Grudges and Loves on Stage

The icy river water bore a piercing coldness, slipping through the collar to the flesh; every inch of skin felt as if stung by needles. In the fog of semi-consciousness, the laughter from the shore pierced my ears—those voices sharp and cruel, like poisoned silver needles stabbing repeatedly at my temples. "There's no escape; the stretch of river ahead is riddled with hidden reefs. Even if he can swim, it's useless." "Stella Lopez said that Daniel Shaw is nothing but a curse, and the sooner he is dealt with, the better." "Indeed, if it were not for Stella Lopez's soft heart saving him back then, he would have frozen to death in the snow. Yet, in the end, he turned out to be an ungrateful scoundrel." I struggled desperately in the water, letting the current carry me downstream. The chill in my heart was sharper than the river's, yet a flicker of unyielding will to survive still burned within me — I could not die, absolutely could not perish by the schemes of those two. That rainy night five years ago swirled vividly in my mind, the scene as clear as if it had happened only yesterday. "Daniel Shaw, just listen to me this once — the Hall master of the Greenwood Clan can keep our entire family safe." Stella Lopez stood before me, her voice tinged with a note of pleading, yet in her eyes, there was not a trace of guilt. I looked at her—the woman I had nurtured for ten years, taught drama for five, and been married to for three—and felt as if all the blood in my body was about to freeze. "Stella, do you not know that old man is notoriously perverse? Are you unaware of how many lives he has stained with blood?" "But Charles Green said this is the only way out." She avoided my gaze, yet her tone was resolute, as if she had already accepted this path as inevitable. Charles Green, my brother-in-law by marriage, the man who depends on my family's opera troupe for his livelihood. I couldn't help but laugh, laughing until tears welled up and streamed down my face, mingling with the rain—both salty and bitter. "So you all conspired to send me away in exchange for your wealth and glory? Stella Lopez, am I truly worth so little in your heart?" "Daniel Shaw, I did it for your own good." Stella Lopez stepped forward, trying to take my hand; her fingertips barely brushed my sleeve. I suddenly shook off her hand with such force that she staggered backward. "Don't touch me! Stella Lopez, I saved you from the bitter cold, taught you the arts of singing, reciting, acting, and combat, treated you like a precious gem—And this is how you repay me? Trading my life for your future?" Her face turned pale, her lips twitched, yet she stubbornly said, "At this point, words are useless. Either you go with the Hall master, or..." "Or what?" I fixed my gaze on her eyes, trying to find even the faintest trace of hesitation, but all I saw was cold indifference. "Or don't blame us for forgetting old favors." Charles Green's voice came from outside the door, followed by two brutish men wielding wooden clubs—clearly intent on enforcing their will. I knew in my heart that they were determined to sacrifice me, exchanging me for everything they desired. To remain inside meant being forcibly dragged away as a gift to the Hall master of the Greenwood Clan—an ordeal more humiliating than death; while the river outside the window, though swift and perilous, still concealed a faint hope of survival. I clenched my fists, and while their attention was fixed on Stella Lopez, I suddenly pushed open the window and plunged out. Outside the window roared the torrent; the icy water instantly swallowed me, sweeping away the last vestige of my lingering affection for Stella Lopez. I struggle amidst the waves; even when the currents leave my head dizzy, even when my limbs have long been frozen stiff, I grit my teeth and fight on—I do not want to die. I want to live to witness their downfall, to make them pay for today's betrayal. I thought I might be injured by a hidden reef or swept to the riverbed by the current, but as long as there is breath in me, I will never give up. But heaven was merciful; I was rescued by a passing cargo ship. The captain, a kind-hearted man, seeing that I still had life, gave me hot soup and thereby saved my life.