No Trapped Land Without Love

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They said the girl Sebastian was after this time had a long-term boyfriend who was struggling financially.

Sebastian didn't care. He took what he wanted, consequences be damned.

The girl fought like a cornered animal, refusing to yield.

The night he finally had her, fireworks lit up the sky over the ocean, a celebration that lasted until dawn. The next day, a river of expensive jewelry flowed to her family's doorstep as if it cost nothing.

Mrs. Gable, our housekeeper, told me all this when she came to deliver fresh clothes to me at the psychiatric hospital.

The words caught in my throat, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood before collapsing.

When I woke up, Sebastian was standing by my hospital bed. It was the first time Id seen him in six months. His voice was calm, almost detached, as he warned me.

Nina, if you promise not to cause her any trouble, Ill let you come home. You can have everything that comes with being Mrs. Archer again.

Finally, I gave a small, defeated nod.

Just before I passed out, Id learned that my brothers latest investment had failed, leaving him drowning in debt. It was Sebastians money that had kept his name from being blacklisted, that had saved him from total ruin.

It was just an affair.

For my brother, I would stop fighting.

The driver was taking me home when we were rear-ended. The car flipped onto its side. The driver was knocked out instantly, and I was severely injured.

As the sirens wailed in the distance, I drifted back to consciousness for a fleeting moment. Even then, my first instinct was to fumble for my phone and call Sebastian.

It rang for a long time before he finally answered. I swallowed the metallic tang of blood rising in my throat and managed to whisper, "Sebastian, I..."

His voice was clipped with impatience. "Didn't I already send the driver to get you? I told you, I'm busy. Nina, can you just be reasonable for once?"

Suddenly, the line was filled with noise. And a familiar voice.

A girls desperate scream tore through the receiver. "Sebastian, do whatever you want to me, but why did you have to hurt him!"

Sebastians voice was smooth, but his words were laced with ice. "Sienna, I told you. If you dared to accept his proposal, Id make sure he spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair."

So that was her name. Sienna. The fragile little flower he was protecting so fiercely.

And I suddenly remembered why her scream sounded so familiar. It was the same sound of things shattering, the same sound I had made the first time I discovered Sebastian was cheating, when I had smashed everything I could get my hands on.

Sebastian had a talent for driving people mad.

On the other end of the line, Sienna was sobbing, begging him to spare her boyfriend.

Just before I lost consciousness completely, I heard her plea change.

"Please... be gentle..."

Her cries morphed from furious curses into soft, broken moans.

When I woke up again, Sebastian was sitting on a sofa not far from my bed, idly playing with his phone. He noticed me looking. He hesitated, then reached out as if to check my temperature.

I turned my head away. My voice was a raw croak. "I'm fine."

A cold smirk touched his lips, and he retracted his hand without a second thought. "Nina, you just got out, and youre already staging a car crash? Isn't it time to stop?"

My mind went blank.

"I've told you many times, no one will ever threaten your position. You are my wife, Sebastian Archers only wife."

He leaned back, his voice dripping with condescension. "What do you gain from competing with some young girl whos barely out of college? Getting yourself all banged up like this?"

So thats what he thought. That this was all a pathetic ploy for his attention. A game.

I opened my mouth, but the words felt hollow and useless.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "It won't happen again."

I knew I had no right to argue. Not anymore.

My submission clearly pleased him. My brother called later to tell me that Sebastian had already paid off next months installment on his debt.

See? As long as I was invisible, as long as I knew my place, Sebastian would take care of everything.

"If this is too painful for you, Nina, just leave him," my brother said, his voice strained over the phone. "Divorce him. I'll figure out the money."

My hand holding the phone started to ache. Id heard what had happened. Everything our family owned had been seized and auctioned off. The cars, the housesall gone overnight, and it still wasn't enough to fill the hole. My brother had been beaten by debt collectors until he was spitting blood. It took only three days for him to go from our sprawling riverside mansion to a damp, dark basement apartment.

