Chapter 1

Rushing to get my mom's asthma medication, my husband's secretary, Chloe, insisted I take her to the salon first.

I explained the emergency and refused.

Before I could even start the car, Damian yanked me out.

"You know Chloe just started, she's clueless about the local roads. What if she misses her appointment at the salon?"

I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.

"A salon appointment can be rescheduled, but if someone's life is on the line, you can't bring them back. Are you trying to kill my mom?"

Damian quickly tried to placate me.

"Of course not! I'll take you there myself, right now."

But the car drove further and further into desolate territory until it stopped on a gravel road.

Damian kicked me out of the car. He made Chloe ride on my back, then grabbed a whip and urged me forward.

"Didn't you say if someone's life is on the line, you can't bring them back?"

"Hurry up and crawl, or your mom is going to die!"

My knees sank into the sharp gravel, a searing pain making me almost cry out.

Chloe's hands pressed into my shoulders, her grip tightening with every second. She even chuckled, saying,

"Slow down a bit, I'm still riding here, you know."

I bit down hard, trying to inch forward, but as soon as my knees lifted off the ground, the stones beneath them scraped painfully again.

All the strength drained from my body, leaving me sprawled on the spot.

Suddenly, Damian raised the whip and lashed it across my leg. A burning, fiery pain shot up my thigh.

The black skirt instantly ripped, revealing a swollen red welp. I trembled uncontrollably.

"What are you dragging your feet for? Isn't your mom about to die?"

He stood over me, whip in hand, looking down with contempt. "You cried and begged me to marry you, swearing to repay my kindness. Now you won't even take Chloe to the salon. What good are you to me?"

The humiliation and terror finally broke through, tears streaming down my cheeks.

I looked up, my vision blurred by tears.

"I really need to take my mom's medication... Damian, please, just let me go, okay?"

"I promise, as soon as I deliver the medicine to my mom, I'll take Chloe to the salon. Please?"

Chloe leaned down, wiping away my tears with her fingertips.

"Oh, don't tell me you're crying again! Damian, how are we supposed to have fun with all this sniffling? What a buzzkill!"

Her fingertips were icy cold, and a shiver ran through me as they brushed my cheek.

Then, she suddenly leaned in and kissed me on the lips.

I froze, wanting to recoil as if bitten by a viper, but she just giggled.

"Why are you so upset? Damian sacrificed so much for you, even his own self-respect. What's wrong with playing a little game with us? "

"This is just normal fun, relax, you'll find the pleasure in it soon enough."

Damian's lips curved into a cold sneer when he heard that, and he raised the whip again.

"Hear that? Chloe's more reasonable than you."

"If you don't start moving, I can't guarantee your mom will get her medicine."

At his words, my tears flowed even harder.

I knew Damian was a man of his word.

But the searing pain in my knees and the crushing weight on my back left me without the strength to crawl even an inch forward.

I could only lie there, letting my tears fall onto the gravel road, silently screaming inside:

Mom, just wait for me, please just wait a little longer...