Chapter 1

Leilani’s eyes snapped open.

A mixture of lavender incense mixed with a chrysanthemum scent filled the air, the same scent from last night! Incidents of the previous night came rushing at her like a tsunami....

“I had a.. miscarriage.”

Lucas smiled from where he was half-seated on the vanity table opposite the bed. His eyes dragged lazily over Lei's body, her naked form clearly visible through the thin nightwear she wore. She noticed and instinctively tugged the tilt of the fabric upwards, even though he was her husband, fuck, because he was her husband.

She looked over at the vanity. His suit was crumpled, with makeup stains everywhere, and were those wounds? No, was that a hickey on his chest?

Where had he been last night?

She couldn't remember anything after.. after the miscarriage.

It had been excruciatingly painful.

“It's fine.. you just can't be a mother.” He chuckled under his breath before fishing out a cigarette.

Lei swung her legs over the king-sized bed and ran her fingers through her hair. She had expected him to at least console her, show that he cared even though he clearly didn't.

She expects too much.

“I can be a mother. You're just not good enough.”

“You..” Lucas drew the cigar from his lips. "Who's not good enough? Do you dare say that again?”

Lei sneered. Say it again? What if she dared?

“I dare to say it again, what do you care?”

Lucas quenched the cigar with his fingers, tossed it to the floor, and walked over to her. He grabbed the neckline of her nightwear and landed a slap across her face.

"You whore! Fuckin' slut! How dare you?” He gazed down at her. His gaze from yesterday had utterly changed. Even though her in-laws were clearly displeased she'd been pregnant, it at least got some love.. no, some pity from her husband.

But now, he was back to his monstrous self.

Lei held onto her face that now stung badly. That was all he could do.. slap her till she conceded. She let out a self deprecating smile. That's right, that's all he ever did. Slap her, fuck her, slap her, beat her.

Lucas slammed a document onto the bed, the same he'd thrown at her when she'd had her miscarriage. He had thrown it at feet when she'd been wriggling painfully in her child's blood.

“Since you can't give me a child, and you can't be respectful, how about you make yourself a little bit useful?”

“Useful?” She scoffed, flexing her jaw a little. He was a strong man. "If you had been useful, you wouldn't have failed to secure a merger!”

Lucas turned around, gripped Lei by the hair this time, and landed another slap across her face. “You.. watch your mouth!” He shouted, though his face burned red with embarrassment.

Lei became aggrieved. Why does she have to be the one to take the slaps? How about he just go ahead and burn in hell! "Watch my mouth? Haven't I watched enough?!”

Lucas hoisted her up by her throat, and Lei smiled bitterly. What did he want to do now? Beat her? He'd bought a whip for her a while back, named it Little Lei. They'd used it an awful lot, so much that washing off the dry blood on the surface had become a harder task than washing the whip itself.

Lucas' fingers tightened around her throat.

Wait. He wasn't going to beat her? What was he doing then? What–

Leilani's eyes widened, her hands trying hard to pry his hands open. The bastard was strangling her . Her mouth snapped open, she was trying to form words, words to aggravate him further, to show him how he was the source of his failures but she failed ..miserably.

Lucas slammed her back further into the wall, his eyes filled with distaste and clear impatience. He drew closer to her, biting her bottom lip softly. “Keep your mouth shut whenever I talk to you, or I'll make you.”

Lei shivered, cold sweat running down her temples, she could feel life slipping out of her as his hold on her neck tightened.

“Let.. m.. ee go!" She managed to choke out and Lucas smirked, before finally letting go of her neck, letting her fall to the floor with an embarrassing thud.

He wiped his hands of any ‘dirt’ and lit another cigar.

Leilani sneered. “Wiping your han..ds off your failure? You can try.”

“You.. pathetic whore!” Lucas kicked into her lower abdomen, hard across her ribs. Her vision turned blurry instantly, everything looking unclear. Though, she managed to sit up, a small smile still on her face.

Her hair was now thrown into a mess, making her look less like a woman and more like a demon, her cheeks were puffed, red, and swollen from the slaps. Her eyes were watery... incredibly watery from trying her best to hold back her tears.

She sniffled, trying to hold it in, but a strong scent of lavender and chrysanthemum invaded her nostrils instead.

She scrunched her nose and looked up to see Lucas draping on a gas mask.

