Chapter 2

One by one, the thugs finally pulled away from me.

I lay on the ground, like a shattered doll, covered in angry bruises, a spreading pool of blood beneath me.

My eyes were dead, lifelessly rolling.

I heard the thugs’ jeers and crude jokes. “This chick’s got real soft skin, huh? Pretty fun.”

“Tell me about it. Can’t believe that guy actually gave us his own wife to mess around with.”

Listening to the stream of insults, my face remained blank. But when I heard Julian’s name again, my heart still gave a violent lurch.

I simply closed my eyes, trying to shut it all out.

But then, the thugs suddenly pulled out a camera.

The click of the shutter jolted me awake.

I could only curl into myself, a desperate, helpless wreck.

“Bossman, we can’t take pictures like this. Maybe… maybe we should just forget it?”

One of the thugs seemed to have a flicker of conscience, a moment of hesitation in his eyes.

A sliver of hope sparked within me, and my curled body relaxed for a second.

The next moment, Julian’s cold voice rang out.

“Keep taking pictures. Otherwise, you won’t get a single cent of that ten grand.”

The thugs, hearing this, quickly obeyed, not daring to hesitate again.

“Julian, please don’t do this.”

My eyes no longer held the deep love they once did, only a desperate plea.

Julian’s lips tightened, and his tall frame stiffened slightly.

*Harper… why was she looking at him like that? No, it’s fine. Everything will be fine once Harper atones.*

Julian could only silently reassure himself.

And the thugs, seeing me curled up, simply reached out and yanked at me.

Two of them pulled my arms wide apart, while another violently spread my legs.

In this utterly humiliating position, I was forced to face Julian.

He remained impassive, his expression flat.

His eyes even held a hint of disgust and impatience.

“Hurry up. We have other things to do.”

He glanced at me, bored, and walked straight towards Chloe’s framed photo on the altar.

I clearly saw the deep pain and helplessness buried in his eyes.

And the name Chloe, whispered like a broken prayer.

All of it stabbed deep into my heart.

But I was his wife, wasn’t I?

Then, one of the thugs called out, “Mr. Julian, everything’s done. Take a look.”

Julian looked at me, trembling on the ground, his eyes complex. Then he took the camera and quickly scrolled through the images.

His gaze suddenly froze, and pain resurfaced in his eyes.

I thought he was feeling sorry for me.

But then he blurted out, “Chloe, how much pain you must have been in that night. It’s all my fault.”

His face contorted, like a trapped animal fighting for breath, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at my photos.

Only then did I realize he was thinking of Chloe again.

Julian quickly flipped through them, then threw the camera back to the thugs.

In an instant, his gaze turned to me, sharp as an ice blade, cutting right through me.

“Harper, I want you to feel every bit of that pain too.”