Chapter 4

Coach Marcus scoffed, using the cane to lift my face.

"Look at you, pathetic. What kind of adorable little creature do you resemble?!"

Humiliation and fury burned through my insides.

I glared at him, defiantly.

"Smack!"

Another strike, on my other calf, with even more force.

The stinging pain shot straight to my head.

"Still not moving?!"

His voice was flat, devoid of emotion, only cold command, "Or do you want to try something more painful?"

The cane swished threateningly before my eyes.

My vision blurred with tears, and waves of pain washed over my calves.

Before another strike could land, I surrendered.

On all fours, like a real animal, I slowly, laboriously began to crawl forward.

"Woof... woof..."

The sounds were barely audible, choked with uncontrollable sobs.

"Didn't you eat? Louder! And make it sweet!"

The cane tapped my back.

I squeezed my eyes shut, took a deep breath, and summoned every ounce of strength.

I let out a more agonizing, more distorted sound: "Woof woof woof~~"

The assistant coaches around me let out low, suppressed chuckles.

Coach Marcus poked my forehead with the cane, sneering, "I heard your husband's secretary, Serena, is better than you in every way – looks, figure, tactics! If you don't learn properly, someone else will take your place when you go back!"

In that moment, something inside me shattered completely.

Liam, is this the dog you wanted?

Gradually.

I became unusually "obedient."

I even cried and asked Ms. Blackwood after a punishment:

"Instructor, am I still not doing well enough? Will Liam be dissatisfied?"

Ms. Blackwood was pleased with my "transformation," believing their "therapy" to be highly effective.

Liam would occasionally call, and Ms. Blackwood would keep it on speaker.

"She's been performing very well lately, making great progress, learning to listen."

Ms. Blackwood reported.

"Hmm."

Liam's voice was unreadable. "...She hasn't caused any more trouble, has she?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Chen. She's perfectly compliant now, she knows who her world revolves around."

"...That's good."

A brief silence followed from his end of the line.

I huddled in the corner, listening to that "hmm" and the silence.

Perhaps there was a flicker of hesitation in him, but in the end, he chose to believe in the necessity of this "transformation."

---

And only in the dead of night, returning to that cramped, windowless temporary dormitory.

Lying on the cold bed, tracing the new scars on my body, would my heart belatedly send a sharp, dense ache.

But even that ache would quickly be drowned by overwhelming fatigue.

Liam would still call occasionally, not to me, but to Ms. Blackwood to "check on my progress."

Ms. Blackwood always put him on speaker, letting me "eavesdrop."

She called it "feeling your husband's concern and expectations."

"Her? She's alright, making a little progress, I guess... but she's still a bit stubborn, needs a bit more discipline..."

"Don't worry, Mr. Chen, we'll take good care of her for you. We guarantee you'll be satisfied when she returns..."

"The Intensive Training Session? It's scheduled for later. That's our Platinum Course; the results are immediate..."

Ms. Blackwood's voice was laced with a smile, coming through the speaker.

I curled up in a corner of the room, hugging my knees, listening to Liam's occasional, vague affirmations from the other end of the phone, like "Hmm," "Okay," "Thank you."

Not a single word asking if I was okay.

He only cared about the "result."

A perfectly reshaped, submissive yet sexy wife, molded to his liking.

The last faint glimmer of hope, that "he might regret it," was extinguished.

The training entered its final stage.

Ms. Blackwood kept me behind after one of her lectures.

"Mrs. Chen, congratulations. You've barely passed the foundational courses."

Her face still held that standard smile, but her eyes now carried a different, unsettling meaning.

"Next, we have a specially added 'Platinum Course' just for you – the 'Intensive Training Session.'"

My heart leaped, and a strong, ominous premonition seized me.