Dear Ex-wife Marry Me novel (Maja) novel Chapter 1654

"Mia, stop crying, honey."

"It's useless anyway, isn't it? I got hurt by her stepfather, and she blabbed about it to everyone. Now everyone's whispering and pointing behind my back. Crying won't change a damn thing. I might as well be dead. Why did you even bother saving me? Just let me die!"

She cried with a voice pitched into hysteria, and bolted from the bed, racing toward the window with the desperate intent to jump.

Sharon caught her in the nick of time, feeling her heart pounding with fear. "That's not what I meant, baby. Didn't I just send that witch to the police station? Don't worry, I'll pull some strings to make sure she stays locked up for a good long while."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the hospital room door swung open, and Fitch stepped in.

Mia had always been terrified of her brother, so she shrank back at the sight of him; her eyes, already swollen from crying, puffed up even more.

"Brother, please, I don't want you to marry someone like her. Please don't stay with her. If you do, what will become of me."

Her voice trailed off as she spoke; the weight of her misery was evident in her eyes.

Consumed with hatred, she felt like a caged beast ever since she'd been brought back, ready to lash out and destroy everything at any given moment.

In a twisted exchange, she'd traded her self-destructive behavior for Zoey's incarceration. To her, it felt worth it.

No one would ever know the truth; they would only see her as the victim.

In a dark corner, Mia's lips curled into a sly grin.

The truth was she had provoked Zoey on purpose that day. She couldn't help it; just looking at Zoey reminded her of Zoey's stepfather and the vile man she'd been forced to endure.

Fueled by her anger, she was desperate for an outlet, and Zoey was just that.

Zoey, frail and weakened, appeared to have lost weight.

Mia sat on the couch with a cold sneer, and she dismissed the servants before turning her gaze to Zoey.

"Fetch me a cup of boiling water. And make sure it's scalding."

Watching with a twisted sense of satisfaction, Mia felt the beast within her roar with delight.

"Got anything to say, Zoey?"

Zoey's lips were a thin line, and her brows were beaded with sweat from the pain.

What could she say? The Haskins family had cast her in this role of sin-bearer, and her voice was too weak to be heard or believed.

"Hold it until the water cools, or else you'll find out just how inventive I can be with my torture. Before my brother gets back, I'll show you what real hell is like."

A bitter laugh rose in Zoey's throat. She realized that in many ways, Belinda and Mia were cut from the same cloth.

People like them turn into cowards when faced with greater evil, and in that case all they can do are sobbing.

But when they stand above someone weaker, they morph in an instant into villains.