Shattered Vows and Forgotten Faces

I am a mortuary cosmetologist.
On the eve of my wedding, I restored the body of an unidentified woman, only to discover it was Miles Chow's mother, who had been missing for days.
Before I could even deliver this devastating news, I was kidnapped and dragged to an underground fighting arena.
They disfigured my face, silenced me with poison, and, after drugging me, bound me on stage to be auctioned off as a stress-relief toy.
Through eyes swollen to slits, I saw Miles Chow embracing his new lover, locked in a passionate kiss amidst the raucous jeers:
“Miles, is Sister-in-law probably playing with corpses again? No wonder you're here celebrating your bachelor party with the new girl!”
After the kiss, Miles Chow reluctantly released the woman in his arms, saying with callous indifference:
“Wendy finds pleasure in corpses, and I find it in Yulia's embrace. To each their own! I'm to be married tomorrow, so I must ensure Yulia's happiness tonight!”
As the Fighting Arena announced the methods and prices for stress relief, I desperately tried to signal Miles Chow, but he misinterpreted my actions as flirtation.
Repulsed, he spent 200,000 to win the privilege of slapping me one hundred times.
Miles Chow was invited onto the stage, yet he refused to even spare me a glance.
He donned the special gloves offered by the host and began striking my face, left and right.
By the twentieth blow, my eardrums were ringing.
A warm liquid traced a path from the corner of my mouth, indistinguishable from saliva or blood.
Miles Chow flexed his wrist, then turned to Yulia Sue in the audience, offering a sickeningly sweet smile:
“Yulia, why don't you come up and have a go? It's wonderfully cathartic!”
“Besides, these people are just defaulters who couldn't pay their gambling debts; it's incredibly satisfying to beat them!”
Yulia Sue hid her mouth behind her hand, shaking her head, though her eyes betrayed a gleam of excitement.
“Miles, you do it. It's enough for me to watch you hit her!”
The excitement and taunt in her eyes made me wonder if she knew who I was.
I strained to open my eyes wider, the tape sealing my mouth muffled my desperate whimpers.
Yulia Sue then pointed at me, declaring:
“Miles, it seems she enjoys being beaten by you. Let her have more!”
As a psychological consultant, Yulia Sue's words were naturally convincing to Miles Chow.
But I didn't want to be beaten, nor did I want to die in this wretched place.
I dodged with every ounce of strength I possessed as Miles Chow's hand arced towards me for another blow.
The slap missed its mark. Eager to please Miles Chow, the host seized my hair, yanking my head back:
“It appears our stress-relief toy has a little spirit in her!”
“As tonight's highest bidder, Mr. Chow is entitled to two complimentary special services.”
After the host publicly aired my sordid and illicit history, Miles Chow abandoned all pretense of civility.
Discarding his bloodied gloves, he traced the project list with a languid finger, each item a new and terrifying form of torture that filled me with dread.
Sensing my fear, he deliberately paused at each item, offering his critique.
Last night, these very hands tenderly prepared soup for me; now, they are stained with my blood.
His gaze lingered on 'Inverse Bone Correction' for a moment, and he chuckled softly:
“This one, perhaps. Wendy has always had a fascination with human bones. I, too, wish to experiment with the bones of the living.”
The instant the electric current coursed through my body, Miles Chow raised a hammer and shattered my wrist.
Writhing in excruciating pain, I heard an inhuman scream tear from my throat.
Miles Chow, do you even comprehend that you have shattered the wrist of your fiancée, the woman who has been by your side for ten years!
And to think, he already has a new lover before even marrying me.
So-called love has become nothing more than a cruel jest.
My piercing screams drew cheers from the audience.
His unsavory companions even lauded Miles Chow for his brutal efficiency.
“Miles, those 200,000 were exceptionally well spent! Look how you've beaten her, yet there's still a glimmer of light in her eyes when she looks at you! And I must say, her voice bears a resemblance to your sister-in-law's; even the mole on the back of her hand is in the same location. Could it be that she came seeking you out?”
Miles Chow stared intently at my birthmark, lost in thought.
Hope surged within me; I believed he had finally recognized me.
But the next instant, his face contorted with disgust, and without hesitation, he shattered every joint in my fingers:
“Someone as depraved and inhuman as you dares to resemble my Wendy? Let's see how eager you are to gamble once I've smashed your hands to pieces!”