They said that when Sebastian found him, my brother was curled up on a child's bed, his eyes shut, his face pale, with dried blood on his lips. The worn blanket was too short to even cover his feet. A cup of instant ramen sat untouched on the floor beside him.

We had lost everything. We had nowhere left to go.

And now Sebastian was offering us cars, houses, and money. All I had to do was be blind. All I had to do was let him and his little flower have their perfect love story.

In our situation, who was I to refuse?

I forced a smile I didn't feel. "It's not painful. I just have to be blind. I can do that."

After I was discharged, I tried to be a model wife.

I stopped asking where Sebastian was going or what he was spending. When he was drunk after a business dinner and needed a ride, I gave the driver Siennas number. When he said he was craving my homemade seafood chowder, I calmly called Sienna and had her deliver it. When he complained that his new custom-made cufflinks didnt match any of his suits, I had Sienna contact his personal tailor.

This went on for three months. Then, one day, Sebastian called me. It was so unusual I almost didn't answer.

He said he was coming home for dinner tonight.

After we ate, as I was mechanically laying out his suit for the next day, he grabbed me, pushing me down onto the bed.

"Nina, you've been so good lately," he murmured, his breath hot against my skin. "It's almost not like you at all..."

A trail of kisses fell across my face. The scent of gardenia, Sienna's signature perfume, filled my senses, clinging to his skin, his clothes, everything. The room grew warmer, and the cloying fragrance intensified until I felt a violent wave of nausea rise in my throat.

I forced it down.

But as he moved over me, lost in the moment, he whispered her name.

Sienna.

My mind went white. My fingers clenched the pillow until my knuckles were bone-white. In the next second, a strength I didn't know I possessed surged through me. I shoved him off.

I scrambled to the bathroom and collapsed over the toilet, dry heaving.

Sebastian followed me. The desire in his eyes vanished the moment he saw me. He leaned against the doorframe, a frown creasing his brow. His voice was laced with annoyance. "What's wrong with you?"

I couldn't answer. The only sound was the wretched gagging that echoed in the small room.

His patience wore thin. "Go to the hospital tomorrow and get it checked out," he said, his voice cold.

The sound of his car roaring away into the night stole any hope of sleep. I curled into a ball on the edge of the bed, trying to fight the sickness coiling in my stomach, but it was useless.

I got up and started rummaging through the drawers, desperate for some kind of medication. Instead, tucked away in the back of a cabinet, my fingers brushed against a cheap pearl necklace, the metal clasp already tarnished and faded.

The cold metal felt searing hot in my palm.

I remembered the year Sebastian had nothing. We were twenty-two. To teach him a lesson, his family had cut him off completely, forcing him to start from the bottom. The rich young master who used to spend millions a month was suddenly earning a pittance, wearing cheap clothes, and living in a cramped employee dorm.

It broke my heart to see him like that. I secretly gave him half of my allowance. Under the moonlight, hed held me, his voice thick with emotion. "Nina, you're so good to me."

To buy me a birthday present, he took on every part-time job he could find, working until he was dizzy with exhaustion. When he finally handed me the pearl necklace, his face was flushed. "The quality of these pearls can't compare to the ones in your closet... Nina, if you don't like it, you can just say so..."

I didn't say anything. I simply took off the brand-new designer necklace I was wearing and put on his. I wore that cheap string of pearls for years. It became his get-out-of-jail-free card, a reminder of a time when his love felt real.

Snapping out of the memory, I walked to the balcony, the necklace clutched in my hand. With a single, decisive motion, I flung it into the night. It landed somewhere in the flowerbeds below, swallowed by the darkness.

Two months later, an unexpected guest appeared at my door.

Sienna.

She was dressed in the latest chic designer suit, an expensive watch on her wrist. The earrings she wore were the very ones Sebastian had paid a fortune for at an auction a few weeks ago.

I knew then that she had accepted his obsessive, possessive love. And like so many women before her, she had come to tell me to get out of the way.

