"Before, you hired someone to kidnap Carol. I didn't punish you because I knew you felt sad about the child's death. Now you are trying to hit Carol with a flower pot. I won't let it go this time.
"I will not stop punishing you unless you apologize to Carol."
Just as Bruce said, he soon took action.
My younger brother, Dylan, who had made great contributions to the company and had just been promoted to vice president not long ago, was now fired.
Moreover, although Dylan had a resume from a prestigious university and extensive work experience, he was repeatedly rejected when he went to interview at other companies.
My parents ran a small restaurant, and thugs started to come and cause trouble there. My father went up to argue with them but was beaten by the thugs and sent to the hospital.
Bruce even didn't let go of my relatives who ran fruit stores, and he always asked some people to cause trouble for them.
These were the means used by Bruce to force me to surrender. I could ignore myself, but I couldn't ignore my family.
Dylan said that it didn't matter and that if he couldn't find a job, he could take it as a holiday. My parents also told me to be at ease and not to give in, because at worst, they could close the restaurant.
I knew that they did this because they didn't want to embarrass me, but I couldn't implicate them.
For my family, I had to find Bruce and give in, forcing myself to say those words against my will. "Bruce, I was wrong. I shouldn't have treated Carol like that. Please let my family go."
Bruce cut the steak elegantly and said in a commanding tone, "I said that I will only stop punishing you if you apologize to Carol in person."
Gritting my teeth, I came to Carol, the person I hated the most, and said with difficulty, "I'm sorry, Carol. I was wrong."
Carol pretended to be a good person and kindly reached out to take my hands. "Flora, it's all a misunderstanding. It's okay."
I suppressed my nausea and let her take my hands.
I knew that I would not gain any advantage if I confronted Bruce head-on.
So I tolerated everything Carol and Bruce did. I never got angry again and always smiled at them.
I knew that Carol was more anxious than me and wanted to see me get divorced so that she could marry Bruce.
Seeing that I tried to avoid being framed by her, stayed away from her, and remained indifferent to any provocation from her, she chose to take a risky move.