Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I raised Devon for eight years, and I loved him for eight years.

I honestly thought I had hidden my feelings perfectly.

Yet the very first thing Devon did after rising to power as a corporate titan was send me to a strict women's obedience reform academy.

He looked down at me with cold eyes, his arm wrapped tightly around his fiancée.

"Come out only when you have purged those filthy thoughts from your head."

A year later, I finally forgot him completely.

Yet Devon was the one who drowned in regret.

***

When Devon arrived to pick me up, Director Miller was finishing my discipline session.

A foul liquid dripped down my face and soaked into my collar. Director Miller wore a sinister grin as he leaned close. "Rory, you know what I am capable of. If you dare speak a single word about what happens here, you will pay dearly."

A violent shiver ran down my spine. By pure reflex, I shouted back, "I would never dare!"

Director Miller nodded in satisfaction, ordered me to wash up, and had me put on clean clothes.

Only then was I escorted to the iron gates of the academy.

Squinting against the sunlight, I saw the man leaning against a black luxury sedan, smoking a cigarette. It felt like an entire lifetime had passed.

It took me a long time to summon the courage to step forward.

Devon finally noticed me.

He stubbed out his cigarette and reached out to take my duffel bag.

I instinctively recoiled, keeping my head down as I whispered, "I can carry it myself."

Devon frowned, but he said nothing.

We sped down the highway, the heavy silence inside the car suffocating me with panic.

To keep myself from losing control, I silently recited the obedience rules Director Miller had drilled into my head.

Only after chanting them three times did my racing heart begin to steady.

Out of nowhere, Devon broke the silence. "Why aren't you speaking?"

Back when he first came to my house as a teenager, he was guarded and quiet. Afraid he would feel out of place, I had always been the one chattering away to make him comfortable.

But that was the old me.

I would never do that now, because rule number one of the academy was simple: learn to shut your mouth.

I still remembered the day I first arrived. I had asked the director a few innocent questions out of curiosity.

In return, I was starved in complete darkness for three days and three nights.

I had curled up in a corner, too weak to even produce a sound.

From that day on, I learned the virtue of absolute silence.

Seeing that I still had not answered, Devon scowled with annoyance. "Did you go deaf?"

I gently touched my right ear.

Yes. As a matter of fact, I was completely deaf in my right ear.

Director Miller had beaten it until my eardrum ruptured.

At the time, a prompt surgery could have restored some of my hearing.

Instead, the director sneered that being half-deaf would serve as a permanent reminder to obey.

Just like that, I lost my hearing on that side forever.

And all I had done was flinch when he tried to burn my skin with a lit cigar.

Seeing my silence continue, Devon let out a cold scoff. "Is this what you learned at that reform school? Doesn't seem like much."

My entire body stiffened. I hurried to explain, "No, that is not true. Director Miller taught us that a quiet, compliant woman never invites annoyance."

Devon sneered. "So acting like this is just your new trick to get my attention?"

I parted my lips to defend myself, but the words died in my throat.

The director had taught us never to contradict a man.

Seeing me submit, Devon spoke with undisguised contempt. "My mom heard you were coming home and spent hours cooking your favorite dinner. She knows nothing about your disgusting obsessions, so play nice and don't make her uncomfortable."

I lowered my eyes and gave a faint nod.