The cynical gleam in Kent's eyes swept around the crowd before he finally let me go,simultaneously pulling out his phone to start a video. The familiar dim darkness flooded over me once more.It felt as though my already shattered dignity, trampled into oblivion, was being trodden on once again.Suddenly, things started to spin, and I felt a tug as Kent caught me just as I was about to fall. He held me close to him, raising his phone in the other hand, and asked,"Any media outlet willing to take responsibility for their words and actions? Please step forward.”The reporters exchanged glances, hesitant. After a brief period of uncertainty, a woman from the front was propelled forward,But she didn't appear thrilled to get the first-hand scoop. Instead, she was shivering visibly with fright, her hand trembling as she held the microphone.Rather Kent, pulling me to the front, smilingly said,"Agreed, you'll report the truth. If you slander and defame, you could end up behind bars.""Un
Upon hearing this, a few journalists with sensitive reactions couldn't help but burst into laughter. As for me, I was stunned like a chicken, petrified on the spot. Jared's face turned uglier than ever.This meant that Kent not only publicly admitted that he slept with his wife, making him a cuckold, but now he also wanted to play innocent after taking advantage.He was asking Jared to help him investigate this matter.It sounded crazy, and honestly, I have never seen such a shameless person.Jared kept his face and said nothing, which led Kent to provoke further:"So, does Mr. Long not want to help out in this case? Is it because of fear or lack of confidence?""Or, could it be that you know the person who did it? Too familiar to take action?""Could it be... that person is you?"After a standoff of glances, Jared finally reacted, rolling up his sleeves and replying:"Mr. Miller, you're overthinking. This case involves the reputation of my wife. Of course, I will see it through. The
After Kent sat down, Ben spontaneously took the front passenger seat. Opening a bottle of water, he handed it over to Kent. "Nice one. You'd even dare to star in a minor film just to make a name for yourself! Such a sensational performance! Do your parents know what a sterling actor you are?"Kent looked particularly annoyed and directly threw his cell phone at him:"Use this time to investigate this person for me."Hearing this, I immediately buried my face in my knees. Without a doubt, the video Jared had just exposed was now being shown to another man right in front of my eyes… I felt utterly humiliated.Emilia hugged me and gave Ben a powerful punch on the head: "Don't look!""Don't look at what? This? There's nothing in here... only this man is left. Kent, your speed is too fast; it seems like you often surf the web.You've 'shopped' the woman out so quickly."Hearing this, I looked up in shock. Indeed, there was no video left on the cellphone, only a blurry picture of a man's b
My words were fatally wounding. I could hear the sound of something fragile being shattered on the other end of the phone. Leila roared at me:"Bitch, you worn-out shoe, picked up by someone, how could Kent possibly like you! You must have used some despicable methods to seduce him!" She yelled at me. "So what if I did? As long as he likes me, isn't that all that matters, unlike someone that I know?""Don’t celebrate too early! Just wait; I will make you pay!" she warned. "Bring it on; I look forward to it."I hung up the phone before she did, my mood plunging deeper:Kent was right; the video was leaked by Leila, not Jared.But for me, there's no difference anymore. They are both bad fruits that sprung from the same tree“I’m sorry for dragging you into this.” I apologized. “What do you mean dragging me into this?”"Bringing you along with me... You lost face..."My voice was low; regardless of how much I tried to control it, the sorrowful emotions still leaked out.He just laugh
The car seat had already been flattened into a bed by him. After he finished speaking, he lay down next to me, his body close to mine. I could feel his body temperature, and my heartbeat quickened for a moment."Well, hurry up then," I said. After saying this, I felt my face burning, probably as red as a ripe tomato. I simply closed my eyes, prepared to bear the force he wanted to give me.But Kent seemed not to be in any hurry. He just gently stroked my skin with his hand, which sported a few blisters.This gentle motion lasted for quite some time and finally halted at my private triangle and then stopped moving.I couldn't help but open my eyes to look at him. His eyes seemed even more perplexed than mine. He was staring at my body. Seeing me looking at him, he did not pull his hand away. Instead, he boldly explored deeper into me.In his eyes, there was a distinct naughty smirk:"Sammy, why do I still feel a strange sense of familiarity with you? Did we have a remarkable love af
After he hung up the phone, Kent didn't continue to dwell on my apartment-hunting problem. He raised an eyebrow and said. "Do as you wish. Once you find a place, let me know."Then he walked away.Perhaps to him, it didn't matter where I lived, considering he could find me wherever, whenever he wanted.I shook my head; the current situation was a bit complicated, with matters yet to be settled. I didn't have time to clarify our relationship.I decided to find a place to live first.This neighborhood was filled with high-rise buildings, mainly housing white-collar workers, so there were plenty of apartments for rent.By the afternoon, I had found one—a two-bedroom apartment, free of clutter with reasonable cleanliness, for a monthly rent of 500 dollars, which was within my affordability.I promptly signed the rental agreement. When I was about to call Emilia to tell her about it, she beat me to it:"Sammy, something happened!""What's up?""I just saw the news; Jewel Group's shares ha
