"Sigh..."

Speaking of which, even the parrot Joy couldn’t help but sigh, though to the audience, its sigh sounded no different from its usual squawk.

"Lily’s husband cried and cried. He promised Lily he would never hit her again."

Lily was a soft-hearted girl. When she saw her husband, Terence Woods, crying his eyes out, she forgave him.

For the next few days, Terence was exceptionally good to Lily. He even prepared a foot soak for her before bed at night.

Lily thought he had truly changed for the better.

One day, Terence said he had a company dinner and would be home a little late.

Lily waited until midnight, but he still hadn’t returned, so she lay down to sleep.

Terence came home at two-thirty in the morning. The noise woke Lily up. When she got out of bed and saw he had thrown up all over the sofa, she got angry and chided him.

"Why did you drink so much again?"

"Why didn’t you throw up in the trash can? You made the sofa so disgusting."

As Lily spoke, she began to clean the vomit off the sofa.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her neck from behind.

Lily winced in pain and yelled, "What are you doing? Let go! You’re hurting me!"

She turned to push him away but was met with a sudden slap across the face.

Lily’s cheek burned with a fiery pain, and her head was buzzing.

Clutching her face, her eyes welling with tears, she looked at him in disbelief. "Terence Woods, didn’t you promise you would never hit me again?"

"Did I want to hit you?" The man pointed a finger at her face, his expression vicious as he roared, "You forced me to! What’s wrong with me having a few drinks? What’s wrong with me throwing up on the sofa?"

Shimmering tears welled in her eyes. Lily choked out, "You can drink, but don’t stay out drinking until the middle of the night. It’s fine if you throw up on the sofa, but don’t make me clean it up!"

The words had barely left her mouth when Terence slapped her again. "I married you to serve me. You won’t do this, you won’t do that—what did I marry you for?"

The blow sent Lily stumbling back onto the sofa. She stared at the man resentfully, feeling incredibly wronged. "What did you say? You married me to serve you?"

"What else?" Terence loosened his tie, his bloodshot eyes full of contempt. "Did you think I married you to put you on a pedestal and worship you? If it weren’t for your family’s stinking money, do you think I would’ve married you?"

"You..." Lily trembled with anger. "You swore at our wedding that you would dote on me and be good to me for the rest of our lives!"

Back then, Terence had even cried while telling all the guests that he had married the woman he loved.

"Hilarious!" Terence’s shoulders shook with laughter. "You actually believed that kind of talk?"

Lily was incredulous. "So, everything you said was a lie?"

Terence leaned in close, grabbing her by the collar. His voice was laced with a warning. "Don’t you worry about whether it was real or fake. From now on, just be a good girl and keep your mouth shut, and I won’t treat you poorly."

"Get lost!" Lily said, furious. "I want a divorce!"

"You dare!" Terence lifted his petite wife up and slammed her back down onto the sofa. He choked her, hissing through clenched teeth, "If you dare to divorce me, I’ll kill you."

Lily had been raised in the palm of her parents’ hands, doted on her whole life. She never imagined she would suffer such brutal domestic abuse after getting married.

Terence pulled off his belt and started beating her. Lily could only hide in the closet.

The man stood in front of the closet, warning her like a demon, "If you dare to divorce me, I’ll kill you!"

Tears streamed down Lily’s face. In a trembling voice, she said, "I don’t dare... I’ll never dare again..."

"You’d better mean it!" Terence threw the belt down and walked into the bathroom. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Lily sat in the closet, hugging her knees and crying silently.

She had thought she married the right man, but she hadn’t married a man at all—she had married a demon.

She spent that night in the closet. Listening to the man’s snores from the bedroom, her heart felt like it was being twisted by a knife.

The next day, Terence woke up and frantically pulled open the closet door.

He knelt before the haggard Lily, crying like a child. "Honey, I’m sorry. I was drunk last night. I didn’t mean it. Please forgive me, okay?"

Lily stared at him, her expression blank. Her dry lips moved. "Terence Woods, you made the same promise the last time you hit me. And what happened?"

"Honey, this time it’s for real." Terence grasped her hands, his eyes filled with remorse. "I won’t drink anymore. As long as I don’t drink, this won’t happen again. Please don’t be mad at me, okay?"

"How am I supposed to believe you?" Lily’s eyes were red, and her voice was thick with tears. "Have you forgotten all the hurtful things you said last night?"

"I was just talking nonsense, honey, don’t take it seriously." Terence raised his hand and slapped himself across the face. "Honey, let me punish myself, okay? I’m a bastard! I was out of my mind! How could I hurt such a wonderful wife!"

Lily was unmoved. She just watched him, tears streaming down her face.

’I won’t believe him again.’

"Terence Woods, let’s just forget it." Lily gave a bitter laugh. "I’ve made up my mind. Let’s get a divorce."

Terence’s brow furrowed. He got up and rushed into the kitchen.

He returned to Lily with a fruit knife in his hand.

Seeing the glinting edge of the fruit knife, Lily’s heart leaped, and a look of terror appeared in her eyes. "Terence Woods, what are you doing?"

"Lily, don’t be afraid." Terence said hurriedly. "I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to punish myself!"

After he spoke, he slashed his own thigh. Tiny beads of blood instantly soaked through his white silk pajamas.

Lily’s expression changed. She cried out urgently, "What are you doing? Are you insane?"

"Lily, I did something wrong, so I deserve to be punished." Terence looked at her pitifully. "I hurt you, so I have to inflict that pain back on myself, doubled! You’re the woman I love most in the world, and yet I hurt you. I’ve gone too far!"

He slashed his thigh again.

"Stop!" Lily cried, her expression anxious. "Can you please not do this?"

"Lily, I’m sorry! I have to punish myself!" Terence slashed himself again. "I have to teach myself a lesson so I don’t hurt you again. I really don’t want a divorce."

He looked at Lily, his eyes full of reluctance to let her go. "Lily, I can’t leave you. I don’t want to leave you. I can’t live without you."

Lily’s mind was in turmoil. She closed her eyes. "Can you please stop pressuring me?"

"I’m not pressuring you," Terence said with deep affection. "If you really want a divorce, I’ll grant your wish. But if we get divorced, I won’t go on living. I don’t want to live a single moment of a day without you."

"You..." Lily’s brow tightened. "And you say you’re not pressuring me?"

"I’m really not." Terence knelt again. "How could I bear to pressure you? I’m just proving my feelings for you. Lily, I love you. Losing you means losing my whole world. My life, my heart, they all belong to you. If you leave, what’s the difference between that and being dead?"

Crying, he pointed the tip of the knife at his own chest. "Lily, let’s be husband and wife again in the next life."