Chapter 1

After I got pregnant, my husband Xavier and I attended a dinner party. I was craving something spicy, so I ordered a plate of spicy pasta.

His childhood sweetheart, Zoey, accidentally took a bite. Within seconds, she went into anaphylactic shock.

Xavier was absolutely furious. To punish me, he had an entire warehouse's worth of industrial-grade chili extract delivered to the house.

"Didn't I tell you Zoey is allergic to capsaicin?"

"Are you really that desperate for spicy food? You couldn’t even go one meal without it?"

"Fine! I’ll make sure you get your fill of peppers."

From that day on, he made sure every meal I ate was loaded with industrial chili extract.

The first time, my entire body turned red and swelled from the burning heat.

My throat was swelling shut, but I still tried to explain what had happened.

"Xavier, Zoey texted me herself and told me to order something with chili in it…"

His expression hardened.

"Zoey's in a coma, so now you’re just going to make things up?"

"Starting today, I'll double the amount of chili in every meal you eat."

The second time, the burning was so unbearable that I ran a low-grade fever all night.

Desperate for relief, I went to the kitchen for milk, only to find every refrigerator locked.

Trembling uncontrollably, I dropped to my knees and begged Xavier.

"Xavier, I know I was wrong!"

"My stomach hurts so much. Please... Please just let me have a little milk."

He didn't so much as soften.

"Listen carefully. You keep eating those peppers until Zoey wakes up. That's the only way this ends."

I lay on the cold floor, barely able to breathe through the burning in my body. Through the haze of pain, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Then maybe I should just get an termination of pregnancy surgery. That way, can’t I eat even more.

......

Later, when Xavier heard the nurse call to inquire about my physical condition after the termination of pregnancy, his eyes welled up with tears of regret.

But it was all too late. The child was gone, and I no longer loved him.

——

"Enough, Chloe Lockhart!"

"You used to do mukbang. What kind of chili essence haven't you eaten?"

"It's this little bit of chili now, and you're putting on a show for me?"

"Do you have any idea how much Zoey is suffering now?!"

Xavier's furious voice rang above me, each word dripping with contempt.

I looked up on instinct, but my eyes were so swollen from the burning that I could barely pry them open.

My trembling fingers groped blindly until they caught the hem of Xavier's pants.

I tried to force a few words through my raw, burning throat.

Before I could say something, his phone rang.

"Xavier, something’s wrong!"

"Zoey took a sudden turn. Her heart stopped for several seconds!"

"Come to the hospital, now!"

The frantic alarms of hospital monitors blared through the phone.

Xavier tightened his grip on the phone and abruptly ended the call.

He rushed to leave and didn’t even realize he was stepping on my fingers.

My hand was already red, swollen, and throbbing with pain. His foot only made it worse.

I curled my fingers in and cried out.

From downstairs, I heard Xavier issue his next set of cold orders.

"Watch Mrs. Sheldon. Tonight she is not allowed one drop of water."

"And double the chili in her meals again tomorrow."

"She owes all of this to Zoey."

My heart lurched.

The industrial chili extract I'd swallowed surged back up my throat.

It burned straight into the mouth ulcers that had plagued me throughout my pregnancy.

Clutching my stomach, I doubled over and retched, my whole body convulsing.

I managed to stagger to my feet and stumble into the bathroom.

I frantically twisted the faucets, desperate to rinse the burning from my mouth.

But not a drop came out.

They’d shut off the water in the bathroom, too.

My body ached and swelled.

Gasping for breath, I sagged against the sink, barely able to stand.

That’s when my hand brushed against a cold bottle of mouthwash.

I tipped my head back and poured the whole bottle into my mouth.

For a few seconds, my mind went blank.

Then I remembered where this special mouthwash came from.

After Xavier and I fell in love and got married, he learned how often I suffered from mouth ulcers.

He'd contacted specialists overseas and had a custom mouthwash formulated exclusively for me.

I’d received a fresh bottle every week.

Until Zoey came back to the country.

For the past three months, not a single bottle had arrived.

Even this one I’d just found in the bathroom had expired long ago.

My mouth was burning and raw. I had to bear the pain and drink down the whole bottle of expired mouthwash.