"What.. what are you doing?” She asked, her brows tightly furrowed.

“Getting rid of you.” He said curtly.

Getting rid of her?

What did he.. what did he mean?

Her brain soon felt foggy as her vision began to blur. No! She was being drugged! The bastard was drugging her. She struggled to stand erect but knocked off a glass of water instead, the shattering sound piercing her eardrums.

She heard Lucas curse as he gripped her jaw tightly, forcing a sweetened liquor down her throat. What was he doing?

Her consciousness began to slowly fade, followed by a sharp crack around her skull. Argh.

That bastard!

He..

Hah..

He..

Damn it!

Everywhere turned pitch dark.

~~

Remembering the incidents, made her head throb harder than it had. She slipped from the bed, her bare legs coming in contact with the cold marble floor. Tsk, what was he up to this time? Lucas should know she had grown weary of his little tricks by now.

Locking her up in a strange place and then coming later to whip her to death, wasn't exactly new to her. He should know.

But then, the door suddenly flung open making her jolt slightly with two subconscious steps backwards. Her dull emerald eyes ping-ponged between the door and the muscled figures all dressed in night black. Bodyguards, more than ten, stormed into the room, their expressions tight.

What.. what was happening?

What's that bastard planning now?

One of them stepped forward, he looked like a teenager, eighteen, nineteen maybe, softer features than the rest, and shorter too. Though when his eyes cut to her, she immediately averted hers. He may look the smallest, but his gaze was definitely the scariest.

“Who are you?” She asked, her fingers digging into her palms. What were they doing here? Did Lucas plan this?

The man or boy, she hadn't figured, ignored her question. “Follow me.” He said instead, voice devoid of any emotion-like realness.

Leilani bit the insides of her cheek and cursed underneath her breath. Had Lucas ran out of tricks? Out of ways to make her miserable? Ha. That was impossible, he was a mastermind when it came to misery.

But.. what then?

Was he now inviting someone else to teach her a lesson?

“Did he tell you to do this? Where.. where is he? Where's my husband? Too scared to meet me?” She asked, gaze solely fixated on the man infront of her.

A glint flashed across the man's eyes, he looked amused but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. What was so funny?

“Follow me.” He repeated, turned around and headed for the door once again.

The rest of the bodyguards paved way, their gaze fixated on her. She hesitated, Lucas wasn't smart enough, how did he get to meet these people?

Where did he get the money to hire so many of them?

Last she'd overheard, the company was in bad shape. If it weren't for the fortune his grandfather had left behind, he'd be bankrupt by now.

Dare she say, even as a maid's daughter, she'd be well off than him.

“If she refuses, drag her along.” The man added and strolled away. She was pretty sure she was older than him. Atleast, from the soft features he possessed, though a crippling contrast to how unruly he behaved.

But her cheeks burned nonetheless. Drag her?

She followed behind him, constantly looking over her shoulders to make sure the other bodyguards wouldn't ambush her from behind. They were incredible scary for whatever reason there was.

Not exactly sights to behold.

They soon enter a wider space, the living area she guessed, and caught sight of a man. He sat on the sofa, his back was straight as he lazily twirled a glass of whiskey, before drinking it all in one gulp.

“Sit.” He said casually.

No! Lucas was too.. too stupid to know someone like this, rather less, get them to work for him. The house.. the bodyguards.. they were expensive, even if it were on hire. It was impossible, what was she doing here? How did she get here?

Now that she thought of it. Had she.. had she been kidnapped?

“Who are you?” Leilani asked, her hands hooked tightly behind her lower back. There was a gun sitting lazily in front of the man, a glass of whiskey close to it too. His eyes were oddly fixed on the television, on his reflection rather, as the appliance was not on.

He didn't care to bat an eyelid towards her direction.

“Read this..” He spoke, handing her over a document and only then.. did he actually look at her.

The document looked exactly like the one she had seen Lucas bring out the previous night. What was it doing here? How did Lucas get in contact with this man?

She opened it and immediately scanned through the document. Her expression darkening as she read through the words, her hands soon trembled and the hefty document clattered out of her hands.. she must be hallucinating!

Lucas! That damn bastard! The bastard, he sent divorce papers to her and..

She staggered backwards.

Fucking bastard!

He.. he sold her, he sold her off!