Chapter 227 Who Yielded First

Since they got back from the hospital, Mark took off the handcuffs from Tina. However, if Tina refused
treatment, Mark wouldn't hesitate to lock her up again, even if it would make Tina hate him more.

Tina did not utter a word, but the resentment was clear as crystal in her eyes.

Tina hated feeling like a prisoner! She never imagined her life would come to this!

Before long, Mark brought another bowl of ointment and applied it on Tina's wounds gently.

"When do you intend on setting me free?" Tina asked, coldly.

"Doesn't it feel good to be home? No one can hurt you here and you won't have to see the faces that
you don't like either," Mark answered, with tongue-in-cheek.

In the past few days, Mark's parents made several attempts to visit Tina, but every time Mark would
send them back with some kind of excuse. Mark's parents felt guilty assuming that Tina did not want to
see them because they wanted to welcome Emily back into the Tao family. Therefore, they decided to
give Tina some time on her own, instead of constantly pestering her.

Besides, they trusted their son to take good care of Tina, so they did not have to worry about anything
at all.

Frustrated and annoyed, Tina screamed at Mark, "You've kept me locked up here, against my will,
Mark!"

"No, I'm protecting you," he said.

"Hypocrite," she replied.

"I don't care what you think of me," he retorted.



Mark didn't hold any grudges against Tina. He just smiled and said, "But my love for you is
unconditional."

Tina warned, with contempt, "You cannot keep me locked up in here forever."

Mark did not take Tina's threat seriously until night time, when he really understood what she had
meant by that.

When Mark left her alone for a little while, Tina used a piece of broken glass to cut open her wrist. The
blood gushed out from the wound and dripped all over the ground.

When Mark walked into the room, a spasm of panic contorted his face, as he panicked and rushed to
cover her wrist with tissue, before he calling the doctor.

"If you really feel so resentful, you can take it out on me. Why do you hurt yourself? "

Benumbed, Tina stared at the blood blankly, as if she could not feel the pain. "Because it works,
doesn't it?" she answered cheekily.

Tina's lack of concern for her own safety hurt Mark's feelings.

"Do you have to do this?" he asked. Unlike his usual self, Mark was a little angry, as his eyes failed to
hide his real emotions. Needless to say, he was angry at what Tina had done to herself.

Tina turned around to face him and gave a grim smile. "Yep, you can keep me locked up in here as
long as you want, and I will keep on doing this to keep myself entertained," she said.

"Tina..." Before Mark could finish, the doctor came into the room.

"Miss Tina, please do not be so impulsive in the future," the doctor urged. The doctor frowned when
she saw the wound on Tina's wrist, as she hurried to dress it up quickly. "Be sure to not let it touch



water," the doctor warned.

Mark's face was still and motionless. He didn't utter a word, until the the doctor had left.

The both of them were fighting a silent war against each other, as if the one to speak up first would be
the loser.

However, in the battle of love, the one to take things seriously would tend to lose, while the one who
loved no one would always emerge victorious.

Needless to say, Mark was the former.

"I understand that you feel bored living in here. I don't mind if you want to go out, but you don't need to
hurt yourself just to get to me. Do you understand?" he said. Mark signed and gently continued, "Tina,
why on earth do you refuse to understand?"

"I don't want to understand," she answered. Tina's eyes did not carry an ounce of emotion in them.

Tina had lost everything, her high status; her right to be arrogant; her beauty and her health. She had
nothing left in this world for her to carry on living.

Meanwhile, somewhere out there, Emily was living the perfect life. Emily had everything Tina had lost.
How could Tina go on like this?

The only thing that kept Tina going was her hatred and resentment for Emily.

Tina would drag Emily down to hell with her, if that was the last thing she had to do!

Mark's face darkened. "You can go, but I will accompany you everywhere at all times. Do not try to be
devious. I promise I will exact revenge upon your enemies for you," he promised.



Mark's key point was to defeat Jacob. As long as Jacob was rendered powerless, no one could protect
Emily anymore. Then he could torture both Jacob and Emily as he liked.

Mark wanted them to taste what it felt to be desperate and powerless.

He had imagined all the various and elaborate methods he would use to torture them.

Moreover, he could give them over to Tina, for her to torture them as long as she wanted.

However, Tina did not believe a single word that came out of his mouth, as she feigned
correspondence in a cold, apathetic voice.

"So, let's go downstairs to have lunch, okay?" he asked. Mark's tone was as gentle as before. "Our
parents haven't seen you in a long time. They're worried about you," he said.

The key point was that if Mark continued to keep Tina locked up in his home for an indefinite amount
time, his parents would start to suspect him.

Tina faked a smile and ridiculed him. "They are your parents, not mine," she said.

"If you marry me they will still be your parents," said Mark.

"Dream on," Tina replied in a cold voice and got up to leave.

However, there was a sense of confidence in Mark's eyes, as he followed her to lunch.

In the dining room downstairs, Mark's parents were already at the table ready to have lunch. When
Tina walked down the stairs, they looked at her with surprise as they weren't expecting to see her any
time soon.



"Tina?" Abbot responded first, as he waited eagerly to see her reaction. Soon he found out that Tina
seemed to be doing a bit better than before, even though she looked disheartened, she was not acting
out hysterically anymore. "Come and sit down. Have lunch with Mummy and Daddy," he said.

"Right, you've lost a lot of weight..." said Bess. Anxious, Bess was yearning to give Tina a tight hug, but
she hesitated.

Tina cast a short glance to the both them, and sat down to have lunch, without saying anything.

Abbott and Bess looked at each other only to find guilt in each other's eyes. If they had not insisted on
bringing Emily back, Tina would not have been so aggrieved and all hell would not have broken loose.

Bess kept picking dishes for Tina as she could not help her heart from aching at the sight of gauze
covering her left cheek. Tina's was a beauty to behold, but now..

Bess knew that there was no one to blame for Tina's misfortune, but the thought of Emily coming out of
the same predicament safe and unharmed, discomforted her.

Why was only one of her daughters blessed with good fortune while the other was not? It wasn't fair!

In truth, she had a soft corner for Tina, as she had raised her since she was just a baby. Although, the
truth contradicted them, they still regarded Tina as their biological daughter. As for Emily, they really did
not share any bonds with her outside of blood, as she was raised by someone else.

Soon, Mark came downstairs. After greeting his parents, he sat beside Tina as he always did, and fed
Tina by himself.

Tina turned around and downright refused him. "My hand still works," she said.

"But the wounds haven't healed up yet," he said. Mark looked at Tina the way one looked at a stubborn
child and said, "Let brother feed you, okay?"



"Wounds? What happened?" asked Bess.

Mark's parents were so focused on Tina's face that they didn't notice the gauze covering her wrist, until
now. Their eyes widened, as the look of concern gradually appeared on their faces.


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