Yudistira struck Isvara's back and both hands with his belt. The man had turned into someone who had lost all reason, charging at Isvara without mercy.
"Go ahead and keep saying you don't want to get married!"
"Who do you think you are, huh? You're nothing but a widow who has to obey everything I say. Besides, your late mother built that company from the ground up."
"Don't you have any conscience, watching that company slowly fall apart?"
Every word pierced Isvara's heart, along with every blow that tormented her body. She collapsed onto the floor, leaning against her bed. She curled in on herself, enduring the pain and soreness.
"Don't just look at the results, Isvara. You also have to see everything it took for that company to grow."
After saying that, Yudistira left his daughter's room. He claimed that the beautiful woman was his biological daughter, yet her father's treatment of her was worse than anything she could have received from a stepfather.
After her father left, Isvara sobbed quietly, finally letting out the tears she had been holding back. Her body felt sore and raw. She cried alone for a long time.
She mourned the fate of her life, which felt so unbearably painful. She had only been able to run away for three years. After returning, she was once again faced with one problem after another.
Isvara turned toward the table beside her bed, where a photograph of her and her late mother was displayed. She sobbed even harder as she hugged her badly injured shoulder.
The white shirt she was wearing was immediately stained with blood. She struggled to reach for the framed photograph and hugged it as she cried from longing.
Everything her mother had said when she was little came rushing back to her.
"Mom, you said the company you built belonged to me. You left me that priceless legacy."
"But this time, I have to sacrifice myself for the prosperity of that company, Mom. Dad is greedy about everything."
"I'm being matched with a man I don't love again, Mom. All the sacrifices I've made over the past three years feel completely pointless."
"Mom, can't you come back, even just for a little while? So I can be with you forever?"
Isvara sobbed brokenly. She was exhausted by everything, tired of feeling like no one ever acknowledged her existence. She was nothing more than a shadow used to obtain whatever they wanted.
She was even reduced to a bargaining tool for her father's success. And once it was all over, she would become nothing but trash—trampled, crushed, and thrown as far away as possible.
Isvara's crying stopped when a notification came through on her phone. She wiped away the tears that kept soaking her cheeks. Then she read the message, which turned out to be from Ezra.
"Are you free tomorrow afternoon?"
Isvara immediately typed a reply.
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
"You left something at my house. Where do you want to meet?"
"At the restaurant near your house. I also want to return the suit from the other day."
"All right."
After that, Isvara stared at her phone screen as it finally dimmed and went dark.
Today, Isvara dressed simply, as usual. She wasn't busy applying makeup. She was busy looking for a dress that could cover all the injuries her father had inflicted on her the day before.
Once she was satisfied that everything was in place, the woman left her room. She had already ordered a taxi to take her to a café—the place where she had arranged to meet Ezra.
When she arrived, she searched for Ezra, who, according to him, had arrived a few minutes earlier. Isvara's eyes found the man she was looking for.
Her hand gripped the paper bag containing her ex-husband's suit. She lowered her head slightly, a faint smile on her lips. The atmosphere was painfully awkward.
"Sit down. I've noticed that even though we haven't been apart for very long, you've gotten much thinner."
Ezra's words made Isvara lift her gaze. Although their eyes met only briefly, it was enough to make her flustered. She was trying to hide how happy she was that her ex-husband still cared about her.
In the end, however, Isvara realized that his concern was no longer of any use. She was no one to him anymore. Even if she wanted to refuse, she had already been told that she had to marry Erwin.
"You said you were going to return my suit?" Ezra deliberately asked about his belongings so the atmosphere wouldn't grow even colder and more awkward.
Isvara glanced at Ezra's handsome face. She nodded, then bent down slightly to reach for the paper bag she had brought.
"Here, your suit. Thank you for helping me. It's clean—I washed and ironed it." Isvara gently pushed the paper bag toward Ezra.
Ezra took it and nodded slowly before speaking.
"It's only something like this. You shouldn't have come all the way here yourself."
Without looking at her ex-husband's face, Isvara said, "You came too, didn't you? So what's the problem?"
Ezra fell silent, his gaze seeming to examine every detail of his ex-wife's body.
"Where's the lively, spirited Isvara I knew during those three years we were together?"
Isvara's gaze returned to her ex-husband. Her beautiful eyes were already red and watery. If she blinked, the flushed cheeks beneath them would surely grow wet.
"Are you afraid of someone? Has someone hurt you and put you under this much pressure?" Ezra asked, his eyes scrutinizing her.
Then Ezra's gaze found the bruises on Isvara's shoulder, hidden beneath her shawl. He grew even more uneasy. He couldn't help imagining the worst about his ex-wife's life after marriage and the difficulties she might be facing.
Ezra didn't want to ask, even though he desperately wanted to know what had really happened. But he understood that the distance between him and Isvara had grown too wide. He didn't want her to think he was interfering too much in her life.
He also remembered everything Isvara had done during the three years they had lived together. Meanwhile, the visibly nervous Isvara squeezed both hands where they rested in her lap.
She blinked slowly, as if searching for a distraction so Ezra would stop staring at her. But the man seemed determined to leave her no opening to escape his scrutiny.
"Do you have to marry him?" The single question made Isvara look at Ezra again.
"Hmm." For some reason, Isvara could only answer with a murmur.
Ezra's eyes narrowed slightly, and his hands clenched tightly. For some reason, he couldn't accept the answer that had come from Isvara's lips.
Seeing her ex-husband continue to stare at her with such unwillingness, Isvara finally spoke again.
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of myself. He's treated me well all this time. He's also very considerate toward me."
"You don't need to worry about something that hasn't happened yet."
Isvara spoke with a faint smile and a reassuring gaze, even though everything she had said was a lie. She didn't want Ezra to feel sorry for her.
Or she would end up feeling indebted to the kindness of that tall, broad-shouldered man.
"You think I should just stay calm and not worry about your future? Isvara, if he's a good man, he'll treat you well and with respect."
"But at the party yesterday, he kept belittling you and putting you down. He only thinks about himself. He doesn't care about you—or even love you."
Isvara remained silent, continuing to squeeze her palms together. Her eyes grew watery again because she was so sad about her fate.
She loved someone, yet that love had to wither because it had only ever gone one way. In silence, the beautiful woman drew a long breath, trying to ease the tightness in her chest.
"You said I left something at your house? What is it?" Isvara asked gently.
Ezra squeezed both hands together. He had prepared the object he had found on the sofa yesterday. But for some reason, he was reluctant to give it to her.
"Um, that... I forgot to bring it." The words were nothing but an excuse, because he was gently squeezing the object in his hand.