Chapter 3

He knew my greatest fear was toads.

I had a heart condition. Two years ago, I accidentally stepped on a toad in our courtyard at home. The fright caused my heart to spasm, breaking me out in cold sweat with my pores standing on end.

I nearly collapsed right there. Fortunately, I carried emergency heart pills with me.

After Blake learned about this, he personally led the household security in catching toads throughout our vast estate for an entire day and night.

He had people place toad repellent around the villa. From then on, there wasn't a single toad on the property.

Even though they were gone, whenever he was home, he would carry me so my feet never touched the ground.

I thought he was making too much of it, but he looked at me with devoted eyes and said:

"I enjoy taking care of you like this. I want to carry you for the rest of our lives, and I'll make absolutely sure you never step on another toad again."

Those memories felt like yesterday. The sweetest promises he'd made had now become poisoned blades aimed at my heart.

Soon his subordinates brought a helicopter full of toads and began dropping them one by one, aimed at my head from high above.

Because I'd left in such a hurry, I didn't have my heart medication with me.

As toad after toad pelted down on me, my innate terror made my scalp tingle. My whole body froze, too panicked to breathe.

The feeling was like being slowly cut apart by someone wielding a sharp knife, slicing skin and grinding flesh.

Panic reaching its peak triggered my survival instinct. I began running instinctively to escape.

The helicopter overhead followed me, continuously bombarding me with toads.

I felt like I'd been abandoned on a deserted island, desperately trying to survive.

Though toads posed no real threat to most people, for someone with an innate phobia of them, avoiding toads felt as urgent as escaping from crocodiles.

"Ha ha ha ha ha..."

"I told you she was all bark and no bite. What kind of future does someone who's afraid of toads have?"

"What do you mean no future? She can make housekeepers dig through trash!"

"Think Lauren will beg for mercy on her knees?"

"I bet she will. Lauren, I'm not trying to be harsh, but if you'd just obediently dug through the trash to find Mr. Whitmore's sweetheart's mother's keepsake, this wouldn't have happened. You're refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

"You don't actually think Shanna is just a housekeeper, do you? She's Mr. Whitmore's precious darling now. If you're petty about it, that's your problem."

The rich kids and socialites overhead watched like I was a circus act, laughing mockingly.

Shanna pretended to be understanding as she called down to me:

"Mrs. Whitmore, stop being stubborn and just listen to Mr. Whitmore. That day when you made me dig through trash, I accidentally lost the only keepsake my mother left me."

"My mother's bracelet is somewhere in this landfill now. If you search carefully, you'll find it. The sooner you find it, the sooner this ends and you won't have to suffer like this."

In the stinking landfill, there was nowhere clean to step.

After running just a few steps, I tripped and fell into a pile of garbage. Toads continued raining down on me from above.

By my feet, beside me, near my hands—they were everywhere.

Finally, my heart seized with terror and I passed out.

As my consciousness faded, I heard Blake's subordinate report anxiously:

"Mr. Whitmore, Mrs. Whitmore has a heart condition. She's collapsed and isn't moving. What if something happens?"

Blake gave a slow, cold snort. "She's just acting! She doesn't have any heart disease—she's just being dramatic to make me pamper her!"

"Someone who can fight off wild dogs with her bare hands couldn't possibly be scared to death by toads!"

Shanna appeared sympathetic but was actually fanning the flames as she shouted at me:

"Mrs. Whitmore, stop pretending! Get up already. You're such a germaphobe—it must be so dirty down there. The doctor already told Mr. Whitmore you don't have a heart condition."

"Why debase yourself like this? It pains me to watch."