Chapter 4

He had always known Alyssa was beautiful, with a figure that turned heads. Even their occasional intimacy had been enough to make him lose control.

But whenever he thought about being intimate with anyone else, a sense of guilt would rise in him, as if he were betraying the woman he truly loved.

He had suppressed it again and again over the years.

Yet…

Alyssa was his lawful wife, and at night she was undeniably alluring.

Alyssa knew he was watching her, but she was certain that a man who only wanted children with his first love would never truly desire her.

She moved about naturally in front of him and picked up the hairdryer.

Justin stood where he was, his gaze following her.

She turned her back to him and swept her long hair to one side, revealing the slender, pale curve of her neck. A faint, damp fragrance lingered in the air.

Justin swallowed.

A warm hand suddenly gripped Alyssa’s waist.

“I remember you always wanted a child.” Justin switched off the hairdryer in her hand and set it aside, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Alyssa had once wanted a child with the man she loved, but at this moment, she only felt repulsed.

“I don’t anymore,” she said softly.

Justin frowned. He lifted her chin lightly with his fingers, brushing along her neck. Her skin was soft and smooth beneath his touch.

His body reacted.

Alyssa’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Have you been too tired these past few days, juggling work and the house?” Justin said. “Let’s have a child. After that, you can stay home and focus on being a housewife, alright?”

She had stopped cooking for him, refused to handle the Scott family’s matters, and begun to think in ways he could no longer read.

This would not do.

He needed a capable wife to manage the household. The Scott family needed a compliant daughter-in-law.

Since Alyssa wanted a child, giving her one was no great matter. It would also keep her firmly at home.

What was the point of clinging to a one-thousand-dollar job? It was embarrassing for him if people found out.

He leaned in to kiss her, but Alyssa turned her head away.

Justin’s eyes narrowed instantly. “Why are you rejecting me?”

“I don’t want one anymore.” Alyssa looked at the man in the mirror, her voice firm.

The feeling of his wife slipping out of his control grew stronger.

However refined he usually appeared, his expression now turned cold, and his grip on her chin tightened abruptly.

“For four years, you were the one who said you wanted a child. I was willing to give you one, and now you don’t want it?”

A dark thought suddenly crossed Justin’s mind, and his eyes turned cold. “Do you have someone else?”

The words pierced Alyssa’s heart. She fixed him with a frigid stare, as if asking: Who is the one with someone else?

She wrenched herself free and returned to the bedroom.

When had Justin ever been rejected by Alyssa?

From the day they met through their years of marriage, she had always done as he said and let him have his way.

The sudden shift was something Justin could not tolerate.

He strode after her, grabbed her arm, dragged her into the bedroom, and pushed her onto the bed.

“Justin! What are you doing!”

“A child. If I say we’re having one, we’re having one. Alyssa, you’ve never refused me. Be good.”

Before she could process it, Justin lunged forward, his kisses falling across her pale neck and collarbone.

His strong hand gripped her waist, the other moving lower.

In that moment, he seemed frighteningly unrestrained.

Alyssa panicked and pushed at him. “I said I don’t want one anymore! Justin, I don’t want one!”

“Whether we have a child isn’t up to you to decide.”

He stopped kissing her and pinned her hands above her head.

She could not move. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes.

The man who had been gentle to her for four years was now forcing her.

His kisses returned to her lips and neck, urgent and overwhelming.

As her legs were forced apart, Alyssa finally snapped and drove her knee upward. He recoiled in pain and loosened his grip.

She pushed herself up and slapped him.

Smack—

“Alyssa! You hit me?”

Furious and humiliated, Justin raised his hand. The solid slap landed as expected.

Alyssa’s face reddened and swelled instantly, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Justin’s hand trembled.

It was the first time he had seen Alyssa cry.

She cried without a sound.

The room fell into silence.

“Honey…”

Justin curled his fingers, unable to meet the frightened, doe-like eyes staring back at him.

Wrapped in a blanket, Alyssa rushed out of the bedroom, grabbed her phone from the sofa, and walked out the door.

The moment she stepped outside, a single thought echoed in her mind: Divorce.

…

With her swollen face, Alyssa stood by the roadside.

Her first instinct was to return to the orphanage, but she was afraid the aging director would be heartbroken at the sight of her.

Her late mentor’s wife was resting in the suburbs and could not be disturbed.

In the end, she walked into a hotel at random.

At the same time, a low-profile Maybach pulled up at the hotel entrance.

A well-dressed man stepped out, his expression slightly dark.

A girl leaned out of the car window. “Brother, you’re really not going home? Mom and Dad are just nagging.”

The man said nothing and entered the hotel alone.

The girl shook her head and sighed. “Even the famous CEO of the Wells Group can’t escape being pressured to marry, huh…”

The Maybach drove away.

As the man crossed the lobby, he heard the receptionist ask twice, cautiously, “Ma’am, are you sure you don’t need any assistance?

“If you do, please feel free to call the front desk.”

“Thank you.”

The reply was weak.

This hotel belonged to the Wells Group.

Since he was here, he did not want any incidents.

Lucien Wells looked up.

A barefoot woman wrapped in a blanket stood nearby. Strands of messy hair covered half her face. As she drew closer, the red mark of a slap on her cheek became faintly visible.

