Chapter 4
Chapter 4
James was shocked but assumed I was still mad about him suddenly leaving me at the banquet and handing me over to that wealthy businessman.
He thought he could just buy me a gift later and coax me back.
I had always been easy to placate. That’s how he had done it in the past.
But when he realized he couldn’t reach me no matter how many times he called-
He finally sensed that something was different this time.
A trace of panic crept into him.
After confirming that Lily was fine, James was ready to leave.
As he was about to go, the woman clutched his hand, pleading with teary eyes, “James, stay with me, please? I’m scared to be alone.”
In the past, James could never resist her delicate, helpless act. Whenever she asked, he would always comply.
But today, for some reason, he found himself losing patience with Lily. Even her soft and gentle demeanor irritated him.
“I have something to do. Get some rest,” he said curtly.
Then, without another glance, he turned and left for the banquet.
Lily watched his retreating figure, her pitiful expression twisting into something sinister.
She lowered her head, lost in thought.
James drove back to the banquet and searched the venue, but I was nowhere to be found.
With all sorts of people at the event, he feared I might be in danger and frantically asked around about my whereabouts.
Memories of the past suddenly flooded his mind.
He recalled how my eyes had turned red as I hid in a corner after being bullied by my stepfather.
Regret hit him like a tidal wave.
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Why had he chosen another woman when I needed him the most? Damn it!
His frantic search soon caught everyone’s attention, and someone who had witnessed the darlier scene finally spoke up
I had been taken away by the wealthy businessman.
At the banquet, James had treated me with nothing but disdain, his words filled with casual mockery,
Everyone had already assumed I was just his plaything, their spéculations about my identity growing filthier by the second,
After answering his question, they began whispering among themselves, guessing, where that businessman had taken me and what he would do to me,
When James had lavished all his tenderness and concern on Lily, he never considered what kind of disaster his careless words might bring upon me.
Or perhaps he had considered it.
He just didn’t care.
His casual remark-“Lily is still young. You’re used to it.“–had sent me plummeting into the abyss.
It had made everyone believe I was a shameless, promiscuous woman, an object that could be traded for money and lust at any time.
As those people voiced their sordid guesses, they burst into lewd laughter.
James finally snapped.
It was as if he had accepted their words as truth.
After all, in his eyes, I was nothing but a cheap whore.
Lily, on the other hand, was the pure and gentle goddess.
If I had already thrown away my dignity, endured humiliation for him, suffered both his abuse and others‘ scorn just to please him-
Then surely, I would do the same for someone else.
For that wealthy businessman.
James pulled out his phone and called me, but I had already turned it off while on the plane.
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Unable to reach me, he took it as further proof of my “affair” with the businessman.
His messages followed, laced with every insult he could think of\
“Where the hell did you go?”
“Do you even know I’m looking for you?”
“Ran off with a richer man? Or are you warming some old geezer’s bed?”
“Does he know your body as well as I do?”
As he furiously typed those vile words, the very man he accused me of being with suddenly returned to
the venue.
Blinded by rage, James didn’t say a word–he just punched the businessman.
Grabbing his collar, he snarled, “Where did you take her? Speak!”
“I’m warning you, if anything happens to Laura, I’ll drag you and your entire company down with me. You better tell me where she is–right now.”
Security quickly intervened, pulling the furious James away.
The businessman wiped the blood from his lips and chuckled at James’s desperate, self–righteous rage.
“Young man, whether it’s in business or in love, empty threats mean nothing.”
“What matters is sincerity. But unfortunately, I see none from you tonight.”
Overwhelmed by regret and fury, James was too obsessed with finding me to pick up on the businessman’s implication.
He cursed, “Cut the crap! She left with you. I just need to know where she is!”
The businessman cast him a pitying glance, his tone laced with mockery.
“You’re right. She was with me.”
“But I only sent her to the airport. As for where she went–I have no idea.”
“That’s impossible! You’re lying! She wouldn’t leave me!”
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