Chapter 1
For three days and three nights, Charles never let me leave that bed.
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He once had lived in my father’s house, a husband in name only. He’d been so far beneath my notice that I wouldn’t let him lay a finger on me. I’d treated him with utter contempt.
Now that I’d fallen from grace and he had risen to prominence, he was taking his vengeance. And he never, ever tired of it.
**
My husband, Charles Bennett, moved into my family’s home when we married–an arrangement my father insisted on. The entire marriage was a solution to a scandal.
I had always preferred his younger brother, Ethan, but at a class reunion, I drank too much and ended up sleeping with Charles. To quiet the rumors, my father forced the marriage, with the condition that Charles become part of our household.
Charles came from a difficult background. He was from his father’s first marriage and was largely ignored after his dad remarried.
In contrast, my family was wealthy, and I was used to getting my way. His father saw the marriage as a fortunate opportunity and eagerly agreed. So, we were married.
I was left with nothing but bitterness, constantly reminded that Charles had cost me a future with Ethan.
I channeled that anger into harassing him. I made him sleep on the floor, never allowing him in my bed. During meals, my brother Ian and I would mock him and often prevent him from helping himself to food.
If he tried to bring me an umbrella in the rain, I would shout at him. Scolding him became a perverse source of satisfaction.
His reaction was the strangest part; he never lost his temper. No matter the abuse, he remained calm and unnervingly kind.
He was actually quite handsome, but in school, he had been shy, a poor student who was held back multiple times. People dismissed him.
His brother, however, was everything he was not: outgoing, handsome, academically gifted, and deeply popular.
One night, my resentment boiled over. I kicked him awake on the floor and snapped that I was thirsty. He immediately got up and brought me a cup of warm water, a considerate gesture on a cold fall night.
But the act of kindness only infuriated me further, as it reminded me of the night he took advantage of my drunkenness. In a rage, I threw the entire cup of water in his face.
He didn’t react with anger. He simply went to the bathroom to clean up,
Watching his tall, silent figure walk away, I felt a sudden pang of guilt. But then I remembered that he was the reason for my unhappiness, and the feeling vanished.
*****
For three years, Charles endured my cruelty without complaint.
But in that time, everything changed. My family’s fortune collapsed, and against all odds, my feelings for him began to shift. I had even started to like him. And then, he asked me for a divorce.
When he handed me the papers, he explained simply that his first love had returned.
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Chapter 1
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A sharp, squeezing pain tightened in my chest, making it hard to breathe. But, spoiled and proud to the last, I masked my hurt with indifference and signed the documents without hesitation.
The moment I put down the pen, his gentle voice broke the silence. “Would you like me to arrange for a driver?”
It took me a second to understand. Of course. The house I had lived in for over twenty years was no longer my home. After my family’s bankruptcy, everything had been sold.
But Charles, the man who had schemed to marry into our family, the one we all looked down on, had quietly built his own company while living under our roof. Now it was thriving, and he had bought this very estate.
I had no right to blame him or ask for a share. He had earned every bit of it himself, patiently enduring all those years without using a single penny of my family’s money.
He stood there, watching me quietly, not pressing for an answer. His kindness only magnified my shame, forcing me to remember all the ways I had mistreated him.
He was in a position to pay me back double for every humiliation, yet he remained impeccably gentle.
“No need,” I said quickly. “I can go on my own.” I nearly fled in a panic.
Just as I reached the door, his calm voice followed me. “Was there something you needed from me tonight?”
“Nothing,” I yelled without turning back, rushing out into the night.
I clutched the small gift box in my hand. It was our third anniversary. I had never been nice to him before, and then I found my feelings for him. For the first time, I had wanted to celebrate it.
Instead, I was met with divorce papers. A bitter smile touched my lips. Right then, it had begun to rain. I let the pouring rain soak me through, leaving me utterly and completely undone.
The next day, I woke up sick, burning with fever, and curled so tightly in bed I could barely move. Outside my thin door, a noisy argument erupted. We lived in a run–down apartment building now, a messy, dirty place, but the rent was cheap.
I dragged my weak body to the door and saw my dad perched precariously on the peeling windowsill, screaming that he didn’t want to live anymore.
My mother rushed toward him, her cries pitiful and desperate. “If you jump, I’ll jump with you,” she wailed. “We might as well all just die.”
My head throbbed as I managed to talk him down. “It’s just bankruptcy,” I said, my voice hoarse. “As long as we’re still alive, there’s still hope.”
Dad suddenly fixed his intense gaze on me, and it made my heart skip a beat. “Then go ask Charles to help me,” he demanded. “He’s your husband. He’ll help us.”
Mom immediately chimed in, clutching my arm. “Yes. Even if we weren’t… kind to him before, he’ll do it for your sake. You have to go beg him.”
I could only offer a bitter smile. They had no idea I had already been dumped.
I refused. I absolutely would not go beg Charles for anything.
But my father threatened to climb back onto the sill, and left with no other choice, helpless and defeated, I finally agreed.
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Chapter 1
044
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Before I left, Mom spent the last of her money on an outfit for me: a deep V–neck dress and a pair of pointed heels. She even hired someone to do my hair and makeup, determined to make me look my absolute best.
I looked at my reflection, and a self–mocking smile touched my lips. This didn’t feel like preparing to ask for a favor; it felt like getting ready to seduce someone.
But the bitter truth was, even if I stood naked in front of Charles now, he probably wouldn’t spare me a second glance.
I still didn’t understand why he had slept with me at the reunion all those years ago. Was he just as drunk? Had he mistaken me for his first love?
Pushing the thoughts aside, I resigned myself to playing my part. If nothing else, I would go through the motions of begging Charles, if only to prove to my parents that it was hopeless.
I learned that Charles was at his company, so I went straight there dressed like this.
My parents waited downstairs in the lobby, anxiously expecting my “good news.” Seeing their hopeful faces made my heart ache as I had no idea how I would break it to them later.
When I reached his floor, I drew strange looks from everyone. The air hummed with whispers and muffled laughter. Ignoring the judgment, I straightened my back and walked directly toward his office.
But the moment I saw Charles, I felt a chill of fear, my shoulders curling in on themselves just a little.
He was sitting in his chair, every bit the picture of elegance and nobility, a faint smile playing on his lips as he watched me.
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