Chapter 7 Breaking Point

The next day, Keira struggled to rise from bed.

She fumbled for the medication the doctor had prescribed, swallowing several pills, hoping they would temporarily suppress her symptoms.

At least enough to give her strength for this one errand.

As the medication gradually took effect, the pain subsided slightly, but her head felt even foggier.

She took a taxi to what had been her home for a year—a place where she had never felt a moment of warmth.

Aiden was indeed waiting in the living room.

He wore a suit, lounging casually on the sofa.

Seeing her enter, his sharp gaze swept over her face, even paler and more haggard than before.

She moved slowly, her steps unsteady, as if a breeze could topple her.

Such fragility should have evoked compassion.

But remembering Joshua's words from yesterday, Aiden could not contain his irritation.

He deliberately examined her with a critical, cold gaze.

"What's this? Once out of the Coleman household, you can't even maintain your appearance? Who's this pitiful act for?"

Keira's heart felt as if it had been pierced by a needle, with fine, dense pain.

She lowered her head, letting her long hair hide her eyes as she said softly, "I came for the paintings."

Seeing her so submissive only irritated Aiden further.

He stood up and approached her, looking down at her imposingly.

"I know what's happening with the Lynn family. That Brandon isn't easy to handle, is he?"

He paused, with a kind of malicious condescension.

"If you beg me, considering our past marriage, I might consider helping you avoid such... desperation."

Keira suddenly raised her head, looking at him with disbelief.

Beg him? Beg this man who had trampled her dignity and driven her to the brink?

The pain in Keira's heart reached its peak, paradoxically bringing a kind of indescribable calm.

"No need to trouble yourself, Mr. Coleman." Her voice carried not a ripple of emotion. "I'll handle my own affairs."

"Handle them yourself?" Aiden scoffed, completely provoked by her response.

He yanked an expensive shirt from the coat rack, one he had just changed out of, and roughly shoved it into her arms.

"Fine! Then wash this shirt clean first! Right now!"

The shirt carried not only his characteristic cold cologne but also a sweet, feminine perfume.

It was the brand and scent that Zoey cherished and frequently wore.

In an instant, Keira felt as if an ice-cold blade had pierced her heart, every breath tainted with the metallic taste of blood.

So the divorce papers were barely finalized, and he had already entered another relationship—with Zoey.

Overwhelming humiliation and despair instantly engulfed her.

She clutched the shirt with a death grip, her knuckles losing all color, yet her face remained unable to form any expression.

She heard herself speak with the last vestiges of forced calm.

"Mr. Coleman, we're divorced now. I have no obligation to do these things for you anymore."

"No obligation?"

Aiden suddenly grabbed her shoulders with such force that he nearly crushed her bones.

"Keira, don't be so ungrateful! Did you think that after the divorce, you could just be free of me? What your family owes me, what you owe me—you couldn't repay it in a lifetime!"

He stared at the feigned composure on her pale face, at the suppressed pain in her hollow left eye.

A twisted sense of vengeful satisfaction intertwined with inexplicable agitation.

He leaned in, whispering coldly into her ear, his breath scorching hot.

"Don't want to wash it? Fine. Please me, like you used to."

He paused, pulling her closer, and continued word by word.

"If I'm in a good mood, I might even help you deal with those people."

Keira's entire body began to tremble violently, tears finally escaping beyond her control.

Humiliation and fear dragged her into an abyss like countless hands.

She looked at Aiden, the man she had once loved deeply, who had destroyed everything beautiful in her life.

She lost all strength to resist.

Under Aiden's almost brutal treatment, she was like a flower devastated by a violent storm, broken and withering.

After it was over, Aiden suddenly realized her face was frighteningly pale, her entire being in a state of extreme panic, on the verge of collapse.

He froze, his throat feeling as if gripped by a massive hand, rendering him incapable of making a sound.

Keira struggled to get up, haphazardly putting on her clothes, not daring to look at him even once as she stumbled out of the bedroom.

The physical pain and despair in her heart made walking nearly impossible.

She wandered mindlessly on the road outside the estate area, her face as pale as a ghost, each step threatening to collapse.

'Just die like this.' She thought. Could she possibly be more humiliated, more miserable?

A black sedan slowly pulled up beside her.

The window lowered, revealing Sean's concerned face. "Keira? What's wrong?"

Seeing him, Keira's last vestige of strength completely crumbled.

Tears poured out silently in torrents.

Sean immediately got out of the car, supporting her as she nearly collapsed, her body ice-cold to the touch.

When he saw the marks of intimacy on her neck, his expression instantly darkened, his eyes roiling with terrifying anger.

"Was it him?"

His voice contained suppressed heartache.

He couldn't have imagined that the once lively, radiant young woman could be reduced to such a state.

He should have stopped her earlier, but what right did he have? He had only been secretly following her, having learned she wasn't doing well.

Keira nodded weakly, then hurriedly grabbed his sleeve, her voice breaking.

"It's my fault. I owe him."

Sean looked at her in this state, his heart feeling as if it had been violently wrenched.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and carefully helped her into the car. "I'll take you to the hospital first."

"No! No hospital!" Keira's trembling hands clutched his arm tightly, her eyes filled with terrified pleading.

"Please, don't take me to the hospital. I'm fine, really."

Sean looked at her and finally conceded.

He removed his coat and gently draped it over her shoulders, trying to provide some warmth.

The car fell silent, with only Keira's suppressed soft sobs.

After a long silence, Sean finally spoke, "Keira, be kinder to yourself. The last time you nearly took your own life, I happened to save you. Consider me your lifesaver, if you will. I don't need your gratitude—I just hope you can live well."

"Last time, it was you who saved me?" Keira started in surprise.

Sean looked at her through the rearview mirror and nodded slightly.

So it was he who had pulled her back from the cold despair when she had decided to end her life.

And again, at her most degraded moment, it was he she encountered.

Indescribable gratitude and sorrow intertwined.

She looked at Sean's solid, reliable back and pleaded in a low voice.

"Mr. O'Neill, I know this request is presumptuous, but if something happens to me, could you please look after Elodie?"

Sean gripped the steering wheel tightly, gazing deeply at her fragile yet still kind-hearted demeanor in the mirror.

He promised solemnly, "I will, but Keira, you must also promise me to live well."

Keira stared at the blurred scenery rapidly receding outside the window and smiled bitterly.

For her, living had long since become a prolonged torture.