At 11 p.m., the villa was brightly lit.The servants and housekeeper stood in two rows in the hall, heads lowered, nervously wringing their hands, not daring to breathe too loudly.Lionel paced back and forth, his handsome face icy, hands stuffed into his pockets. His hazel eyes had darkened to match the night outside.For half an hour, he hadn't said a word, only mechanically repeating his pacing. The overwhelming aura of authority surrounding him seemed to cast the entire room into a state of stillness, as if everything had fallen into a deep slumber.It was quiet. Unbearably quiet.Mandy cautiously glanced up, her voice barely above a whisper as she broke the tense silence. "Sir, maybe you should rest. The madam is probably just delayed by something..."Lionel paused for a moment but then continued his pacing.Grace shot Mandy a glare and spoke up. "Sir, I reminded madam this morning to come home early. But, you know, she has a habit of... coming back late. Perhaps you should just
That night, Lionel returned home. After dinner, he went straight to his study without a word about Chloe, and he didn't go to her room to check on her either.Mandy felt uneasy. Did Lionel really need to act this way? She might not be married, but she wasn't completely ignorant about relationships between men and women. On the surface, Lionel seemed to despise Chloe, but deep down... he must care for her, right? Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed in so anxiously that morning.Men of status and power often focus on their careers, never allowing a woman to dictate their actions or delay their important matters.Sighing, Mandy thought to herself, This house is full of opportunists! Since Chloe wasn't in Lionel's favor, no one cared about her well-being.Taking one last glance at the light coming from the study, Mandy sighed again before heading back to Chloe's room to care for her.She wasn't sure how long it had been, but while dozing off beside Chloe's bed, a faint sound of the door op
Another day passed, and Chloe remained in a daze, sleepily drinking the porridge that was fed to her, drifting in and out of consciousness. Her fever had gone down, but she was still in a deep sleep.That night, Mandy expected Lionel to come to Chloe's room again, as he had the previous night. She waited by Chloe's bedside, but as the night turned to morning, she realized Lionel hadn't come.What was going on with him?Mandy couldn't guess Lionel's thoughts. Disappointed, she got up, stretched her stiff neck, and hurried downstairs to prepare soup for Chloe.By late morning, Chloe finally woke up, feeling famished.Just as Mandy entered with food, she exclaimed, "Ma'am, you've slept for two days! You gave me quite a scare.""Really?" Chloe rubbed her head apologetically. "Have you been taking care of me this whole time? Thank you!"From what she remembered, Mandy was the only person in this house who didn't give her a hard time or treat her coldly. If anyone had taken care of her whil
As Chloe stepped out of Lisa's house, the sky had already darkened. After being absent for two days and saying those alarming words to Lisa on the phone, she had scared the poor girl half to death. Lisa had clung to her, refusing to let her leave until Chloe finally managed to calm her down and slip away.Taking out her phone, Chloe dialed Cynthia. As soon as the call connected, Cynthia's scolding came through loud and clear: "Chloe, you're still alive! Saying stuff like that on the phone, weren't you afraid I'd jump off a building out of panic? If someone around you hadn't explained, I would've rushed over to kill you myself!""I'm sorry, Cynthia. I was sick and delirious.""Hmm, alright, as long as you're back to normal now. By the way... your family moved, right? I heard your sister's husband paid for a mansion. So, where's the new place? I'm thinking I should come visit sometime and celebrate with you."Chloe's breath hitched, her hand instinctively covering her chest as her heart
In her dream, Chloe felt a dog licking her face, its tongue leaving a sticky, uncomfortable sensation. It felt dirty and itchy. She waved her hand to shoo it away."Stop it... be a good dog and go to sleep..." The dog obediently stopped licking her face, and Chloe smiled, thinking how well-behaved it was.But soon after, the sticky sensation returned, this time on her neck. The dog was licking her neck now. She twisted and turned, but couldn't avoid it.The dog seemed heavy, pressing down on her, making it hard for her to breathe. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she just wanted to sleep. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake off the dog.Growing annoyed, Chloe mumbled a warning, "If you don't stop, I'll hit you!"She waved her fist, ready to strike.But this dog was relentless. Not only did it not fear her fist, it continued its assault, moving to her chest.Her chest?!Suddenly, all traces of sleep vanished. Chloe's eyes flew open, and she realized that her chest felt cold, an
Chloe's piercing scream woke everyone in the house, and in an instant, the villa was ablaze with lights.Grace, Mandy, and a group of servants rushed upstairs and burst through the door, only to be struck speechless by the scene before them.Lionel lay in a pool of blood, wearing nothing but his underwear, while Chloe, trembling like a ghost, cowered nearby.It took only a glance for anyone to understand what had happened."Master…" Grace's voice quivered."Master…" The maids echoed in shock, scrambling toward Lionel, trying to lift him back into the room. But his large frame was too heavy for them to manage.Grace, being the most experienced, quickly dialed Barton and the family doctor. Barton and the doctor arrived swiftly, and only then were they able to move Lionel back into his room.Everyone was so busy with Lionel that no one paid any attention to Chloe. She leaned against the wall, frozen in the same position for what felt like an eternity.Her gaze was vacant, unfocused. Stil
As dawn broke, the villa, which had been quiet for only a short while, stirred back to life. Servants bustled about, cooking, fetching medicine—everyone was focused on Lionel.Lionel woke up, wincing at the pain in his head as his hand instinctively reached for the bandages. The memories of the previous night flooded back, hazy but vivid.That damn woman dared to hit him!"Ugh—" Furious, Lionel attempted to get up, but his hand brushed against his wound, making him grimace in pain."Master!" one of the maids who had been watching over him gasped. "Please, don't move, you're injured!""Get out!" With a wave of his hand, Lionel knocked over the medicine bottle and water cup, which clattered to the floor with a loud crash.The two young maids trembled in fear, stumbling out of the room and quickly ran to find Grace."This is a disaster," Grace muttered, hurrying to call the family doctor. But Lionel, already on edge, wasn't letting anyone near him.Bang!Lionel slammed the door, locking
Beads of sweat kept rolling down Lionel's forehead. He got up again. If he didn't deal with this woman today, how would he ever have control in this household again?Clenching her teeth, Chloe pushed Lionel hard before his hand could reach her neck. With a loud thud, Lionel fell back onto the bed.His mind spun with dizziness. Lionel closed his eyes for a moment, waiting for the dizziness to pass. When he opened them again, they were filled with a murderous rage."Master!" Grace gasped in shock, stepping forward to intervene. Was Chloe trying to get herself killed, treating Lionel so roughly?Barton grabbed Grace's arm and shook his head. Grace bit her lip, not daring to go against Barton's orders.With a sharp rip, Chloe yanked off the blood-soaked bandage from Lionel's head without giving him a chance to catch his breath.In reality, it wasn't as brutal as it seemed. Chloe was mindful of the wound, but when the tape pulled on his hair, she didn't care. Losing a few strands wouldn't