The pain brought me to the brink of unconsciousness, rendering me incapable of uttering a single word.
I was a fool to gamble on human nature.
I stood by Miles Chow as he rose from a destitute boxer to the commercial titan he is today, foolishly believing our wedding tomorrow would mark a blissful new beginning.
Unbeknownst to me, it was all merely a figment of my imagination.
Yulia Sue, eager to capture my suffering in vivid detail, rushed before me, phone in hand, to record my torment.
“Miles, the way she claws at the floor reminds me of the Maine Coon your sister-in-law keeps.”
“A pity I accidentally killed it today. Do you think your sister-in-law will blame me?”
“It's dead and gone. Wendy and I are already trying for a child; cat hair is bad for pregnant women, you know.”
A tremor ran through my entire being.
Snowball was the cat Miles Chow and I raised together. Just this morning, before I left for work, he promised we'd wait for me to come home.
But Snowball is dead, and I can no longer return home.
Miles Chow, unwilling to meet my gaze, pressed the electric shock button without hesitation.
The current surged, and I convulsed, writhing in agony.
The agonizing cramps in my abdomen served as a cruel reminder of the two lines on yesterday's pregnancy test.
I had intended to surprise Miles Chow with the joyous news of a double blessing on our wedding day tomorrow.
But never could I have imagined that this joyous news, unspoken, would become a thorn piercing my very heart.
In a fleeting moment of delirium, I wondered if revealing my pregnancy yesterday might have spared me this torment today.
Mingming, Miles Chow once swore that even if I were reduced to ashes, he would still recognize me.
Yet, when I stood before him, he did not know me.
Furthermore, at the host's urging, he selected another 'special' project.

“Another five hundred thousand. I want to see waterboarding.”
Miles Chow's voice, cold as ice, chilled me to the bone.
The host, elated that I fetched such a high price, lauded Miles Chow and Yulia Sue as a match made in heaven.
Though my vision blurred with blood, I could still see Yulia Sue nestled triumphantly in his arms.
Her finger, bearing a diamond ring identical to mine, traced circles upon his chest.
“Miles, you are so thoughtful, knowing I am prone to fainting at the sight of blood…”
Without warning, two pipes were thrust into my nostrils, and ice water laced with chili powder was forced down my throat.
I thrashed violently, like a fish out of water. The cramps in my abdomen intensified, and a warm liquid trickled down my inner thighs, forming a small pool of blood upon the iron chair.
“She’s hemorrhaging!”
Someone cried out.
Upon hearing this, Yulia Sue whirled around, her eyes flooding with bottomless hatred at the sight of the blood.
But in the next second, after a brief wobble, it fell precisely onto the floor beside me.
Amidst the panicked footsteps, her frigid fingers suddenly seized my ankle.
“Wendy Lynn, good luck. I hope you live to see tomorrow's sun.”
Fueled by rage, I raised my foot and violently kicked her hand away.
She cried out in agony, her eyes fluttering shut as she lost consciousness.
Miles Chow rushed to cradle her in his arms, turning to bellow at me:
“You wretched bitch! How dare you kick Yulia? You have a death wish!”
“I bid another five million! Everyone here is welcome to come up and have some fun, just don't kill her.”
My vision began to fade, and the host frantically ordered:
“Untie her, quickly! If she dies, how will Mr. Chow enjoy himself later?”
The moment the ropes were loosened, I mustered the last of my strength and lunged towards Miles Chow.
My mangled fingers, lying in a pool of blood, shakily traced the first stroke of the character '晴'; the agony of ten broken fingers made me tremble uncontrollably.
Someone asked, bewildered.
“What is that madwoman doing?”
Miles Chow halted and glanced down at the ground.
His pupils constricted as that fragmented character for “Wendy” swam into view.
“Wendy?”
I nodded frantically, blood and tears mingling as they dripped onto the name.
Gazing upon my wretched state, Miles Chow felt a sharp pang in his heart, his throat constricting as if choked with damp cotton.
But as Yulia Sue whimpered in his arms, complaining of feeling unwell, his polished leather shoe ground cruelly into my fingers.
“You dare defile my wife's name?”
“Knowing Yulia is squeamish, how dare you bleed so profusely?”