That night, I had nowhere to sleep, so I took a taxi back to Emilia's to stay.But before I could even get out of the car, I received a phone call.The number wasn't saved in my contacts, but it was one I knew all too well.Upon answering, I was met with the coarse voice of Henry Caine, bellowing at me:"Samantha, have some shame! It's bad enough that you slept with someone before marriage, but you're a part of the Long family now. What's this I hear about you flirting with other men?" This has always been his anthem, so I wasn't moved by his words but just kept a straight face waiting for him to get done. "How dare you, Samantha? You now stay with your lover; you are a slut just like your mother!"His harsh words still bit hard without fear. I clenched my phone tighter, forcing myself to keep my emotions in check. I retorted coldly:"Dad, don't talk about my mom like that; she had nothing to do with this.""Bastard! Do you dare talk back at me? If your useless mother hadn't died, a
This time, Ben capriciously slept with Emilia in such a wanton and ruthless manner. It felt like he was just preying on her. Being a fickle, rich, second-generation guy, there was always a gaggle of girls surrounding him each time I met him.It was apparent that he was only toying with her and could never truly love Emilia.Although she did not say anything, I knew this incident would undoubtedly be a tremendous blow to her. But I have no idea how to tell her. Emilia let out a helpless sigh. “Sam, it's been five years since I met that bastard. I have been faithful to him even while he was flirting with his workers. But I'm tired, Sam. I can't keep making excuses for him. Let's just consider this a one-night stand; it's not a big deal.”The more Emilia said this, the sadder I felt. I turned and held her tightly in my arms, feeling the sting of tears starting to fall.Given the fact that she had already suffered so much on my behalf, how could I embarrass her again by re-exposing her
I'm recalling the words Jared said to me that day, repeating them verbatim:"I remember he said this: 'Before, Amelia was not obedient at all; not only did she kick me, but she also jumped into the sea playing suicide. Later, I tied her up, and she became obedient.'If I'm not mistaken, his sentence means that Amelia disabled him by kicking him before she jumped into the sea.But if she did jump into the sea and die, then how did Jared manage to tie her up?While I packed my stuff to move out after the charade of a divorce, I remember seeing a photo in his apartment. It was a picture of Amelia tied to a chair. I guess she was confined by Jared and even suffered such abuse.Although the face in the photo was torn off, I think it shouldn't be wrong."After I finished speaking, Kent didn't say a word. He was dead silent, looking out at the sea; his silence was killing me, but I was too scared to say a word. The air outside was chilly it made him cough violently.After coughing for a wh
At this moment, what can I possibly say?When I realized that he had risked his life to save me from the vast, perilous sea, any little grievance I held against him shattered completely.All I could do was hold him tightly by the neck, crying as I confessed:"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I was being overly dramatic. I was wrong, Kent, I was wrong..."He didn't dodge. He looked significantly better than moments ago. His low brows kissed away the tears at the corner of my eyes. He sighed sadly, holding me tightly in his arms; the grip was intense:"All right, stop crying. Damn it, I can't stand to see you cry."You tend not to remember things; I don't blame you. Kieran was there all along, yet he didn't mention a single word to you! Damn it, that bastard even planned to run away with you!Damn, what a piece of shit friend! I want to cut ties with him!"With a particularly aggressive tone, he sternly warned me:"Sam, listen carefully. Regardless of any misunderstandings we might have in th
Kieran was talking but suddenly stopped. I couldn't help but ask:"What did I say?""You were confusing me with him. You were tearing my clothes, yet all the while crying and shouting at him, spilling everything that should and shouldn't have been said." I was short for words, I was so embarrassed, I asked the ground to open up, to swallow me whole. But it didn't listen. He paused a moment, furrowing his brows as he looked at me:"Sam, you confessed your feelings for him,"With that, I felt my vision darken, my voice constricted, and the words that had been bottled up inside me finally came streaming out:"Did I also tell you he told me he got tired of our relationship, that he stopped thinking about me since I left?""Yes. That's the exact reason why we started fighting."He gestured to his face. It was only then that I took a good look at his face and saw the injuries equal to the ones Kent had.Now that I knew who he was—the older neighbor boy from my youth—my heart ached for him
