Tortured by Love

Seraphina, with a face full of sorrow, clutched his hand, whispering, "I would give my life to be with him."

Beside them, I felt utterly alone, especially since our destined partnership was common knowledge throughout the sect.

Before we arrived, tales of the three of us were on everyone's lips.

In those stories, they were the embodiment of love, defying the chains of fate.

I, on the other hand, was the villain, feigning innocence to win the elders' favor, and a failure who couldn't match Seraphina's one night of passion after my eighteen years of pursuit.

In the eyes of others, my actions were nothing more than a pretense and a pitiful attempt to gain Azure's sympathy.

Had it not been for the sect's rules, the onlookers might have already berated me, demanding I step aside for them.

More ironically, seeing his son being flogged, Jasper immediately felt the pain and asked Wynd to stop.

The next moment, the whip came down on me. I swallowed the blood that rose in my mouth, hearing Wynd's cold rebuke.

"You can't even keep your own husband in line. You're utterly useless!"

He could even blame me for this. I laughed bitterly with blood in my mouth.

This seemed to have struck a nerve with Seraphina. She stormed up to Wynd. "I think you're mistaken. Azure is my husband!"

Enraged, Wynd raised his whip to strike her.

In an instant, Azure leaped forward, shielding her from the blow.

"So he can protect someone after all," I thought.

Wynd was furious, his whip now a whirlwind of pain, each strike bringing a new wave of agony, and I couldn't help but cry out.

I was flogged into a daze, but in that haze, I saw Seraphina, completely unharmed, sheltered beneath Azure's protective embrace.

He cast an apologetic glance my way... just a glance.

Such clear favoritism. I laughed through my tears.

"But Azure, didn't you forget that it was you who begged for my help, and it's because of you that I'm suffering today?" I whispered to myself.

3

"I've been away for quite some time. I never expected to walk into such a lively scene upon my return."

A teasing voice interrupted Wynd's movement. Everyone turned to look.

I rose silently, with Azure and the others following suit. He cautiously reached for my wounds, but I evaded his touch subtly.

His hand froze.

At that moment, the owner of the voice approached me. "Oh, isn't this my dear Violet?"

"Azure made a mistake. Why is Violet the one being punished?" His tone turned icy.

This voice... I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. "Raven, it hurts so much!"

It was Raven, another senior of me. I knew he was a man of deep emotions, unlike Azure, who was timid and fearful.

He had left the sect for his own journey when I was just six, but precisely because of that, he knew the real me.

Azure's marriage to Seraphina would surely bring him back. He was the one who could help me escape this dreadful place.

They said I only pretended to be weak to gain sympathy, but I would show these "executioners" what true pretense was.

I had given Azure my true heart, but he shattered it and trampled it into the dust.

But before I could make the next move in my "innocent" act, Raven strode towards me with a sullen expression.