Even as my consciousness waned, Miles Chow remained insatiable in his hatred.
He raised his foot, delivering another brutal kick to my abdomen:
“They predicted correctly, didn't they? You actually thought you could seduce me into saving you. Keep dreaming! You aren't even worthy to be compared to a single strand of my wife's hair!”
His words would have carried more weight had he not been embracing Yulia Sue as he spoke.
A torrent of warm liquid erupted from beneath me, staining Miles Chow's shoes crimson.
Unbeknownst to him, the blood that soaked the floor was that of the child he so desperately desired.
“Miles, the blood flow is dangerously abnormal!”
“Your wedding is tomorrow; it's inauspicious to be involved in a death. Perhaps we should reconsider...”
“Shut your cursed mouth!”
Miles Chow silenced him with a sharp rebuke, then ordered the Fighting Arena to summon a doctor immediately to keep me alive.
“If she dies, it's merely testament to her misfortune!”
Waves of excruciating pain washed over me relentlessly; even unconsciousness felt like an unattainable luxury.
Miles Chow's friends took turns watching over me, ensuring that should I succumb, they could dispose of the body promptly.
They treated me as if I were a living corpse, their callous voices drifting intermittently into my ears.
“Miles is truly something else, to have Yulia Sue so willingly be his Mistress for life!”
“Who can argue with that? Yulia Sue became his Paramour even before she graduated, didn't she? I recall it wasn't long after he proposed to Wendy Lynn.”
So, Miles Chow had already betrayed me two years prior.
I cannot fathom how his heart could be so divided, and yet he could still feign such devotion in my presence.
I lay in a pool of blood, feeling my life steadily ebbing away.
After desperate measures, the bleeding finally ceased.
The child I carried within me is gone as well.
In a haze, I heard Miles Chow's approaching footsteps.
“Miles, she has lost her child; how wretched. Perhaps we should release her? Consider the money a charitable donation...”
Yulia Sue, her voice thick with tears, begged for my reprieve, but Miles Chow merely sneered:
“Yulia, you are far too compassionate! This societal filth is beyond the reach of the law; someone must discipline her in lieu of her parents.”
A fresh wave of torment is about to commence.
After all, the underground boxing arena's rules dictate that debts unpaid must be repaid with flesh.
So long as I live, I will continue to serve as a tool for release.

My consciousness flickered between agonizing pain and oblivion.
A cacophony of muffled sounds reached my ears, as if filtered through a thick, bloody haze.
Someone seized my hair with brutal force, dragging me into a dank and shadowy Basement, and tossing me onto the frigid concrete floor.
Mr. Chow instructed that I must not die, as I am to continue tomorrow.
The iron door clanged shut, and darkness consumed all.
I huddled in the corner, trembling with pain, my tears long since dried, leaving only numbness.
I don't know how long it had been when Miles Chow's impatient voice echoed from the illuminated surveillance screen:
“Why can't I reach Wendy?”
“Miles, don't fret. Sister-in-law must be busy at work.”
“Bullshit! She'd never ignore my call, no matter how busy she is!”
Miles Chow's voice betrayed a palpable panic.
My heart lurched, as if seized by an invisible hand, and I dared not even breathe.
He's looking for me!
A moment later, Miles Chow answered another call.
It was Tracy Cook, her best friend, and her voice came through clearly:
“Miles, is Wendy with you? I can't reach her by phone!”
Suppressing his unease, Miles Chow paused, then replied casually:
“She's probably working late again; you know what a workaholic she is.”
Tracy Cook refuted sharply:
“Impossible! The wedding is tomorrow; she wouldn't be working this late, no matter how busy she is!”
Miles Chow was silent for a few seconds before frantically checking his phone's surveillance to track my location.
My heart pounded, a fragile flame of hope flickering within me.
Would he suspect something amiss?
Would he recognize me, the one he abused to the brink of death today?
“No one's home; I was right. Tracy, don't worry. Wendy's either still working late or taking her time getting home.”
He ended the call and turned to the person beside him, instructing:
“Have the car ready; I'll take Yulia home first.”
Hope was instantly extinguished.
He preferred to believe I was simply delayed on my way home, rather than accept that the unrecognizable gambler he had so brutally tortured was his own fiancée.
