Janet Winget POV“Are you really serious, Lucian?” I shivered as his breath grazed my neck, warm and deliberate, right where his tongue had just flicked.He pressed a kiss to the same spot.“Do I look like I’m joking, darling?”“Touch me.” The words left my mouth soft and stupid. I knew I might regret this later, but right now, I didn’t care.Maybe tomorrow I’d hate myself for it. But something about this moment shattered my hesitation.He already fucked me—and I don’t even remember it. So why should it matter now?“If you’re thinking about that night when you got drunk…” His voice dropped lower. “Nothing happened, darling. After you vomited, I got one of the female staff to change your clothes. I was teasing you, that’s all.”My breath caught.Did he read my mind?My eyes widened as the words hit—hard and slow. I’d spent days trying to piece together what happened, waking up naked and confused. And now this?Betrayal didn’t even begin to cover it.This man had a damn talent for pulli
Janet Winget POVMy eyes burned with unshed tears. When was the last time someone said they wanted me safe?I couldn’t remember. Maybe no one ever had. Or maybe it was so long ago, it no longer lived in memory.“What are you doing?” Lucian pressed a button, and the partition between the driver’s seat and the back slid shut. He stayed close—too close—his presence a silent threat and a steady comfort.He smiled and reached for me, fingers brushing through my hair with surprising softness, drawing my gaze to his.“Other than this photo,” he said, lifting the one we took from the Winget mansion, “there’s nothing in that house more important.”It was so easy for him to say. Maybe because he didn’t care about his family. Maybe because he could cut clean.But me? Even after everything—after the way my parents treated me—I still carried some frayed, stupid softness for them.“Don’t be sad, darling. Want me to kiss your pain away?”His thumb slid over my lower lip, his gaze flickering between
Janet Winget POVIs he even serious? What condition? And why is he talking on my behalf? That’s something.Lia’s grip tightened on my wrist. Her nails dug in harder—sharp enough to break skin.It was just this close to drawing blood.“What?” She shoved her ego aside for once and asked—desperation clinging to every breath.I knew that look. I’d worn it myself three years ago, when she framed me and sent me to prison.“Slap yourself. And beg on your knees.”Did I hear that right?Lucian actually said that?Both my parents froze. Lia went corpse-still, like her soul had just slipped out of her body.Even I struggled to believe it.He wanted Lia to beg on her knees... in front of me?Scratch that—he wanted her to slap herself?Lia’s lips parted, but nothing came out. Just the sound of her breath catching, like a sob that never made it past her throat.Her pride warred with her fear. I saw it in the way her hand twitched, in the frantic flutter of her lashes. She still thought she could ba
Janet Winget POV“Why did you do it, Janet?”The second Lucian and I stepped into the living room, my mother exploded. My father looked like he was about to combust, fists clenched, eyes blazing. Lia glared at me like she’d already picked out the shovel to bury me with.What the hell just happened? Why are they angry again? What now?“How could you disgrace this family after everything you’ve already done?” My father looked like he was seconds away from dragging me out by my hair.“What happened, Carlos?” Lucian’s voice was too calm. Too knowing. Like he already had the script. Or maybe… maybe he was the reason they were all looking at me like I’d risen from a grave.I turned to him, my eyes full of questions. He just winked.And that’s when I knew—this mess was his doing.“Mr. Ashford, I don’t want to speak this way in front of you,” my father said, suddenly all fake politeness, like he hadn’t been about to hurl a lamp at me a second ago. “But Janet has, as always, ruined everything.”
