chapter 2
When I returned to the Morgan Villa, I was greeted by Olivia's face twisted with anger.
Olivia yelled, "How dare you come back? You bitch! Leonardo has never even lost a hair since he was a child. The moment you came to my house, he ended up in the hospital. You're a jinx!"
As she cursed, she ordered the servant to take down the decorative whip hanging on the wall.
The whip was made of leather, soaked in oil, looking dark and shiny.
Looking at that whip, my heart skipped a beat.
I remembered when I first met Leonardo. Back then, he was just as dashing, like a proud wild horse.
I followed behind him, thinking that if I worked hard enough, one day I could walk alongside him.
But now, in his home, Ive become an object to be beaten and scolded at will.
The TV in the living room was on, and a reporter from the financial channel was broadcasting a piece of news. "The Morgan Group's president, Leonardo Morgan, was urgently hospitalized today. His childhood friend, famous actress Ayla Reed, rushed to visit him at the hospital. The two appeared close throughout, dispelling earlier rumors of Leonardo marrying an ordinary woman."
On the TV screen, Ayla was tucking the blanket around Leonardo with a worried look, and the way Leonardo gazed at Ayla was a tenderness I had never seen before.
So, Leonardo wasnt born indifferent; he just gave all his warmth to someone else.
And I cant even earn a shred of his trust.
Overwhelming grief and anger consumed me.
With a loud snap, the first whip struck heavily on my back.
My flesh instantly tore, and the intense pain nearly brought me to my knees.
Olivia yelled, "You shameless woman! How dare you seduce Leonardo! I'll beat you to death!"
Like a madwoman, Olivia whipped me one lash after another.
At that moment, my phone rang.
It was Leonardo calling.
I mustered all my strength to answer the phone.
"Josephine!" Leonardo's suppressed, angry roar came from the other end of the line. "What self-harming stunt are you pulling now to get my attention? I'm telling you, stop it immediately! This only makes me despise you more!"
His voice came through the receiver, and Olivia heard it.
Olivia thought I was complaining to Leonardo, so her expression turned even fiercer. "You dare to snitch? Clearly, I haven't hit you enough!"
Immediately, she raised her hand and lashed me with all her strength.
"Ah!" Leonardo's roar on the other end of the phone instantly turned into a piercing scream.
That sound pierced my eardrums, carrying unimaginable pain.
Olivia was stunned.
On the phone, Leonardo's wails continued, each one more harrowing than the last.
Olivia finally panicked. She dropped the whip, grabbed my phone, and urgently shouted into the receiver, "Leonardo? Leonardo, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"
On the other end, Leonardo's labored breathing was intermittent. "Mom, my back hurts so much. I'm in agony."
"Your back?" Olivia turned to look at me in confusion. I was lying on the ground, my back a bloody mess.
Olivia immediately said into the phone, "Leonardo, don't be scared. I'm coming right away. It must be that bitch cursing you!"
After hanging up the phone, Olivia hurriedly left the villa.
In the hospital, Leonardo lay on the bed, cold sweat dripping from the intense pain in his back.
He grabbed Olivia's hand as she rushed over and asked suspiciously, "Mom, did you just hit Josephine?"
Olivia's eyes kept darting around as she immediately denied, "No! Why would I hit her? She's the one going crazy, crying and making a scene at home. I just said a couple of words to her, that's all."
Ayla immediately chimed in, her voice soft and aggrieved, "Yes, Leonardo. Olivia has always been good to Josephine. But just now, Josephine seemed to be talking nonsense on the phone, which upset Olivia so much that her heart felt unwell."
As Ayla spoke, she gently massaged Olivia's chest.
Looking at the "wronged" Olivia and the "thoughtful" Ayla, Leonardo thought of Josephine's silence on the phone. Instantly, the doubt in his heart vanished.
He felt that even if the Shared-Sensation System really existed, I was deliberately hurting myself to gain sympathy and thought I was too scheming.