In the past five years, she has been abused to such an extent, but almost in an instant, a familiar face entered his mind. It was none other than the woman who was killed by Astrid Starling. The woman's face flashed across Matthew's hazy mind.
'This is all her fault!'
'She deserves this…'
'She doesn't deserve to have an inch of happiness in her life after what that demoness of a woman had done!'
Were the words that clouded his mind.
The next second, Matthew was left frozen by Astrid's words. And he found himself bleeding for her.
She said, "Matthew, you might've taken me out of that hell, but after five years of spending my life in a dark cage can't be erased from my mind. I beg you, don't let me be anywhere near you in the future. Don't let me do anything to our precious daughter. I promise I'll give her what she needs. I'll donate my bone marrow and I'll leave."
As tears were falling from her eyes, she still smiled beautifully, "Look, every minute I spend with you reminds me that I am a murderer. I'm a killer. I'm branded, Matthew."
After hearing the word 'murderer' slip out of Astrid's lips, Matthew's eyes became darker. He looked at Astrid as if she was the root of all things evil and diabolical.
The man slipped inside the car, moved forward and grabbed Astrid's neck, choking her.
He watched as Astrid's face contorted in pain and his eyes shot daggers at her, wishing she was dead. His proud godlike face was covered with a layer of ice while his soul screams for blood, "You think you can request such things from me, huh? You really are a scumbag!"
Matthew's fingers tightened against Astrid's neck, making her choke. "If I didn't need your marrow, I might really kill you."
But Astrid did not feel any pain, any fear in her heart. She remained motionless and did not fight as the man held her throat tightly. She swallowed and said with difficulty, "Why not just kill me now then extract my marrow like a pig?"
The man in front of her trembled all over, and the veins on his defined arms popped out.
Seemingly satisfied with his reaction, Astrid laughed softly in the car, "Don't worry, before I donate bone marrow, I will live well, and after our transaction is completed, I will live or die, and not a word will be passed on to you. I will disappear from your life. You'll live as if you've never known a person named Astrid Starling."
"What did you say?" Matthew said in disbelief. His eyes remained still and yet his other fist tightened into a ball.
"Are you deaf?" She said with a wicked grin. "You want me to repeat myself to have it drilled unto that drilled skull of yours?"
When those venomous and mischievous words reached Matthew's ears, his fingers tightened against Astrid's neck even more. So tight that he can visibly see Astrid suffocating in front of him. She began to struggle violently, trying to break free from his tight hold. She tried to punch him off and even kicked his thigh, but her strength was no match for the man in front of her. After several failures to break free, her hand subconsciously slammed against Matthew's face. The sound of the crips slap reverberated around the car, rendering both of them motionless for a second.
"Fuck you, you psycho!" Astrid hissed as she felt Matthew's fingers loosening from her throat.
Matthew became a little dizzy after receiving the strong slap from the woman. He shook his head and let out a groan. But before he could gather himself up, before he could react, he saw Astrid crawl out of the door, slam the door on his face and run like a maniac.
"Shit!" He hissed, reacting quickly within a few seconds, chasing after the woman running in front of him.
"How pathetic." Matthew hissed as he watched Astrid try to run with her bag leg. She was crippled and ran in a funny way. She looked like a desperate psycho. A mad woman on the run.
He doesn't see her as a threat, no matter whether she was her old self or not. Whether she was healthy or not, she could never be his rival.
"Do you really think you can escape from me?"
Astrid turned to him only to send curses on his way. "Fuck off!"
With a few hasty steps, Matthew caught up with the lame Astrid without even breaking a sweat. He grabbed her dress and reeled her in, pulling her close to him.
To prevent her from escaping again Matthew wrapped his arms around her waist. When Astrid couldn't struggle her way out, she threw a fit, feeling imprisoned by the man's arms.
"LET ME GO!"
Matthew held her even tighter. "No."
"Fuck you!"
After a few minutes of trying to fight her way out of his grip, she gradually lost her strength in the violent struggle. Her eyes glistened with tears and gradually turned red. "You shit… Why are you doing this to me? Why?!"
Matthew didn't answer.
"Please let me go. Have pity on me, have pity on me Matthew! Let me calm down for a few days, let me go back to the hospital… I don't want to be here, please! I promise you, I will definitely not miss the appointment. I will be there for Persephone, I swear!"
As Astrid cried as she begged and begged, Matthew couldn't help but bleed for the scorned woman. He could see how fucked up she was. And as he heard her shrill cry, it was like a sharp blade slashed through his heart. It's as if he was brought back to that cold afternoon five years ago. It was when she was shoved into the dark tainted car that would send her to John George's Psychiatric Institution. Upon the memory his pupils shrank, and his words came out without even thinking about it.
"Do you think you are qualified to negotiate terms with me?" He hissed. "If you think so, then you are way more stupid than I thought you'd be."
Astrid raised her head and directed her line of sight to Matthew's piercing Blue eyes. She never thought that one day she would be broken again. Torn apart over and over until all of her limbs were on fire. Until she couldn't bear it any longer and wished for death.
At last, she finally realized that all those love quotes, all those stories and novels she loved to read so much in the past. It was all right.
'For love is a curse that could cure you, or burn you. For love is desire and selflessness combined. For love is a brutal and heartless weapon that could not wound a person, but could make someone bleed.'
Because of love, she was wronged and was forced to stay in a mental hospital for five years. Because of love her legs were ruined. Because of love, her sanity is hanging by a thread.
And if she loves again what else can she give? Nothing else more but her life.
She can't afford to love, and she will not even dare to love. Not anymore.
==============
Turns out thirty minutes of constant crying and screaming was all it took for Astrid to have a severe panic attack. She looked like she was about to die as she tried to calm herself and breathe in some oxygen in her lungs. Her heart was racing against her chest, pumping hard as if she had run for miles. Her body profusely sweats and her body trembles. And yet when Matthew's arms loosened against her waist and when he carried her in his arms — Astrid had to close her eyes for she felt like she was hallucinating.
Whenever she looks at Matthew, he looks like a prince that was pulled out of a Disney movie. He was dazzling and his glistening face was illuminated by the soft moonlight. Even the veins on his neck and arms looked alluring.
Now the two of them were inside her room.
She had calmed down after the nurse arrived with a paper bag on her hand, telling her to breathe.
And because it was five o'clock in the morning and the two of them haven't had a blink of sleep, Matthew was more irritable than his usual mood. He pulled his tie off his neck and said, "You're already calm. But if you still want to, you can visit the nearby clinic and book for a psychiatrist." Matthew looked at Astrid and said, "I have a meeting tomorrow night, it's a business meeting. You will go with me."
Hearing him speak like this, Astrid blurted out a question subconsciously, "You're really awful. Today you asked me to go to Augustus's party only to be humiliated, and now, you're asking me to come to some stupid meeting? You really want to torture me like that? You think you can bribe me with alcohol, fancy dresses, make up and shit?"
"Oh…" Matthew sneered, "Humiliated? I thought you didn't care."