Chapter 20 Humiliation, Punishment

Zoey could not wrap her head around this. “Why? Does he not want to touch you?”

“What kind of reaction is this? Why can’t I be the one who’s refusing to touch him? Why does it have to be him?”

“You’re refusing? You’re the one that’s refusing?”

Zoey was so mad that she almost smashed the bowl. “Are you insane? You should sleep with this kind of man as soon as possible to save the trouble!”

What did she mean by saving the trouble? Plus, what trouble did she want to save?

Natalie rolled her eyes at her best friend and explained, “We had a contract and we will divorce 100 days later. Why should I suffer a loss by sleeping with him?”

“Suffer a loss? What the hell are you talking about?”

At that moment, Zoey’s face looked as if she had been struck by thunder. She said exaggeratedly, “You’ll gain a lot of advantages after sleeping with him, okay? Do you think you’ll suffer a loss with that kind of face and body?”

“...”

What about that face?

What about that body?

She was not ugly, okay? Her body shape was not bad, okay?

She could find a better man than John Winters, okay? Why should she gain an advantage by sleeping with him?

She felt disdained, but Zoey was still persuading her patiently, “Listen to me, sleep with him tonight, and sealed your position as Mrs. Winters. Don’t divorce him after 100 days too. Just focus on being a rich wife.”

Natalie did not heed Zoey’s advice. She said, “Stop dreaming, okay? He only married me because of a misunderstanding. When everything’s clarified, he’ll kick me out of the house without me reminding him to do so.”

“No way. The way he looks at you is different.”

“I won’t believe a word from a woman who has myopia that’s 600 degrees and above.”

“Don’t! You have to trust me. There’s a possibility that he likes you. If not, why would he marry you just because of a misunderstanding? Plus, who is he? There are more pros than cons for you in that marriage, and for him, it’s more cons than pros. However, he signed the papers without hesitation, right?”

Zoey put on an expression of a love expert and said solemnly, “Listen to me. He likes you. Even if he doesn’t, he’s fond of you.”

“That’s impossible!”

“What impossible? If you don’t believe me, go home and try tonight.”

“How?”

Zoey pointed at her and said, “Pounce on him and kiss him forcefully. If he uses that opportunity to sleep with you, then he definitely likes you. If not, then it means he doesn’t.”

Natalie rolled her eyes at her best friend. “F*ck off!”

…

It was busy in the hospital. Natalie was in the thoracic surgery department, so she was unable to get off work at a normal time.

Today, she had to work overtime again without a doubt.

Natalie called her brother to ask about dinner. He told her that he had eaten a bowl of noodles on his way home.

Howard was going through puberty at the moment. It would be bad for his body to eat those every day. However, she could not imagine asking her brother to eat dinner at the family table without her.

Her brother might not want to see the Winters so this was for the best.

Plus, 100 days was only three months. It’ll be over in a blink of an eye.

With that, she continued her work without worrying. After she was done with everything, it was already 10:30 pm. Unfortunately, it had started to drizzle.

It was already late so there were no public buses nor subway service. Therefore, Natalie could only call a cab to get back to the Winters family house.

She thought everyone would be asleep by the time she got home. However, she did not expect to be met by a poised and elegant middle-aged woman when she walked in the door.

“You still have the nerve to come back after bullying my granddaughter. Are you trying to challenge me just because Johnny loves you?”

Granddaughter? Johnny?

After picking up a few keywords, Natalie knew who this woman was. However, she still asked inquiringly, “Are you… Madam Winters?”

“I thought Johnny would choose an amazing woman after so many years of not being interested in one. I didn’t expect a factory reject like you.”

What did she mean by factory reject?

How could she describe someone like that?

However, this person was John’s mother and she was also her mother-in-law. Even if she was sure that the divorce would take place after three months, she still had to know her place. So…

She held her breath and said calmly, “Madam Winters, I can explain about your granddaughter…”

“No need. I already know what happened. At the end of the day, it’s all your fault. I don’t care how smart mouthed you are, it’s still your fault.”

“...”

She had never seen such an unreasonable person!

Never…

So, Madam Winters was here to deliberately cause trouble to her. No matter what Natalie said, Madam Winters would not listen. However, even if Natalie had this realization, but what Madam Winters said still shocked Natalie immensely.

“Since this is your first mistake, I’ll just punish you lightly.”

After she said that, Madam Winters said lowly, “Kneel.”

“What?”

“Kneel here until Molly wakes up tomorrow. If she’s willing to forgive you, then you can get up. If she doesn’t, then you’ll just kneel for another day until Molly forgives you.”

Natalie thought that she was hearing things. She came back to her senses after a few seconds and asked, “Madam Winters, are you joking?”

“I never joke.”

At that moment, Natalie felt extremely wronged.

Madam Winters was not joking so she refused to play along. Natalie tensed up her face and turned around. After a few steps, she felt a sharp pain on her right calf.

She jumped after being hit heavily by a rod. Her calf was swollen when Madam Winters’ striking face appeared in front of hers. “You’re not allowed to come and go as you please in this house.”

Madam Winters waved her hand and the servants of the house appeared. They pressed Natalie in a kneeling position on the wet ground.

Natalie was struggling with all her might, but Madam Winters only sneered through her delicate face. “Hold her down. Let go when she’s finally obedient.”

Finishing her words, Madam Winters went back into the house. Natalie was held in a kneeling position on the ground that was covered in rainwater. She knelt there for half of the night.

She kept on struggling and yet the servants did not let go.

The light drizzle turned into heavy rain later at night. Some people held up umbrellas for the servants while Natalie was out in the pouring rain for the entire night.

When it was almost dawn, Natalie’s whole body was ice cold. She was on the brink of collapsing in prostration.

She finally did not have the strength to struggle. But her determined eyes were still unyielding as she stared at the front door until her brother came out with a sleepy look to go to school.

Seeing his sister in such a ghastly state, Howard’s eyes turned blood red.

Blood rushed to his brain as he threw his bag down and rushed to pounce on the people who were holding his sister down.