“So much pain!”
Mạc Hy shifted her body slightly, but she felt an intense pain below, as if she had been brutally torn apart.
Her mouth and tongue were uncomfortably dry and parched. Her entire body felt exhausted, devoid of the strength to even step out of bed.
Someone, please help her!
Her face was twisted into an extremely unsightly grimace.
Suddenly, she was startled by a realization.
Why wasn't she wearing any clothes?
And why were there so many hickey marks on her body?
Instinctively, Mạc Hy yanked the blanket off. Everything before her eyes became starkly clear, and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
She had lost her purity!
The bloodstain on the bed was proof that it had been her first night as a woman.
She felt as if she had plunged into a dark abyss. For years, she had guarded her purity, hoping to meet someone who would love her, marry her, and only then would she give herself to her husband.
But all of that had been her own wishful thinking. Now that she had lost it, who would ever dare to marry her?
“Slap!”
Drowning in those thoughts, Mạc Hy suddenly received a stinging slap.
She dazedly opened her eyes to see her cousin, Mạc Tuệ.
Mạc Hy clutched her face, looking at her cousin. “Why did you hit me?”
“How dare you even ask me that? Look at yourself now, aren’t you ashamed?” Mạc Tuệ pointed and gestured, scolding, “You’ve brought such disgrace upon the Mạc family! Don’t you think that slap you just got was well-deserved?”
Mạc Hy didn’t deny it. Suddenly, everything that had happened last night at the bar flashed through her mind.
She remembered that this cousin had given her a glass of wine.
And after that, well, there was no ‘after that’.
Only today, and now.
“Did you drug my drink? Did you set me up?”
Mạc Tuệ smiled sarcastically. “What if I did set you up? And what if I didn’t? You’ve already lost your purity and disgraced the Mạc family. Let’s see how the Old Madam deals with you!”
“You’re the one who harmed me, I’ll explain it to her,” Mạc Hy said, her voice dry.
Mạc Tuệ burst into loud laughter, looking at her with immense arrogance. She was now so overbearing, as if victory was firmly in her grasp. “You’ll explain it to the Old Madam? How amusing! What will you say? That I harmed you? Ha ha ha, even if the Old Madam knows I harmed you, so what? She can’t do anything to me. You’ll have to bear the consequences yourself, Mạc Hy!”
“Damn it, I wasted my trust on you, and you still set a trap for me.” Mạc Hy let out a hopeless laugh. “It’s true that in this world, one shouldn’t trust anyone too much. Only by trusting yourself can you find peace of mind.”
“It’s too late for regrets now. Just wait for the Old Madam to arrive and deal with you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the clacking sound of a walking stick grew closer.
A woman with almost entirely white hair and many wrinkles on her face walked in.
This was the Old Madam, and also Mạc Hy’s grandmother.
Following her were two elders and the Mạc family’s head butler.
She stood before Mạc Hy, leaning on her walking stick.
“Old Madam, look at her! Last night she slept with another man! She has brought such immense shame upon our Mạc family. Please punish her!” Mạc Tuệ quickly recounted Mạc Hy’s ‘crimes’, every word, every phrase designed to utterly ruin her reputation.
After listening, the Old Madam opened her mouth and said, “I know what I need to do; you don’t need to interfere. And don’t think that just because I’m old, I don’t know what you’ve been doing. I know everything, I just haven’t said anything. But don’t assume I can’t do anything to you. I’ve merely been turning a blind eye. You’d best know your place and not be so arrogant, or else, I will make you regret it.”
Mạc Tuệ looked at the Old Madam with surprise, mixed with a hint of disdain.
So what if she knows! Anyway, she's already like this; the Mạc clan certainly won't let her manage things.
“You have no business here anymore, get out.” the Old Madam continued, her voice like a knife, sharp and full of authority.
Mạc Tuệ left quickly, although she felt very uncomfortable.
But for the sake of the greater good, she had to endure.
She absolutely could not act rashly.
Only then did Mạc Hy dare to speak: “Grandma, you have to believe me, I didn’t do anything, Mạc Tuệ framed me, that’s why I’m in this predicament.”
“Slap!”
