Karma Starts Somewhere

Before long, a familiar fragrance reached my nose.

I opened my eyes to see a bowl of oatmeal at the bedside, with Joseph sitting quietly beside me. His expression was soft, and his eyes were filled with a hint of concern.

"You're awake?"

For a moment, I almost believed we were still in those days from years ago. However, I noticed the fresh scratch marks on his neck that struck me like a slap across the face.

Back then, Joseph would try to make me different kinds of food, though our circumstances were poor, and his cooking skills left much to be desired.

After being with Yarra, he took a cooking class.

I often saw them together in the kitchen. Joseph prepared the ingredients while Yarra happily chatted away about her latest stories.

He scooped a spoonful of oatmeal and slowly offered it to me.

"I didn't know when you'd wake up, so I kept it ready. You don't look well. What happened?" he asked.

The scene before me overlapped with the past. He looked just like the young man who once loved me deeply, but we could never go back.

I knocked his hand aside, and the bowl crashed to the ground, causing the oatmeal to splatter across the floor—just like our shattered love.

"Joseph, don't disgust me."

He stared at me, gritting his teeth in fury.

"Annabelle, what is wrong with you? You were the one crying and begging me to make you oatmeal. What's this?"

It seemed that everything I had seen before wasn't just my imagination.

Yet, it didn't change the fact that he no longer cared about me. Was this pity or a mere act of charity?

The world had never been kind to me, but the one who hurt me the most was him.

I didn't need his money, nor did I need him.

I forced a smile and met his gaze. "I was just messing with you. Can't you tell? Look at you, running over the moment I so much as crook a finger. You're no different from that dog Yarra keeps."

His face darkened with rage. With a curse, he swung his fist at the wall.

"Yeah, I'm pathetic," he spat. "Even after you threw me away like trash and slept with someone else, I was still the one begging to marry you. I just can't let you go—I love you!

"All these years, you've played me like a fool, but do you even know how happy I was when you cried in my arms that day? Is your heart really made of stone, Annabelle?"

Pain flashed through my eyes, but before I could speak, he suddenly lowered his head and kissed me. His kiss was rough, desperate, and full of suppressed emotions.

His hands roamed over my body, and my clothes were quickly torn to shreds.

Panic gripped me. No matter how hard I pushed, I couldn't budge him. I bit down on his lips with all my strength, but instead of stopping, his movements only became more frenzied.

Just then, Yarra's ringtone blared. He shot me a hateful look before answering the call.

Yarra's voice trembled with panic. "Joseph, I've been kidnapped. They're forcing me to make this call. I know you and Anna have made up, and I shouldn't be disturbing you, but I'm really scared. I just wanted to hear your voice one last time. I hope Anna can stay by your side and love you in my place."

Joseph looked at me and coldly said, "I don't have to go. Annabelle, if you say the word, I'll cut all these women off. We can go back to how things used to be."

I couldn't help but laugh at his words.

Back then, I had begged him more than once.

"Joseph, can you stop tormenting me? Let's talk this through and start over, okay? Can you at least acknowledge me? Just say one word—just one," I had begged.

The very next day, he had shown up with another woman, kissing her passionately in front of me.

"Annabelle, what right do you have to say this to me? You're disgusting."

After that, I stopped caring.

Now, I looked at him and let out a cold chuckle. "Joseph, don't make me sick."

He stared at me for a moment before throwing me onto the bed.

"You chose this. Don't regret it."

The next day, the city was abuzz about how Joseph had spent a hundred million dollars to ransom Yarra.

People were talking about our relationship.

"That bitchy Annabelle dumped Joseph for money, and now that he's successful, she's crawling back to seduce him. Who knows what kind of tricks she pulled to make him marry her? Thank heaven he finally found his true love."

"Joseph and Yarra are the perfect match. When is that disgusting woman going to leave? Just seeing her makes me sick!"

I shut off my phone. I had an appointment with the doctor today anyway.

On the way there, I ran into Joseph's group of friends. They pointed at me and hurled insults my way.

"Annabelle, I've never seen anyone as vile as you. When Joseph was at his lowest, you turned your back on him and ran off with another man. Do you even realize he nearly took his own life back then?

"And now that he's rich, you have the audacity to crawl back to him? If I were you, I'd throw myself off a cliff and end it already."

Indeed, Joseph loved me, but that was a long time ago.

I lifted my chin and looked at them coldly. "Love is a two-way street. No one owes anyone anything."

Joseph stood nearby, holding Yarra in his arms. His expression was dark, and he didn't even spare me a glance.

The rain poured harder, pounding against my bones. The searing pain hit me again, and I could barely hold on. My body curled up on the cold ground.

Was I about to die?

Joseph cast me a frosty glance. "Do you think putting on this little act will make me forgive you?"