Love on the cliff

After being rejected in her pursuit of my boyfriend, Caleb, the delinquent Zamari Bill held a grudge.

She gathered a group of thugs and locked Caleb and me in a small dark room.

"Cut off your hands, or I will castrate him." Zamari sneered as she tossed an axe in front of me.

Caleb looked at me with terror in his eyes, struggling desperately.

I had no choice. Gritting my teeth, I swung the axe and it fell.

Scarlet blood splattered across Zamari’s face and she smiled wickedly. "Haha, you’ve got guts. But you’ve been tricked. I'm still going to castrate him!"

Zamari advanced toward Caleb with a knife. In a frenzy, I grabbed the knife and slashed her throat.

After that, I dragged Caleb and ran to the police station to report the incident.

The police said that Caleb was a key witness and as long as he could prove it was self-defense, there wouldn’t be any major problems.

In court, however, Caleb turned against me, claiming that I had deliberately slashed Zamari and that she was the innocent one.

I was sentenced to five years in prison. After my release, I discovered that Caleb had become Zamari's boyfriend.

——

The heavy prison gates creaked open and I walked out, step by step.

I looked up at the gloomy sky, took a deep breath and stepped through the gate.

In front of the prison was a parked Porsche and out stepped a strikingly handsome man.

After five years, Caleb's appearance hadn’t changed much, but he exuded an even stronger masculine charm.

I squinted my eyes, staring intently at this man who seemed almost unreal.

A thousand questions swirled in my mind, all begging for an explanation, but he turned his face away coldly.

Zamari, dressed in a tight leather outfit, stood beside him, a clear, ugly scar visible on her neck.

She stubbed out her cigarette, her eyes full of mockery as she looked at me.

"Athena, after five years in prison, have you figured out why Caleb betrayed you back then?"

I swallowed hard, my heart feeling like it was being squeezed, the pain so intense that I could barely breathe.

I ignored Zamari’s mocking tone, gritting my teeth as I slowly walked toward Caleb, hoping he would give me an answer.

Caleb turned to face me, his expression blank, silently staring with no emotion.

Zamari let out a cold laugh and, in front of me, wrapped her arms around Caleb's neck, planting a kiss on his cheek. She looked at me with a provocative gaze. "I had him transfer three thousand dollars to your account. Go get yourself a prosthetic."

I met Caleb’s eyes, unwilling to back down, tears streaming down my face. "Why? Tell me why! I need a reason!"

Caleb squinted, clearly impatient, avoiding my gaze. "There’s no reason. Live a good life now that you're out. Forget the past and forget me."

His indifferent expression made me feel like I was less than a stranger to him.

Looking at my left hand that I had lost for him, I finally lost control and slapped him across the face. "Why! Why are you treating me this way?”

For five years in prison, I had thought about it constantly, trying to understand why Caleb betrayed me.

He had clearly not liked that delinquent Zamari; he had chosen to be with me and rejected her.

I always believed that he must love me deeply to risk offending that girl.

So, when Zamari captured us, I didn’t hesitate to cut off my own hand for him.

To save him, I even risked my life to grab a knife and stab Zamari.

But I never expected that at the most critical moment, he would betray me and choose Zamari instead.

At that moment, Caleb stood there like a heartless machine, remaining indifferent even after I slapped him.

After a long pause, he finally let out a scoff and said something that plunged me into utter despair. "Athena, this is all your own doing; you brought this on yourself."

Looking at Caleb, a beast wrapped in a handsome facade, I ground my teeth in anger.

Just before stepping out of the prison gates, I had still held on to the hope that Caleb would give me a reasonable explanation.

But in that instant, all hope vanished.

From now on, his name would be completely erased from my life.

Five years in prison had shown me too much of the world's coldness.

But applying that realization to myself was still hard to accept; now, I had to convince myself to accept it.

Zamari waved at Caleb and like an obedient little dog, he hopped into the car eagerly.

As they drove away, Zamari glanced back at me from the window, casting a gloating look. "This is the consequence of stealing my things. Just wait; the real show is yet to come!"

I shot Zamari a mocking look. The only reason Caleb could hurt me was that I had cared for him so deeply.

Now that I had given him up, I couldn't think of any reason why they would still be able to manipulate me.

I carried a worn-out bag and wandered aimlessly forward. Just a few steps in, a Ferrari screeched to a halt in front of me.

A wealthy young man with slicked-back hair and sunglasses opened the car door.

"Get in."

I frowned, finally recognizing him as the brother of a girl I met in prison.

Her name was Samantha Tydor and it seemed she had turned her scummy boyfriend into a eunuch, which got her locked up.

The Tydor Family had a big business in Maple City, which naturally meant they had made plenty of enemies. While in prison, Samantha faced hostility from several rival factions.

Since I had always been a fearless person, I had fiercely protected her while she was there.

Later, Samantha was bailed out and she had always remembered my kindness. I didn’t expect that today she would send her brother, Frank, to pick me up.

Samantha had the look of a glamorous and charming city woman, but her brother was a typical playboy.

However, on closer inspection, Frank was quite handsome, standing nearly 1.9 meters tall, with fair skin and sharp features.

The only flaw was that he was too thin—tall and skinny, looking like a lamppost.

I nodded and got into Frank’s car. He immediately cranked up the stereo to full volume, bobbing his head as he chewed gum.

I glanced at him indifferently through the rearview mirror and slightly furrowed my brow. He was exactly the kind of guy I couldn’t stand.

"Hey, pretty girl, why the frown? Don’t you feel happy riding in a handsome guy’s car?" Frank raised his eyebrows at me. I felt even more irritated and responded half-heartedly.

“Just a bit tired.”

Frank smirked.

“Well, no wonder. After spending five years in that hellhole, who wouldn’t be tired? Oh, right, while my sister was in there, no one messed with her, right?”

“No, they didn’t. With me around, no one dared to touch her.”

Frank snapped his fingers proudly and started swaying to the rhythm of the music in the car.

“I heard you’re quite the wild fighter, pretty ruthless too. You lost this hand because of some scumbag?”

I glared at Frank fiercely, thinking to myself, he really knows how to hit a sore spot.