"He doesn't love you anymore. There's no point in you holding onto this position."

She looked me up and down, a smug smile on her face. "And I need the title of Mrs. Archer to wash away the stain of being the other woman."

But now, I needed that title too. All I had left was my brother. I could give up anything else, but not this.

When I didn't respond, a flash of hatred crossed her face. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up.

"Nina, why couldn't you just control your husband? Why did you let him drive me and my boyfriend to a dead end?"

Her voice rose to a hysterical pitch. "I'm like this because of you! Because you're pathetic! It's all your fault!"

"If I can't be happy, then you and Sebastian, the two people who ruined my life, don't deserve to be happy either!"

She lunged at me, throwing her entire weight onto me. My hip slammed into the sharp, metal-edged corner of the dining table. The pain was so intense it stole my breath. I tried to push her off, but before I could even exert any force, she threw herself backward, crashing to the floor and taking the plates and cutlery with her.

I turned just in time to see her clutching her stomach, a crimson stain rapidly spreading across the fabric of her dress.

She was... pregnant?

Mrs. Gable's screams echoed in my ears as Sebastian's frantic shouts came from the entryway.

The next second, a sharp, vicious slap struck my face. The force was so great I could taste blood.

"Nina!" he roared, his face a mask of fury.

"I thought bringing you home meant youd finally learned your lesson. I can't believe you're still the same manipulative, spiteful person you've always been!"

A bitter, acidic feeling rose in my throat, thick with the taste of blood. My voice was a hoarse whisper. "I didn't push her..."

He didn't listen.

He scooped Sienna into his arms and ran out the door. The man who was always unflappable, even at the negotiation table, was trembling.

A week later, my brother called.

"Nina, can you ask Sebastian why he suddenly unlinked his card from my repayment plan? If it's too much trouble, then just... forget it."

I mumbled a quiet "okay," knowing how proud my brother was. He would never have called me if he wasn't completely desperate.

When I called Sebastian, he answered almost immediately, as if he'd been waiting for my call.

"What card? Oh... that one. I thought it had been compromised, so I unlinked it. Is there a problem?" His tone was casual, but his words were a hammer blow to my heart.

My hands twisted the hem of my shirt. I forced myself to speak. "But... my brother's payment is due. Sebastian... can't you just... care about me again, just this once?"

The old nickname I used for him felt foreign on my tongue.

The line went silent on his end. After a moment of rustling, a different voice came on. It was Sienna.

"Nina, don't you know the company is tight on cash right now? You and your brother are like two bottomless pits. No matter how much money he gives you, it's never enough. You're going to drag him down."

Tight on cash...

This morning's headline flashed in my mind. "CEO SEBASTIAN ARCHER BUYS LOVER MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MANSION AND LUXURY CARS!"

So that was why they were tight on cash.

An endless bitterness spread across my tongue, a swarm of tiny insects gnawing at me from the inside out.

"Sebastian has put me in charge of this," Sienna continued, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "If you can manage to please me, he'll naturally take care of your brother's debt."

I didn't hesitate. "Okay."

"I'll text you an address. Come see me tomorrow, and I'll tell you what to do."

I never imagined the address she sent would be my childhood home. Standing outside, looking at the familiar walls, felt like stepping into another lifetime. The peach tree we had planted in the yard was in full bloom.

I remembered planting it with Sebastian. He had asked me, "Do you know the language of the peach blossom?"

I shook my head.

He leaned in, his lips brushing my ear, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine. "It means, 'I am your love's willing captive.'"

A spring breeze rustled the leaves, pulling me back to the present. I gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.

I walked into the yard. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sun illuminated the furniture inside, casting a warm glow through the white sheer curtains.

And I saw them. Two bodies, tangled together on the chaise lounge my mother had loved more than anything.

Sebastians breathing was heavy, his voice a low murmur of seduction and warning. "Alright, but you promised you wouldn't go too far."

Sienna laughed, pushing playfully at his shoulder. "You gave me the house. Why do you still care so much what I do in it?"

