Love Is Gone Chapter 04
“Alexander, I really don’t know that girl.”
I kept explaining on the way home.
But no matter what I said, Alexander wouldn’t listen.
The car stopped at the hospital entrance, and I was a little surprised.
“Aren’t we going home?”
He got out and reached out to pull me.
But I shrank back instinctively, my face turning pale with fear.
He froze, his eyes flashing with complex emotions, but he finally softened his tone.
“Chloe, come with me for a checkup.”
“I don’t want to go. I’m scared…” I shook my head, pressing my body against the car door.
Alexander pressed his lips together and dragged me out without another word.
After a series of tests, his face grew increasingly dark.
The medical report showed I was perfectly healthy, aside from severe malnutrition.
There was absolutely nothing else wrong with me.
“Eleanor was right. You really are faking it!”
He hauled me home and threw me roughly onto the sofa.
“Mom, Dad, and I sent you to the Troubled Teen Boot Camp for your own good.
“Three million a year, plus Oliver’s living expenses here—do you have any idea how much money we’ve spent?
“Why can’t you be grateful instead of being so rebellious?
“Do you know how important tonight’s banquet was?
“Now everyone knows you made a fool of yourself in public.
“Do you have any idea how those socialites will gossip about you behind your back!”
I cowered in terror, trembling uncontrollably, my legs turning to jelly as I shrank into the corner of the sofa.
Alexander glared at me in sheer disappointment.
“If you keep acting like this, I’ll have no choice but to send you back to Eleanor for another two years.”
“No!”
The moment his words fell, I slid off the sofa, dropped to my knees, and began to kowtow desperately.
“Don’t send me back!
“I’ll be good! I’ll behave!
“Don’t send me back, I won’t do it again!”
Alexander’s pupils shrank. Looking flustered, he bent down to help me up.
“What are you doing? Get up right now!”
But I just continued to kowtow, refusing to get up no matter what he said, only repeating the same words.
“I was wrong, please don’t send me back!”
His face was grim as he pulled at me uneasily.
A sudden scoff sounded from behind.
“My mom didn’t abuse you. Who are you putting on this act for?”
Alexander looked up at Oliver and slowly let go of my hand.
“If you want to kneel, then kneel.” His tone was laced with disappointment.
With that, he turned and walked into the study.
I remained in my kowtow position, as numb as a robot.
Oliver squatted in front of me with a sinister smile.
“If you don’t want to be sent back, you’d better be a good girl. When Uncle and Aunt get back, tell them you want me to stay with the Bennetts forever. If you dare disobey, I’ll have my mom—Ah!”
Before he could finish, I lunged forward and bit down hard on his arm!
Oliver looked so much like Eleanor.
They looked exactly the same!
Terror seeped from every pore of my body, and I screamed like a maniac.
“Shut up!
“Stop talking!
“Stop talking!”
Hearing the commotion, Alexander ran out and pulled Oliver behind him.
Oliver clutched his bleeding arm, shrieking at the top of his lungs.
Alexander’s eyes darkened, and then with a resounding slap, he backhanded me, knocking my face to the side.
I froze in place, listening to his voice that was as cold as ice.
“How dare you attack him? Go to the basement and reflect on what you’ve done! Once you know you’re wrong, then—”
Alexander’s voice abruptly stopped, astonishment flashing across his face.
Because the moment I heard the word “basement,” my whole body convulsed, my eyes rolled back, and I suddenly fainted.
“What act are you putting on now?”
He nudged me with his toe, a hint of panic in his movements.
When I remained unresponsive, he quickly scooped me up from the floor.
Alexander’s hands were trembling.
In my memory, he had never looked so at a loss.
“Call an ambulance, quick—”
…
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital, surrounded by a group of people.
A doctor with a solemn expression was running various tests on me, scribbling notes on his clipboard.
“Doctor, why did my sister suddenly faint? I just had her get a full physical; she’s perfectly healthy!”
Alexander’s eyes were red-rimmed, his voice hoarse.
The doctor frowned.
“The patient’s problem isn’t physical, it’s psychological.
“She must have endured long-term, extreme psychological trauma.
“Because the pain was too overwhelming, her body triggered a self-defense mechanism, resulting in selective amnesia.”
As he spoke, he looked at the pale faces of my parents and Alexander, and let out a sigh.
“If you want to know what your sister has been through, the only way is through hypnosis.
“But you need to brace yourselves…”