But what answered her was a painful slap.
What she received was not a comforting hug from her grandmother, nor words of encouragement.
What she received was a slap; this was the second slap she had received this morning.
But this time, she felt immense pain, pain from her skin, and pain deep within her heart.
The slap made one thing very clear: her grandmother no longer trusted her.
“Grandma…” Her tears fell softly, soaking into the blanket, her dry lips parted slightly to utter the word ‘Grandma’.
Choking back her emotions, she couldn't say another word.
“Don't call me Grandma, I don't dare accept it, and you are no longer worthy of calling me that.” the Old Madam said coldly; despite her advanced age, she remained a presence that instilled fear in others – “You bear the name of a Mạc family granddaughter, yet you commit such a despicable act. Aren't you ashamed? As for me, I am deeply ashamed, do you know that? All the reputation I've painstakingly built over the years has been shattered by a girl like you.”
“Grandma, I didn't.” Mạc Hy wiped her tears, looked at her grandmother, and tried to explain: “I was framed, Grandma, why don't you believe me? You raised me, don't you know what kind of person I am anymore?”
“Hmph, what good is it if I know? You don't need to say anything more. From now on, the Mạc family has no granddaughter like you!”
The Old Madam left behind her resolute words and departed.
Mạc Hy sat miserably on the bed, clenching her teeth. The grandmother she loved most had chosen not to believe her.
She was in so much pain, her heart ached so much.
After a while, having come to terms with it, Mạc Hy went into the bathroom to thoroughly wash her body.
She gripped the bath sponge tightly in her hand and began to scrub her body, from her neck down to her feet. Every spot she touched was treated with extreme roughness, as if her actions sought to strip away the skin that the man had touched last night.
After she had thoroughly washed, she dressed neatly and began to pack her clothes.
She stepped out of the room, slammed the door shut, her face sorrowful. Dragging her suitcase, she slowly made her way to her grandmother's study.
“Knock, knock.”
“Come in.”
Mạc Hy gently opened the door. Inside, the Old Madam was sitting by the window, seemingly lost in thought.
Without looking up, she asked: “You still haven't left?”
“I wanted to say goodbye to you before I leave.” Mạc Hy didn't dare to look directly at the Old Madam.
She said timidly.
“There's no need. I don't want to hear it. Besides, the moment I cast you out of this house was the moment I no longer wished to see you. You are an eyesore to me. I am old, don't make me angrier.” the Old Madam, despite her advanced age.
Yet, every word she uttered was sharp and merciless.
“Grandma, I'm sorry for shaming you.” Mạc Hy sincerely bowed her head, tears spontaneously flowing – “I also thank you for raising me these past years, allowing me to live such a joyful and happy life.”
“Go quickly.” the Old Madam said sharply – “Don't make me have a heart attack because of you.”
“I'm leaving now, goodbye, Grandma.”
With that, Mạc Hy turned on her heel and departed.
Her slender back looked pitifully lonely.
At this moment, the Old Madam's face changed, becoming sad as she looked towards the door: “Later, you will understand this old woman. I’m sorry, I’ve caused you such pain.”
Everything she did was simply for her own good.
To keep her truly safe.
She knew Mac Hy was being harmed, but she also had her own private burdens that she couldn’t speak of.
That’s why she had to play along with the elaborate scheme Mac Tue had created.
It wasn’t to collude with her, but to make her drop her guard.
Mac Hy was escorted by a servant to the gate, where a car was already waiting to take her away.
Her eyes were filled with reluctance as she looked at the house she had called home for a very long time.
She truly couldn’t bear to leave this place, but the Old Madam would no longer take her in.
“Miss, it’s time to go,” the driver couldn’t help but say.
Snapping Mac Hy out of her thoughts, she took a deep breath, then let out a heavy sigh, and stepped into the car. She spoke softly, just loud enough to be heard: “There will definitely be a day when I return here. I hope that by then, you will accept me.”
And then, the car sped away.
Mac Hy decided to move overseas. It was a way for her to escape the gossip and rumors, and on the other hand, she wanted to learn from the people there about her future work.
She saw this trip as an opportunity to relax and broaden her horizons.