“Miles, won't you stay and play a while longer? Why are you leaving so early?”
My unsavory companions were displeased that my sudden miscarriage cut their revelry short.
Miles Chow's face instantly hardened:
“Tomorrow is Wendy's and my wedding. Should I not return to her, but remain with you lot instead?”
Silence descended upon the group.
Yulia Sue, however, boldly wrapped her arms around his neck and pleaded:
“Miles, could you possibly stay with me tonight? From tomorrow onward, you will no longer be mine. I am so distraught…”
“Yulia! You must understand your position. I said I would lavish funds upon you tonight to alleviate your distress; you should be satisfied. I have no patience for avaricious women!”
But his harsh words were easily shattered by Yulia Sue.
“Miles, I bought your favorite maid outfit. You can tear it to shreds tonight, to your heart's content…”
The air hung, frozen.
I heard Miles Chow's breathing quicken, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously.
He pulled out his phone and sent me a voice message, his tone sickeningly sweet:
“Wendy, I had too much to drink at the bachelor party tonight, so I'm staying at a friend's place. Be a good girl and go to sleep; I'll marry you tomorrow.”
With those words, he swept Yulia Sue into his arms.
I watched his retreating back, his eagerness to leave palpable, and tears silently streamed down my face, the pain from my wounds too excruciating to even weep.
So, his tenderness was nothing but a cruel facade.
So, his love was a worthless trinket.
I closed my eyes, and the memories surged forth, a relentless tide—
Two years prior, Miles Chow knelt before me, placing the ring on my finger, his eyes shimmering with what I believed was love:
“Wendy, marry me. I vow to love only you for all eternity.”
Six months ago, I toiled late into the night after work, preparing a birthday surprise for him. He embraced me, feigning concern:
“Fool, you are ten thousand times more precious than any gift.”
Yesterday, he kissed my forehead, solemnly vowing:
“Mrs. Chow, from tomorrow onward, I entrust myself to your guidance for the rest of our lives! I promise, I will never allow you to suffer any hardship.”
The Miles Chow I remember is unrecognizable compared to the cruel, violent, and adulterous man he is today.
I huddled in the darkness, my body frigid, my consciousness slowly succumbing to the abyss.
If this is love, then I wish I had never met him.

The squeak of rats jolted me awake, my body slick with cold sweat.
Seeing me stir, they retreated warily, but did not flee, as if aware I was too feeble even to shoo them away.
The iron gate clanged open, and a burly man tossed in a bowl of rancid slop.
“Eat it. Don't you dare starve; Mr. Chow said you still have debts to repay.”
A ragged moan escaped my throat as I shook my head with every ounce of strength I possessed.
I did not gamble!
I owe no debts!
The man frowned, his patience wearing thin:
“What charade are you attempting now?”
Trembling, I extended my disfigured fingers, dipped them in the grimy water on the ground, and with a herculean effort, managed to scrawl unevenly on the concrete floor:
[I am Miles Chow's wife.]
The man stared at the words, then erupted in laughter, as if privy to the most uproarious jest imaginable.
“You? Mr. Chow's wife?”
He pulled out his phone, started a live stream, and thrust it before my face:
“Open your eyes wide and see for yourself! Mr. Chow's wedding is about to begin. I wonder how many lives you possess to dare impersonate his wife!”
On the screen, Miles Chow, impeccably dressed in a black suit and sporting a groom's boutonniere, stood anxiously scanning the entrance of the Hotel.
“Mr. Chow, the auspicious hour approaches, yet the bride has not arrived?”
The host's voice, laced with doubt, echoed from the phone.
Miles Chow frowned, glanced at his watch, muttered something to the best man, and turned back towards the hotel.
My heart seized with dread. Had he discovered something amiss?
“Have you quite finished your observation?”
The man retrieved his phone, then ground his heel into the knuckles of my writing hand:
“It was plain yesterday that a toad like you fancied a swan! I didn't expect such persistence! You likely don't know that Mr. Chow's wife is a renowned mortuary cosmetologist, highly regarded even by the police! You, a mere defaulter and gambler, are no match for her!”
Excruciating pain forced me into a fetal position, yet a fragile hope flickered within my heart.
Surely, when Miles Chow discovers I am missing, he will come searching for me!
......

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