Parting With No Regrets

Before I could respond, a sharp pain shot through my head, and everything went black.

When I woke up, I was tied to a chair. The surroundings were dim and suffocating, filled with a chemical stench that made me gag.

At that moment, a graceful woman walked in.

When I saw her face, I froze.

It was Diana Lockwood. Her face now bore an uncanny resemblance to Naomi.

Diana was the Lockwood family's adopted daughter, Jared's sister in name.

"Winter, do you realize what you've done wrong?" she asked, her tone mocking.

I blinked, stunned, before shaking my head. "No! I didn't do anything wrong. I accidentally broke his glass. That's all. I didn't know…"

Desperately, I asked with a hint of flattery, "Diana, please. Can you get me out of here? I don't want to stay here. I—"

Diana burst into laughter, cutting me off. Her eyes brimmed with disdain as she looked at me.

"Winter, you're so adorably naïve. I worked so hard to get Jared to send you here. Do you really think I'd let you go that easily?"

Her words left me bewildered.

Diana had always been kind to me. I couldn't believe her words.

"Winter," she continued, "someone like you, born into nothing, doesn't deserve Jared. Your biggest mistake wasn't breaking that glass. It was daring to love Jared.

"I've stood by his side for so long. He should have been mine. If it weren't for you, we would've been together ages ago. But it doesn't matter. It's not too late. Jared finally sees who truly deserves him. It's me!"

Diana had always been unusually attentive to Jared, but I had chalked it up to sibling affection. Never had I imagined her feelings for him were way more than that.

"Oh, and by the way, Jared told me to take good care of you. He wants you to properly atone to Naomi."

With that, Dianna pressed a button on the remote in her hand and smugly said, "Let's see how long you can last."

The next moment, an intense current surged through the chair, jolting through my body. My limbs went numb, and a sharp, searing pain radiated through me.

Diana seemed unsatisfied with my reaction and increased the intensity of the electric shock.

My body convulsed uncontrollably. The pain pushed me to the edge of consciousness.

The shocks grew stronger, layer upon layer, until my back felt like it was being burned.

My mind began to slip away, fading into darkness.

Just then, Diana stopped.

But as my awareness slowly returned, she pressed the button again.

The renewed agony ripped a scream from my throat.

She toyed with me, keeping me trapped between the brink of unconsciousness and the harsh pull of awareness.

After nearly an hour of torment, she repeated the same question as before. "Winter, do you realize what you've done wrong?"

I knew she wasn't just asking about the broken glass. She wanted me to admit that loving Jared had been a mistake.

But neither of those felt like a crime to me.

I slowly forced the words out, "I… did… nothing… wrong."