rid of her for good.”
Chloe dragged me to a deserted corner, slamming me against the wall.
She smirked, then suddenly grabbed my hand and fiercely raked it across her own face.
“No… let go of me!”
I screamed in terror, struggling to pull my hand back, but I couldn’t match her strength.
Chloe quickly scratched her face, leaving bloody marks.
But she didn’t think it was enough. She pulled out her phone and violently smashed it on the ground; the screen instantly shattered.
Under my horrified gaze, she lunged and slammed her forehead against the wall.
Blood immediately streamed down her brow.
“You idiot, you owe Leo so much, and now I’m going to make you pay for all of it!”
Chloe glared at me viciously.
The next second, she suddenly shrieked:
“Help! This maniac is trying to kill me!”
Soon, hurried footsteps came from nearby.
Several hospital security guards saw Chloe’s blood-soaked face and me standing frozen in place.
They immediately rushed forward and pinned me to the ground.
“It wasn’t me… I didn’t…”
I cried, barely managing to stammer out a few words, but no one listened.
Everyone thought I was the deranged assailant.
Before long, Leo also rushed over, freezing at the sight before him.
He dashed to Chloe’s side, his voice trembling:
“Chloe, are you okay?! What happened?!”
Chloe leaned on his shoulder, her voice weak:
“Leo, please don’t blame Scarlett… She just had an episode, she couldn’t control herself…”
Before she finished, Leo’s gaze fell on the shattered phone.
His face changed dramatically:
“Scarlett, do you have any idea how many important files were on here, you idiot!”
“Leo, it really wasn’t me…”
I cried, shaking my head, but then Leo saw the bloodstains on my hands.
His eyes grew colder and colder.
“Ten years… I gave up everything for you, and this is how you repay me?!”
Leo’s voice suddenly rose, his breakdown laced with despair.
His fists rained down on me like a storm, each punch carrying immense resentment.
Finally, he kicked me in the head.
A security guard tried to intervene, but Leo pushed him away.
“Do you know how much I lost because of you?!”
He cried out as he hit me.
“You hurt me enough, and now you have to hurt the people around me too? Scarlett… what did I do wrong to be tormented by you like this?!”
I curled up on the ground, letting him vent.
My entire body trembled from the pain, but my heart ached even more.
Finally, Leo seemed to have tired himself out.
He stood up and made a call.
He summoned his subordinates, then dragged me from the ground and took me with them.
They took me home and threw me into the dark basement.
As the iron door slammed shut, the entire world plunged into darkness.
The wounds on my body stung with a burning pain. I huddled in the corner, shivering.
I don’t know how much time passed, but I started to develop a fever, my throat dry as dust.
“Water… I want water…”
I called out weakly, but no one answered.
Just then, through the vent, I heard voices from upstairs.
“Chloe, I really put you through a lot today.”
It was Leo’s voice.
“Only now do I understand how stupid I was… to willingly sacrifice my own happiness for an idiot.”
“Leo, it’s not too late. You still have a long life ahead of you.”
Chloe responded softly.
After a moment of silence, Leo spoke again:
“Chloe, I’ve made up my mind… I promise you, we’ll get married next month.”
“It’s time… for me to truly live for myself.”
A moment later, I heard the sound of two people embracing and crying from upstairs.
I lay on the ground, tears silently streaming down my face.
So, if I disappeared, Leo could find happiness.
This heartbreaking truth, strangely, brought me a glimmer of relief.
The pain in my body didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.
In a hazy stupor, I gradually lost consciousness.
Days later, Chloe had me sent to a pigsty on an outlying farm.
She locked my ankle with an iron chain, just long enough for me to move between the feeding trough and the straw pile.
The air was thick with the foul stench of feed and manure.
“This place really suits you. You’re no different from an animal anyway.”
Witnessing all this, Leo simply stood by in silence.
I guessed he had given his unspoken consent.
From then on, I lived with the pigs every day.
And Leo, after he left, never came to see me again.
Until one morning, I woke from a daze.
I heard footsteps approaching from a distance.
Looking up, I saw the one person I longed for—Leo.
He was dressed in a sharp suit, walking cautiously closer.
He knelt down, looking at me through the fence:
“Scarlett, I’m marrying Chloe today.”
I gazed at him blankly.
He looked so handsome, more handsome than I’d ever remembered him.
“I’m sorry, you’ve suffered these past few days. After the wedding, I’ll come and get you.”
His voice was very soft.
I nodded in bewilderment, reaching out to touch the hem of his suit, but then I saw my own dirty hands and pulled back.
He stood up, gave me one last look:
“Wait for me to come back.”
With that, Leo turned and got into his car.
Watching the car drive away, I didn’t call out to stop him.
I just repeated over and over:
“Leo, I’ll wait for you.”
Around noon, the pigsty door was suddenly pushed open.
I thought it was Leo, but instead, I saw a stranger.
“Idiot, Miss Chloe specifically told me to send you off.”
He said coldly, then began splashing liquid around.
The pungent smell made me cough.
I instantly realized he was pouring gasoline.
“Blame yourself for being in the way. As long as you’re alive, Miss Chloe won’t have a single day of peace.”
“Go on and die quietly. People like you are better off dead.”
The next second, as flames erupted from the corner.
The pigs, startled, scattered and fled.
The fire spread rapidly, and a scorching pain radiated from my skin.
The thick smoke made me cough relentlessly.
Even if I wanted to escape, bound as I was, I had no way.
I’m really going to die this time, aren’t I?
But, maybe that’s not so bad.
The wooden beams of the pigsty began to collapse. I looked at the small patch of sky outside the fence.
I thought of Leo in his suit again.
“Leo, you have to be happy…”
This time, I won’t be a burden to you anymore.
In a daze.
I seemed to hear the screech of tires in the distance, and Leo’s heart-wrenching cry:
“Scarlett—!”
Before I completely lost consciousness, I only heard someone quietly regret:
“Mr. Leo, she has no heartbeat.”
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