Chapter 5

He carefully took my hand, draped a coat over me, gentle just like ten years ago.

I felt momentarily disoriented. My body's weakness made me unconsciously grip his sleeve.

"When we first met, you were so proud, refusing to lower your head even slightly. Back then I swore I'd never let you suffer any grievance in this lifetime."

He rambled on the whole way. The car played the songs we used to love, his eyes full of nostalgia for the past.

I leaned against the car window, watching the night scenery fly past outside, a ridiculous hope sprouting in my heart.

Maybe he was just temporarily confused by Lyra.

Maybe he still loved me.

The car stopped at the underground mate black market where I used to be kept.

Walking into the deepest private room, an overwhelmingly nauseating smell of aphrodisiacs rushed into my nostrils.

My head instantly became dizzy, the restlessness inside ignited by this smell.

I saw that in the dim lighting, many people seemed to be around, all staring at me and quietly laughing.

I tried to control my staggering steps, wanting to escape, but accidentally stumbled into Ethan's cold embrace.

"Vesper, you don't need to suppress your instincts."

"You've been holding back these past few days, right? Today your husband will fill you up all at once, okay?"

A seductive voice whispered in my ear.

The young man's innocent face from ten years ago appeared before me.

The drugs and instinct completely controlled my brain.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe. Just as I was about to touch his lips, a piercing mocking laugh rang out.

My spine instantly turned ice-cold, as if plunging into a frozen abyss.

There were more than just the two of us in this room!

"Everyone see that? What elite noble mermaid — when she's in heat, she's just as cheap!"

Ethan's contemptuous voice exploded overhead. He violently pushed me away like discarding a dirty rag.

The black cloth behind was suddenly pulled back, harsh lights blazing on.

A group of pot-bellied, greedy-eyed men surrounded me, their gazes nakedly scanning my body.

Lyra sat on the central sofa, holding a phone livestreaming, the camera locked on me as she laughed provocatively and maliciously:

"Worthy of being an elite mate — her heat is really different! Perfect for giving our nationwide audience an eye-opening experience!"

"Shut up!"

I rushed at her like a madwoman, shoving Lyra, trying to grab the phone.

But the next second, my hair was violently yanked by a tremendous force, my entire body pressed hard against the floor.

Before my eyes were a pair of expensive red-soled leather shoes.

Ethan's voice came from above, ice-cold and piercing, carrying a lofty judgment:

"You shouldn't have — absolutely shouldn't have — bullied Lyra. Today I'll let you know that without me, you're worth less than a low-grade mate!"

I gritted my teeth unwillingly, my hands supporting myself as I tried to stand.

Before I could steady myself, Ethan backhanded me with a heavy slap.

I flew out like a kite with a broken string, my stomach slamming hard into the edge of a hard marble table.

Pain.

Tearing pain.

Pain so intense that tears instantly welled up, but the moment they fell, they turned into muddy pearls, hitting the floor with crisp sounds.

I curled up on the ground, my whole body trembling violently, even breathing becoming torture.

The men's gazes fell on me, naked desire crawling over my entire body like maggots.

Some even started unbuckling their belts, walking toward me.

Ethan slowly walked up to me, looking down from above.

Those eyes once full of love were now cold as if looking at a corpse.

"Vesper, didn't you keep calling Lyra a defect?"

He crouched down, forcibly gripping my chin, his lips curled in a playful yet cruel smile. "So after being passed around by all these men, what does that make you? Guess whether you can still maintain your elite nobility?"

My stomach sent piercing pain. That terrifying feeling of life slipping away instantly drowned me.

I desperately gripped his suit sleeve, my nails nearly breaking:

"Ethan, I'm pregnant... you can't do this to me..."

He looked down at me, his eyes full of disgust and mockery:

"Vesper, to gain sympathy, you'd stoop to this kind of lie? You think I'd believe you? Disgusting!"

"I'm not lying... it's true..."

The pain in my stomach intensified wave after wave. Warm blood snaked down from the base of my thighs, staining my white dress red.

I couldn't hold on anymore. My hand clutching his sleeve fell limply as I collapsed to the floor.

"Vesper, stop pretending."

Ethan sneered, disgustedly brushing off his sleeve as he turned to leave. "If I'd known you were this kind of scheming liar, I'd never have touched you, even if it meant death. Have your fun with her, boys. Just leave her breathing."

The blood kept flowing, more and more, pooling into an alarmingly dark red puddle on the floor.

The heavy smell of blood overpowered the aphrodisiacs in the room.

He seemed to sense something was wrong and looked back in annoyance.

When his gaze touched the expanding crimson beneath me, his pupils suddenly contracted.