David chuckled, “The audience really likes us. The tickets for the show at Hucksburgh were sold out last night.”Zoe was pleasantly surprised. She gave it some thought and said, “How about we hit the road tomorrow?”David couldn’t resist making some jokes at her expense.Ella was happy for her as well. “I’m fine! Go ahead and work on your career. Also, send my thanks to Mason!” She held Zoe tightly. “Live a happy life with him if he treats you well! Let the past stay in the past.”Zoe responded with a husky voice, “Gotcha!”They looked at each other and smiled with tears in their eyes, reminiscent of a simpler time that they shared when they were young.…Zoe left Ella’s place and got into the car. The chauffeur could tell she was in a cheerful mood. He leaned over and asked, “Are we going back to the manor, Ms. Zoe?”Leaning on the seat, she booked a flight ticket to Hucksburgh for herself and sent a text to Mason. It read, “Come home early tonight. I have something to tel
Zoe raised her eyes and stared directly at Mason. His eyes were inscrutable in the dim light. She simply couldn’t tell what was on his mind!After a brief pause, he asked softly, “Did you see it?”Pointing at the documents on the floor, she shook uncontrollably. “Did you hire a bunch of shrinks to study me and advise you on how to deal with me? Just what do you think I am, Mason? Am I just another plaything? You said you loved me. Is this what you call love? Hiring ten shrinks to analyze me like I’m some kind of weirdo?“You bought a dog to please me! Here I am, thinking that you did it because you knew what I liked. It turns out it was all a ploy devised by a team of shrinks! The puppy was nothing but a tool!“Everything you did for me was a calculated step in your game. You even planned out when you were going to have sex with me!“You robbed me of my privacy and my pride, Mason! You don’t love me. You merely wanted to own me in your perverted way! You don’t know how to love any
Her bathrobe was pulled wide open as she lay on the desk in the study, the fluorescent light illuminating her smooth and fair skin. Mason held tight to her slender waist and smacked her hips. He sneered, “Now, I’m going to show you how I treat a plaything!”Her face paled. She couldn’t get away from him. Under the fluorescent light, she was at his mercy as he thrust into her roughly. He was treating her in ways that not even the cheapest escorts deserved.The light was blinding. Her body was subjected to immense pain, but it was nothing compared to what she was feeling in her heart. Gripping the edges of the desk, she withstood his furious humping with every bit of energy in her.There was a small, hard thing in her hands and it was scraping her palm.She turned her head to the side and released her grip when she could no longer take his brutal thrusts. There was a pair of exquisite cufflinks in her sweaty palm, its radiant diamond was bloodied now.It was her own blood.…
It was close to noon by the time the servants found Zoe in the study.It was day, but the lights were still on. Zoe was lying flat on the wooden desk. A black bathrobe was all she was wearing. All the evidence of Mason's lust and her body's reaction to it had all but dried up on her body.Her eyes were closed and there were the salt trails of dried tears on her cheeks. Lying there motionless, her face was unusually flushed. The servant touched her and found that she was burning up. Frightened, she yelled, “Ms. Zoe has got a fever!” She was old and she had been married too. It didn’t take her too long to figure out what caused the fever. She called Mason immediately but nobody picked up. At that moment, Mason was having a meeting with the higher-ups of the Lockwood Corporation. There was a big project and he was ready to take it on, but the top management staff and shareholders had more conservative ideas. They thought he was moving too quickly and that it was too risky.About ha
The joke was on her!…Things weren’t looking good in the conference room back in Lockwood Corporation. Ava barged into the room and whispered in Mason’s ears. He raised his eyes and looked at her, speechless.She gritted her teeth and continued to say, “The fever’s nasty and she suffered some flesh wounds as well. Also, there was some conflict when they checked into the hospital. Ms. Zoe probably knows that Lilith is staying in the presidential suite!”He sat there quietly for a long time. After a long pause, he rose and announced, “Meeting adjourned!” Then, he raced out of the conference room. Ava was at his heels and said, “Your car is ready! Should we head for the hospital now, Mr. Mason?”He didn't respond.Sitting in the car, he leaned on the seat and closed his eyes. An image of Zoe lying on the table came to his mind. Then, he heard her voice in his head. “You don’t know how to love anyone, Mason!”He probably did what he did to her because she pushed his buttons!
She said in a weak but firm tone, “I won’t be your wife anymore! I want a divorce, Mason! You can try to manipulate or threaten me, but I won’t change my mind again! I want nothing from you. All I ask is Noah’s legal contract and the two percent share of Lockwood Corporation.”Mason stared at her, “Those are the most valuable things!”She smirked nonchalantly, “Feel free to drag it out if you don’t want to agree to my terms.”He was about to say something when her door was pushed open gently. It was Lilith, sitting in a wheelchair, her scrawny cheeks looking sickly. She looked at Zoe and said carefully, “I’m sorry, Zoe! I didn’t mean to stay in the suite. I swear I didn’t know that it was reserved for the Lockwood families. I’ll move out of it right now.”What a hypocrite, Zoe thought.She had never taken it out on Lilith for messing up their marriage because she thought it was Mason’s fault all this time. However, she was deeply disgusted by Lilith’s words!For that matter, he
Zoe said with trembling lips, “If you care so much about her, then feel free to marry her, Mason!” She felt around with her hands and found a pill bottle. Mason walked over and picked it up. It was a bottle of birth control pills. He looked at her and she stared back at him. She uttered calmly, “You didn’t wear a condom last night! So, I went ahead and took a pill. Do you have a problem with that?”He replied with a blank face, “None whatsoever!” With that, he turned around and left. Lilith groaned when he brushed past her. “Mason!” Lowering his head, he looked at her bloodied forehead and barked at the doctors standing at the door, “Dress her wounds! She needs to die pretty, so make sure there isn't a scar!”Leaving the ward, he marched into the hallway. What Zoe said kept playing on a loop in his mind.“You didn’t wear a condom last night! So, I went ahead and took a pill. Do you have a problem with that?”It wasn’t that long ago that he took a stroll with her under the
The next morning, Mason received a call from the hospital. It was Lilith’s doctor, Dr. Zahir.“Ms. Lilith wasn’t feeling too well last night, but she’s bounced back after our valiant efforts! Of course, I can’t claim credit for it on my own. It took an entire team to do it.”Leaning on the couch, Mason rubbed his brows, “What about Zoe? Did her fever come back?”Zahir started stammering at that. Sitting upright, he asked, “What happened to her?”Zahir felt a chill down his spine. Did he bet on the wrong horse? Wasn’t Lilith the lady Mason cared most about in the world? Was it actually Zoe, his legitimate wife?He wouldn’t dare lie to Mason, so he said, “Ms. Zoe started having intermittent fever episodes, but we’re short-staffed. Fortunately, your servant was very capable. She used the traditional way to bring down her body temperature. Ms. Zoe is doing fine and feeling much better now!”Zahir tried to make light of the situation, but Mason flung a crystal ashtray across the roo