Chapter 4

Rose cut Warren off with a simple gesture before he could finish, and her bodyguards had already come to force him on the ground.

When Warren refused to cooperate, they grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

Everyone could hear each sickening impact as blood ran down his forehead, blurring his vision. Rose did not call her bodyguards off until Joe seemed satisfied.

The guards let go, and Warren collapsed, his tears fell and mixed into the dirt with his blood.

Rose crouched in front of him as she held out a white handkerchief, her voice gentle again, though her eyes weren't. "I told you to drop the case, Warren. Why can't you leave it alone? Do you want to ruin Joe that badly? How can you be so ruthless?"

Warren struggled upright and knocked the handkerchief out of her hand. "Think what you want."

His voice was hoarse as he forced himself to his feet.

Meanwhile, Rose stared at the handkerchief on the ground, her expression darkened. Then she went back to Joe and put her arms around him. "Let's go to Clearwater Manor."

Joe glanced back at Warren's battered figure. He then deliberately raised his voice and asked, "I thought you were taking me home?"

Rose leaned into him and kissed him slowly. "Not going to your place. My place tonight."

Warren tried not to listen, but it hurt anyway as he felt like his heart was being shredded apart. He could barely catch his breath in that instant as the pain almost overwhelmed him.

As the engine noise faded, he bent forward, unable to hold himself upright any longer as the pressure and humiliation finally forced him down.

Rose did not leave any transport for him.

By the time Warren reached the manor, it was already after midnight. He was about to unlock the door when he heard the moaning inside. It grew louder, each sound another humiliation.

His hand tightened on the handle as he was pale at that moment. He could not find the bravery to open the door. Instead, he stood there for almost an hour.

Central City was bitterly cold in late fall. However, he barely felt it compared to the chill inside his heart.

When the house finally went quiet, he punched in the passcode to unlock the door. Torn clothes littered the carpet he had picked out so carefully.

An open box of condoms sat on the entryway shelves, half of them gone. He had gone from store to store in the summer heat to find those shelves.

She had brought Joe into their home without a moment's hesitation. The place where she and Warren had loved each other was full of evidence that she loved someone else.

Unable to stand seeing any more, Warren kept his head down and headed upstairs, where Joe blocked his path in nothing but a towel.

Joe's face was still flushed, but he somehow managed to look down at Warren. "You can stop playing the wounded husband, Warren. I'll make it clear I'm not the other man."

Warren clenched his jaw, trying his best to calm himself down. "Tell yourself whatever you want. I don't have time for your excuses."

Joe grabbed Warren's wrist tightly, a little upset, and dragged him into Rose's study.

He opened her safe, which she had never let Warren near, without a second thought. He then pulled out an agreement and threw it at Warren. "Read it, Mr. Sutton. You two have been divorced for a while."