Lucian Ashford POVJanet looked at me, questions flooding her eyes. I wanted to tease her—God, I wanted to—but now wasn’t the time.We stood in the living room of Winget Mansion. When my guards informed me she’d left without a word, I was still locked in a meeting. Even on a holiday, work refused to wait.I told them to follow her. Quietly. Just to make sure she’d be safe. The second I heard she’d come here, I ended the meeting without hesitation.I didn’t know what happened. But seeing her like this—drawn, tense—I knew one thing for sure: whatever it was, it wrecked her mood.And if someone had done that to her, then I’d return the favor. Tenfold.“Her room isn’t clean. She hasn’t been here in a long time,” Amla—Janet’s mother—offered with a forced smile, as if that excused anything.“Doesn’t matter,” I said, placing a hand on Janet’s shoulder and drawing her close. “We’re not staying long anyway.”“The thing is, Mr. Ashford, that room’s been turned into a storage space now,” Carlos
Janet Winget POV“It’s not our mistake. We treated you equally, yet you always acted like you were still in that shabby orphanage.” My mother refused to admit her fault.Equally? Then why did it never feel that way? They only ever listened to one side—and bent over backwards to please their precious Lia.Calling the orphanage shabby… how low can they sink?Didn’t Lia come from the same place? Yet somehow she became the princess, and I… the discard. But no, favoritism doesn’t exist. Not according to them. They still have the nerve to play innocent.“How many more excuses are you going to make? Is it really so hard to admit you favor your adopted daughter more than your own blood?”Years had passed. I used to think—hope—that one day they’d love me the way they loved Lia. Looking back now, it was nothing more than wishful thinking.“Hic! Hic! Is this what you think of me, Janet?” Lia’s voice cracked as she stepped closer to my mother and clung to her like a child.“Oh, my sweet girl, don
Janet Winget POVHow could I forget they never cared about anything but their precious reputation?They were the ones who sent me to prison—for a ring. A damn ring. When I wasn’t even the culprit.And now I’m the one who spoiled everything?As for the pregnancy—it’s a lie. But I won’t correct them.Lucian made that claim, and I won’t deny it. Not to them.“The prison thing—you tried to bury it, didn’t you?” My voice cracked through the silence. “So why is it my fault? You threw a birthday party on the same day I got out. You think I asked to be released then? You think I informed the media?” I laughed bitterly. “They dug it up themselves.”I’d had enough. Enough of the blame, the accusations, the rewriting of history.I regretted coming here the moment I stepped through the door. What was I thinking? That maybe, somehow, they’d see me? Hear me?Useless.“What about your disgusting pregnancy?” Lia snapped, voice sharp as glass.Her words hit harder than I expected. Even though I wasn’t
Janet Winget POVTring… tring…I stirred, catching myself before I slipped again—exhaustion rubbing me raw.My eyes cracked open as I grabbed the phone beside me. “Janet.”A chill shot down my spine. I bolted upright. “Yes, Dad.”Of course I recognized his voice—the man who might be the reason I exist, yet never cared if I did.“Come to the Winget mansion. We have something that needs to be discussed,” he said.I didn’t know if I wanted to go. But I knew one thing—saying no wasn’t an option.“Okay.” The line went dead.Did he find out about what happened between me and Lia two days ago? I know Lia wouldn’t have let it slide.I was the one who ended up injured, yet knowing my parents, they’d still take Lia’s side.And here I thought things were finally steady. Lucian had given me the day, and I’d been working fine these past two days.The entire company was off today because of some public holiday.Guess my rest was about to be ruined anyway.It was already evening.But something didn’
Janet Winget POV“Tell me one thing—why were you the one on the floor? You let her bully you again?”Lucian’s anger radiated from every word as we sat on his couch, the air between us tight with tension.He dabbed antiseptic on the split in my lip, the sting sharp enough to make my eyes flutter shut.Tears still streamed down my cheeks. I felt like exactly what Lia wanted me to feel—filthy. Small. Pathetic.Worse, Lucian had to see me like this.“Are you going to answer me, Janet?”He didn’t need to raise his voice. The force behind it hit just the same.“Why are you so cruel?” I choked on the sob that caught in my throat. “You think I like getting bullied?”Pain already crawled under my skin, thick and unrelenting. His words only pressed it deeper.Why does he sound like I’m the problem?Because I am. I let Lia get away with too much for too long. But today—I gave it all back to her. Every vicious ounce.Yet I’m the one sitting here, catching the brunt of his wrath.“Of course I’m an