Love in Peril

Sven Walter, Alex's brother, was confused.

I got up in a disheveled state, watching Alex's resolute figure leave. My in-laws shot me a side glance, muttering that I could not even control my man. His relatives' eyes were full of mockery.

Only my best friend, my one and only family, rushed to the stage, crying, and pulled me away.

"Mia, this is too much. You shouldn't marry him!"

In the end, I put the ring that belonged to me on my ring finger, then tossed his ring aside carelessly.

After the unpleasant wedding banquet, I drank myself into a stupor, venting to my best friend.

"He planned the whole wedding—the invitation, the venue set up, the wedding rings. How could he not love me?"

My best friend sent me home.

I was restless, scrolling through my phone, when I saw a story post from Susan. She was holding a pair of bony hands with a heart drawn on them.

"I'm so grateful to have met such a great childhood friend. I've survived at the hands of the kidnappers again. He promised to always be by my side."

At that moment, I finally realized that the client Alex kept talking about, the one he would rather leave the wedding to protect, was Susan.

I called Alex, but all I heard was his mockery.

"Do you really want to get married that badly, Mia? Can't you live without a man? Stop bothering me, or I'll never come home again."

This morning, as he wished, I packed my suitcase and went to the lawyer to pick up the divorce agreement, signing my name on it.

Just as I was about to return the agreement, I was kidnapped by these two bastards.

The car stopped in front of a desolate, abandoned warehouse. One of the thugs saw my displeasure, sneered and spat his chewing gum at my face.

"A bride in her wedding dress, huh? This is the first time I've kidnapped a bride. Your husband must be looking all over for you, huh? So exciting!"

I had not even had time to change out of the wedding dress.

A bitter smile appeared on my face—he would never look for me; he was already sitting comfortably with his childhood crush carefreely.

Before I could say anything, I was roughly shoved out of the car and dragged into the warehouse.

"What do you want? Let me go, and I can get you the money; if it's power, I—"

"Shut up. I don't want anything. I just want—your life."

The mask was removed, revealing a familiar face.

This face looked remarkably like Susan's.

He approached me with a taser in hand, his laughter uncontainable.

"Why are you trying to steal my sister's man? He doesn't love you at all!

"You are in a world of pain!"

His accomplice shoved a sock into my mouth, its sour smell making me gag.

Then came the excruciating pain from every part of my body. They knocked me out with the taser, then woke me up by splashing ice-cold water on me.

Next, he gouged out my eyes with a small dagger, then hit my mouth repeatedly with an iron rod.

The exposed nerves in my teeth were stimulated by the cold water, causing excruciating pain.

I was engulfed by intense pain, my hands gripping the weeds so tightly that I did not even feel my nails digging into my palms.

The long torment continued, until two hours later, I finally stopped breathing in defiance.