Chapter 1

Five years of love. An unplanned pregnancy.

On the day of my baby's one-month celebration, my boyfriend brought home a group of his friends.

He looked at them and said, "Didn't you guys want to know what a woman who just gave birth tastes like? This one is all yours."

I lay on the bed, weak and helpless. My baby had just been snatched away from my side.

They lined up and forced themselves onto me. Countless hands crawled over my skin. They even recorded it.

I asked him why.

He simply replied, "You're nothing but a surrogate tool for breeding."

1

I can't remember how I survived that night.

I only remember when the last man finally got off me, my body was already covered in filth.

Silas Sterling walked to the bedside and looked down at me with cold eyes.

"Remember your pathetic face today," he sneered. "Don't ever dream of things that don't belong to you again."

Then they all left. They took my baby, leaving me alone in the silence.

But Silas, tell me, what did I ever dream of besides you?

A week has passed, but the laughter and the filthy words of those men still haunt my mind.

I scrubbed my skin until it bled, trying to wash away the shame. I wanted to prove I was still clean.

But everything was broken. It could never be undone.

I didn't dare to step outside. I was terrified of people pointing at me, calling me a loose woman.

I wrapped myself in a blanket and hid in the corner. I survived on whatever scraps were left in the fridge.

Every time I heard a sound outside, I trembled uncontrollably. I feared those monsters had come back for more.

I still don't understand what I did wrong to deserve this. I kept whispering to myself that it wasn't my fault.

I thought Silas would never show his face again. But on the seventh day, he returned.

I was drifting in a daze when the sound of the door clicking open jolted me awake.

I looked up and saw him standing there.

For days, I had tried to convince myself it was just a nightmare. But seeing him shattered that illusion.

The memories of that night flooded back like a tide, suffocating me.

He acted as if nothing had happened. He walked toward me with that same fake, gentle concern.

"Summer, why are you sitting on the floor? Get up."

I stared at his hypocritical face with pure terror.

My body shook violently. The misery I had bottled up for a week finally exploded.

I screamed like a madwoman, flailing my arms to push him away. "Get out! Don't touch me! Stay away!"

But a woman is no match for a man's strength. He pulled me into his arms, pinning me down.

"Summer, it's over now," he whispered. "I won't hold it against you. Just stop thinking about it, okay?"

His touch made my skin crawl. I fought the urge to vomit and looked him in the eye.

"Where is the baby? Where did you take my child?"

"Don't ask about the baby anymore. Can't we just go back to the way we were?"

"Go back? Silas, that is my baby! My own flesh and blood!"

I struggled in his grip, pounding my fists against his back. He didn't move. He just watched me with a chilling indifference.

"Summer, I've kept you as my mistress for years. This is what you owe me."

I wanted to laugh, but only tears came out. All those years of companionship were just a one-sided fantasy.

In his eyes, I was never a partner. I was just a paid plaything. No wonder he felt he could throw me to his friends.

Who am I to you, Silas? What were these five years to you?