"My stomach is growling with hunger, but when a spoonful of food was extended in front of me, I dared not eat it."Doctor, we... don't know each other well."I just didn't have the strength to beat around the bush, so I went ahead and told him.The doctor laughed at my comment. His smile appeared very warm, but his reply wasn't quite as inviting:"Sam, how heartless of you. Kent and I ended up in a fight over you. And now you tell me that we don't know each other well?""Huh?"Oh, right. When I awoke, those two were fighting. Moreover, both of their faces were showing signs of that fight.But why?I remember that he and Kent were good buddies. When Jared's uncle was annoying, Kent voiced his expectation of introducing us to each other with a sense of anticipation.They were such chummy pals; why would they fight over me? It's baffling.I waited for his explanation.Instead, he lifted the spoon once again:"Do you want to know what happened? Finish your food first, and then I will tel
When I woke up next, I had no idea how much time had passed.The faint, salty smell of the sea still lingered in the air, but this room was no longer the one on the yacht.Without any interest in studying the room's furnishings, I just wanted to figure out where I was as quickly as possible. Therefore, I looked around.Then, I noticed two men standing in a standoff at the door. Their hands crossed in combat stances, each staring at the other without yielding."Kent?"I called out once I recognized one of them, I mumbled his name. I thought I was still dreaming. But when my hoarse voice made it out, he let go of the other person and dashed over."Sam, you're awake? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"While he spoke, he reached out and grasped my hand.I felt a bit dazed and stared at him, lost. He seemed to have lost much weight and appeared quite haggard.His typically handsome face was now sporting a stubbly beard. His clothes were even more of a mess, missing several buttons.What
When I heard Kent's voice on the phone, my mind froze for a moment.I didn't seem to understand the meaning of his words; my entire person was stunned there.He said again:"Speaking of which, her taste is indeed good, but after playing with it, it's no longer fresh. Now, since you've taken her away, I don't think about it anymore.Jared, I hope you two can smoothly reach Berlin. Goodbye."After Kent finished these words, he hung up without any hesitation.And I, I had no thoughts at all. The tears that had just fallen out of fear had miraculously stopped at this moment.What was spinning in my mind was the sentence he had just said:He said, You play with your wife. What does it have to do with me?He said, after playing, it's no longer fresh.So in his heart, I am just Jared's wife.So to me, he was just been playing me the whole time.Oh yes, thinking back, Kent was just nice to me, but he never said he liked me.How did I start to fantasize about him, thinking that he would be anx
"Jared, you...you..."Staring at the toolbox laid out in front of me, I was panic-stricken and couldn't form coherent sentences.With this box of contraptions displayed before my very eyes, he combined that with this absurd posture, he tied me in. It doesn't take much to guess his intentions now.But my trepidation was intertwined with an overwhelming sense of shock and disbelief.Back when I used to chase after him, he had always been the cool, distant, celibate male god. After our marriage, he became even more aloof, acting as if I was beneath his notice.But now, why did he suddenly...?Just how twisted is Jared's mind to have conceived such fetishes?Even though my mind feels muddled, I have this glaring realization that his current disposition is far from that of a normal person."Don't look so surprised; you wrecked my wedding, I will have to take you instead. Besides, we are already married," he said, smiling cynically. He must be pissed, I heard that Jade's family called off
Why, of course, I had no idea. This question has been puzzling Kent and me for quite some time, and yet we could not find an answer.Thus, I casually asked:"Why?"His expression was subtle, his emotions unreadable: I was disgusted by him but I held my thoughts in. "Ever heard of being driven to the wall to fight for survival?""What do you mean?" I was startled, sensing something ominous was on the verge of happening.Sure enough, Jared's next words nearly choked the breath out of me:"Because, the Long family business was barely an empty shell— not even that, given my father's poor management and my uncle's repeated sabotage. It held no significant value.So, when Kent wanted it, I simply handed it over. Little did he know, that I would use the money from selling the company to acquire his company Jewel Group in Berlin. Now, it's just a matter of time before I completely own Jewel Group Berlin. Sam, do you find my counter-acquisition plan fascinating?"Fascinating indeed!If he su
Seeing Kent's gloomy expression as he was looking out of the window, my heart sank. Subconsciously, I wondered if there had been any issues in the full-scale attack on the Long corporation.I locked the door before approaching him."What's wrong? Did something slip through the cracks?" I asked."No. Everything is going smoothly.""If everything is smooth, then why are you unhappy?""It's precisely because everything is too smooth that I am unhappy."Kent let out a sigh, looking more dejected, leaning back with a deep gaze at me."Jared, that self-centered scumbag, always puts his interests first. If the Long Corporation goes bankrupt, he can't hold his ground in New York City. How could he willingly allow me to take over his corporation?Yet, when I've been pressuring the Long Corporation in this period, there's been hardly any struggle or retaliation from them. It feels as if they've easily handed it over to me.This is highly unusual.No matter how incompetent Jared might be, he cou