He and the woman stepped into the same elevator one after the other.

The woman stood there blankly, like a walking corpse.

The room card in her hand hovered uselessly without triggering the sensor, and she didn’t press a floor button.

From the side, he could faintly see tears falling from her face like a string of broken pearls.

After a brief pause, he spoke. “Which floor?”

She finally came back to herself.

With pale, trembling fingers, she tapped the card and pressed the floor button.

Then she wiped the tears from her face, tucked her long hair behind her ear, and revealed her whole face.

The corners of her eyes and the tip of her nose were red, her expression cold and fragile.

Unwilling to let anyone see her in such a state, she forced herself to be polite. “Thank you.”

Her voice was hoarse.

Lucien’s gaze lingered for a moment on the red mark on her cheek, but he did not ask any questions.

Ding—

Her floor arrived. She turned her head slightly and nodded to him again before walking out.

Lucien watched her thin figure until the elevator doors closed. Then he took out his phone and sent a message.

Alyssa had just sat down on the sofa when the doorbell rang.

When she opened the door, the hotel manager stood outside.

“Good evening, ma’am. You may need some ointment to reduce swelling, as well as a pair of softer, more comfortable slippers.”

The manager smiled politely. A closer look revealed a trace of excitement flickering in his eyes, and he could not help adding a few more words.

“Please don’t worry, we mean no harm. We’re simply concerned about our guests. Ensuring that every guest who stays at our hotel feels comfortable is our service philosophy. We wish you a good night’s rest.”

Tonight, the husband she had been married to for four years had slapped her, yet warmth had come from a stranger.

Alyssa accepted the ointment and slippers, expressing her sincere thanks.

The manager, who had been smiling moments ago, froze when he noticed the ring on her left hand.

What… this…

He left in stunned silence.

Alyssa closed the door, wiped her feet, put on the slippers, washed her hands, and applied the ointment to her face.

Beside her, her phone vibrated continuously as messages from “Honey” popped up one after another.

Justin had been the one who changed that contact name himself.

[Where did you go?]

[Come back, Alyssa. Stop throwing a tantrum.]

[You were the one who wanted a child. I agree now. Resign from Wells Group tomorrow and stay home to prepare for pregnancy.]

Justin’s tone was firm and commanding. For a moment, Alyssa didn’t know whether he had changed, or if this had always been who he was.

She locked her phone screen. For the first time, she did not reply to his messages immediately. She didn’t reply at all that night.

The next morning, he called.

She didn’t answer.

Another message popped up.

[Honey, without the breakfast you make, my stomach hurts.]

Her fingers tightened around the phone. So now he remembered he had a wife.

A bitter smile curved her lips.

She still didn’t respond.

Justin sat on the sofa and waited. His phone remained silent.

Even that excuse didn’t work?

Surprise flickered across his face.

Just then, his phone rang.

He picked it up.

It was Sophie.

A trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes before he answered, his voice turning gentle. “Sophie, what’s wrong?”

There was a brief pause on the other end.

“Justin, I’m already at the entrance of the complex. Where are you?”

Justin suddenly remembered that he had promised to pick Sophie up and drop her off every day.

He had actually waited on the sofa for Alyssa’s message that long.

She had left him hanging for so long?

It didn’t matter.

She was just throwing a bit of a tantrum.

Alyssa loved him. She couldn’t live without him.

He drove to the roadside. Sophie got into the passenger seat and immediately noticed the swelling on his face.

Alyssa had struck him hard the night before. The handprint was obvious.

“Justin, what happened?”

Sophie unfastened her seatbelt and leaned over, cupping his face.

Her eyes reddened with distress. “Who hit you?”

He could not bear to see her cry. “It doesn’t hurt. Don’t be upset. Have you eaten? I’ll take you for breakfast.”

Sophie sensed he was hiding something and asked cautiously, “Justin, did you argue with Alyssa? Was it because of me? I’m sorry, Justin.”

“It’s not because of you. I don’t know what she was going crazy about.”

He leaned over to fasten her seatbelt and drove off to get breakfast.

Sophie watched him and noticed that even while sitting with her, he seemed distracted.

An idea came to her.

“Justin, the soup is too hot. Can you blow on it for me?”

“Of course.”

He took the soup in front of her and stirred it gently with a spoon. Then he seemed to remember something and paused.

He picked up his phone and sent a message.

“Justin, who are you texting?”

There was caution in her eyes.

He turned his phone face down. “An elder.”

It was Diane Miller, Alyssa’s late mentor’s wife.

When she learned that her late husband’s most cherished student could not be reached, she personally came into the city.

After getting the hotel address from Alyssa over the phone, she went straight there.

Alyssa froze for a moment when she saw Diane's graying hair.

Instinctively, she raised a hand to cover her face.

“Don’t cover it. I’ve already seen it.” Diane walked in with a stern expression.

“Justin hit you?”

“Yes.” Alyssa nodded.

The moment she lowered her gaze, tears fell again.

“Why are you crying? If he dared to hit you yesterday, he’ll dare to bury you alive tomorrow.”

Diane had never approved of Justin making Alyssa serve his entire family.

She did not ask for details. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m getting a divorce.”

Alyssa lifted her head.

A flicker of pain crossed Diane’s eyes, then she composed herself.

“I’ll find you a lawyer.”