Chapter 20 But now, Theodore shoved her away, his voice icy cold: "Isabelle, I don't know who told you that I love you deeply." "You gave me a pill, I helped you get divorced and return to your country, ensuring you would never want for food or clothing. We're even now." "And as long as you don't cross the line, I can cover for anything you do. But what you should never have done, was to touch Katherine." Theodore's tone grew even colder: "Do you know, it was because you replied to that message for me that my beloved died." Isabelle's eyes widened in terror: "I didn't know..." "Whether you knew or not doesn't matter. Now, you have to pay the price for it." Ignoring Isabelle's pleas, Theodore ordered the bodyguards to take her and that man away. Over the next five days, they suffered every torment that Katherine had once endured. On the first day, Isabelle and the man were locked in a room filled with dozens of vicious dogs. Even though the dogs were all securely kept in sturdy steel cages, their barking alone was enough to drive them to mental exhaustion. On the second day, Isabelle and the man were beaten with a hundred sticks, taking the place of the shelves that had accidentally fallen that day. Afterwards, Theodore refused to let doctors treat them; only providing enough medicine for one person and leaving them to sort it out themselves. But the selfish man had no intention of sharing the medicine, beat Isabelle, made her apply the medicine for him, and then ignored whether Isabelle lived or died. On the third day, Isabelle and the man were taken to a live broadcast, where their heads were repeatedly shoved into cakes. Just like Katherine, Isabelle was covered in feathers and other things, making her look utterly ridiculous and laugh- able. By the fourth day, Isabelle's untreated wounds became infected. She lay on the ground like a corpse, tears of regret streaming down her face. Theodore looked down at her: "Isabelle, do you regret it now? If you had never harbored malice, you would still be someone under my protection." 0.0 % 09:44 Isabelle opened her mouth, but in the end, only a helpless tear slid down her cheek. Theodore ignored her pleas and called his assistant directly: "Lock Isabelle up in prison to reflect on her actions. Make sure she gets special attention, but she can't die." "As for that man, charge him with theft, burglary, and attempted murder for profit. Make sure he never gets out of prison." After saying this, Theodore lit a cigarette and took a hard drag. He never used to be addicted to smoking. The few times he smoked, it was just a puff or two, either for business ne- gotiations or to annoy Katherine. But now it was different. In just a few days, he had gone through several packs and was thoroughly addicted. Derek saw this and instinctively tried to persuade him: "Theo, if you keep this up, Katherine will be..." But the words stopped abruptly. Derek looked at the lifelessness in Theodore's eyes and cursed himself for bringing up the wrong topic. Theodore's people searched again and again, but apart from the bloodstains almost washed away beneath the cliff, they found nothing. No body, no belongings, not even anything related to Katherine in Theodore's villa could be found. If not for the fact that she still existed in his memory, Katherine would seem like a dream that appeared and vanished without a trace. Theodore nodded at these words: "You're right. Katherine hated it when I smoked the most. I really should quit." After speaking, he stubbed out his cigarette, coughed uncomfortably twice, and pressed a hand to the spot on his chest that had been aching. Derek saw this and quickly handed him some medicine. Theodore closed his eyes tightly, enduring the waves of pain, and his deathly pale face gradually regained some color. During this period, he lived like neither a man nor a ghost, and his heart disease relapsed once again. The doctor said that if he kept abusing his body like this, he might not live for more than a few years. But if Theodore didn't keep himself busy or smoke, he would keep recalling the despair in Katherine's eyes. He remembered how she asked him that day if he really intended to abandon her. He remembered the pools of blood, remembered the wedding with Katherine that they never got to complete. Thinking about it made his heart ache, and keeping busy made him sick. In just a few days, he had become so thin he was almost skin and bones. 46.3 % 09:44