Gave her the house?

I lost control. I stormed inside. "You really gave her this house?"

Sebastian sat up, slowly draping a robe over his shoulders. "Yes. The paperwork is being processed."

His words buzzed in my ears. I flew at him like a madwoman, my fists pounding against his chest. "Why would you give it to her! You promised me! You promised that if I behaved, you would give this house back to me!"

"Sebastian, why her? Why!"

He grabbed my flailing wrists and shoved me hard onto the sofa. It was soft, but the impact sent a dull, throbbing pain through my abdomen.

"She lost a child. This house is my compensation to her," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "If you had been the one to lose a child that day, I would have compensated you too."

"And Nina," he added, his eyes cold. "Don't forget why you're here today."

In that instant, I forgot how to cry, how to scream, how to hate.

By the time my senses returned, Sienna was dressed. "Nina, I haven't really decided how to punish you," she said, looking down at me. "Why don't you... get on your knees and beg me."

Her condescending gaze ignited a fire of humiliation inside me. But I knew I couldn't refuse.

The room fell silent.

Then, there was a soft thud. It wasn't the sound of my knees hitting the floor. It was the sound of my spine, straight for twenty-six years, finally shattering.

Sienna smiled. "I don't have all day to sit around with you. This is your house, you should know where the security cameras are. If I check the footage later and I don't see you kneeling, well... I'm afraid I won't be able to help your brother."

With that, she took Sebastian's arm, and they left.

The pain in my abdomen grew worse. It was so bad I couldn't stand up straight. Every time I tried to rise, to ease the cramping, the security camera in the corner would twitch, a silent reminder from the person watching on the other end. If I ran, if I stood up, my brother was finished.

As night fell, I felt a sudden warmth spread between my legs. In the faint moonlight, I saw that my pants were soaked in blood.

Terrified, I called my brother. I was sobbing, telling him I thought I was dying, that I was bleeding so much.

He came. He was still wearing his work uniform. He scooped me into his trembling arms and ran towards the ambulance.

"Nina, don't sleep! Open your eyes and look at me!"

"Nina! Stay awake!"

Just before they pushed me into the operating room, my vision blurred, but I saw him. Sebastian. It was the first time since we were married that I had ever seen him look so panicked. The man who was always meticulously put together, down to the last hair on his head, was so frantic he had put his jacket on inside out.

The moment the operating room doors swung shut, Marcus slowly turned his gaze to Sebastian, who was still reeling from the shock.

"Sebastian! What have you done?!"

"I told you, if you didn't love her anymore, you should have let her go! We would have paid the money back! Why would you do this to Nina?!"

"Are you happy now?! Are you satisfied, now that you've broken her?!"

Marcus's fist connected hard with Sebastians jaw. Sebastian didn't fight back. He just kept asking, his voice hollow, "What's wrong with her? What happened to her?"

He had seen all the blood. In all the years hed known Nina, he had never seen her so hurt.

Marcus didn't know what was wrong either. In that instant, guilt and self-loathing washed over him. If he hadn't failed, if he'd just been content with the money and assets he had, Nina would never have had to endure any of this. She could have remained the proud, untouchable princess she was meant to be. She would have had the strength to walk away from Sebastian.

His clenched fist went slack.

In that moment, Marcus realized that he was just as much to blame for all of this.

"Family of Nina Archer? Is the family of Nina Archer here?"

The operating room doors opened. Sebastian, snapping out of his daze, started to move forward, but Marcus shoved him violently aside.

"I am. I'm her brother."

"I'm... her husband..." Sebastian mumbled.

The nurse shot Sebastian a look of pure contempt. "You're her husband? Don't you have any common sense? Don't you know a pregnant woman needs to be kept calm and free from stress?"

"She suffered a severe blow to her abdomen, and combined with extreme psychological distress and emotional volatility... this child can't be saved. We need to perform a D&C."

"Here is the surgery consent form. Someone needs to sign it before we can proceed."