"Pierce?""I'm ready," Pierce replied, closing his eyes.Tobias didn't hesitate and made the incision. The sound of the blade slicing through flesh was faint but vividly clear to Millie, making her skin crawl."Is there something I can do to distract you? Would it help lessen the pain?" Millie stammered nervously.While enduring the pain, Pierce looked up when he heard her."You really want to help me?"His forehead was covered in sweat, and his lips were pale. It was a pitiful sight."Can I?""Sure. Come here." Pierce gestured for her to come closer.Millie stepped forward immediately, willing to do anything to alleviate his pain.Without warning, Pierce grabbed the back of her head, pulling her in and pressing his lips against hers.Millie's eyes widened in disbelief. How was kissing her supposed to distract him from the pain?She wanted to pull away, but she didn't dare to budge, fearing that any sudden movement might cause Tobias' hands to slip with the knife.Pierce
Millie tried to avoid pressing on Pierce's wound and stayed as close to the edge of the bed as possible. Somehow, Pierce also moved toward the other edge, leaving a large gap between them.A stifling, ambiguous atmosphere filled the room.Millie's breathing grew rapid, and despite the passage of time, she remained wide awake.She had never shared a bed with a man before. While she was with Stefan for three years, they had never done anything intimate.Suddenly, Millie noticed Pierce's breathing was labored and irregular."Pierce, are you okay?"She poked him, only to find his skin burning hot.Quickly, Millie switched on the light to check his condition. Pierce's face was flushed with an unnatural redness, and his forehead was covered in sweat.He was having a fever.His brows were kitted in pain, and he was muttering incoherently."Sammy..."He seemed to be calling out someone's name.Millie couldn't care less at the moment. She hurriedly called Tobias to inform him of the
"Yes... I didn't dare call anyone else in case it would alarm Grandpa.""You did well," Pierce reassured her."You must be hungry. I'll go get you something to eat."When Millie hurried downstairs, she bumped into Bill."Millie, what's wrong? Had trouble sleeping?""Yeah…""Where's Pierce? He never sleeps in. What's going on?""He's a bit tired and wants to rest a little longer.""Tired? That's unusual. Did something happen? I'll go check on him," Bill said worriedly, starting toward the stairs. But Millie quickly grabbed his arm to stop him."Grandpa... Last night... Um, we were up quite late. That's why..."She couldn't finish the sentence, her face turning bright red.Bill paused, then understanding dawned on him, and he burst into hearty laughter."Let him rest then. You should rest too. Don't overwork yourself.""Okay... I'll rest after I get something to eat.""Go on, have something nourishing," Bill grinned happily as he urged her.After Pierce had a meal, his com
Millie felt like crying.Later, Pierce returned in the evening to find Bill had already prepared dinner. He glanced disapprovingly at the dishes, then at Millie, who dared not meet his gaze.The dishes were all reputed for their nourishing effects in improving sexual drive."Have some more," urged Bill, piling food onto Pierce's plate without any reservation, as if signaling to everyone in the house that the latter was having trouble in that department.Millie wanted to vanish from the surface of the earth."Alright, I'll eat.""Um, Grandpa, I'm done eating. I'll go upstairs first." Millie excused herself."Go ahead.""By the way, how long can you actually last? I know a couple of medicines…"Millie almost tripped on the stairs upon hearing Bill's words.After finishing his meal, Pierce headed upstairs with an incredibly sullen face.Millie wished she could pretend to be asleep, but she had to change his bandages.Given Pierce's status, hospitalization was inconvenient and
"That's right. I thought that since you two haven't known each other for that long, your relationship wasn't that deep yet. But now, it seems like you were in quite a hurry. Seeing how you share such a great relationship, I feel at ease."Bill looked relieved.Millie suppressed the bitter feeling in her heart. She hadn't expected Pierce to have said something first.That was fine too. At least that saved her some trouble.After Bill left, the first thing Pierce did was to order someone to move all his things back to the guest bedroom.While the household staff moved the things, they gave Millie weird looks.If a newlywed couple was sleeping in separate rooms, surely they didn't have a good relationship. "Mrs. Atkinson is so pretty. I wonder why Mr. Atkinson wants to sleep apart from her.""Who knows? Maybe he doesn't like her. If I was in a loveless marriage not long after getting married, I would definitely ask for a divorce.""There's no way she would ask for a divorce. Aft
"Leave this matter alone. You don't need to get involved," Pierce said sternly.In the face of Pierce's strong insistence, Tobias couldn't say anything in return. He muttered quietly, "Millie must have been devastated when she heard them say that nonsense."Pierce buried his head in his documents as though he hadn't heard that. However, the hand around his pen tightened.After Tobias left, he picked up his phone, wanting to call Millie. Yet, in the end, he didn't end up explaining anything to her.There were some things that she didn't need to know.…After Millie handled the matters at home, she made her way to her studio.Two days had passed, but she still hadn't managed to recruit a single person. Things were looking dismal.Celia was going crazy with anxiety."Don't worry. It doesn't matter if we don't manage to recruit. We can just take custom orders. An order is still an order!""Millie, do you think I'm worried about recruitment? No, I'm worried about the bet you made
Millie was over the moon. If Julian was willing to help her, then that would be excellent. "Did you really not make any advancements all these years? I saw the drafts submitted to the fashion design competition, and one of them was very similar to your style. I wanted to reach out to the designer, but the organizer said that this person didn't like showing their face in public, and I couldn't get in touch with them either…"As Julian spoke, he stared straight at Millie.Millie felt a little guilty."It's you, isn't it?""I didn't think you'd still remember my style.""It's bold and meticulous at the same time, yet it doesn't focus on the nitty gritty. Its ideas are also unique and imaginative. When I saw those clothes, I immediately thought of you. I had been worried that you had disappeared without a trace after graduation. I even thought that you had left the industry.""If you joined too, I'm sure you'd do an even better job than me.""Why didn't you promote yourself and bu
"Is this… your girlfriend? Pierce asked."No, it's not like that…" Millie said nervously.Julian laughed and explained, "This is Millie Jordan. She was a year below me in college. Millie, allow me to introduce you to Pierce Atkinson, the CEO of the Atkinson Group. My grandmother lives across from him. I used to go to his place to play when I was younger."Millie has a studio in Arbelton, which I'll also be joining. Remember to give us orders! We can do staff uniforms or personal orders.""Are you two going to become partners?""Yes.""That's nice. I'll definitely let you know. Do you mind if I join you for lunch? It's not every day that we see each other.""Sure. The more, the merrier."Pierce sat down calmly. On the other hand, Millie felt like she had been caught red-handed. She wished she could crawl into a hole and hide.At that moment, her phone rang. Julian had secretly sent her a text that read, "Weren't you worried about not having orders? If you build a rapport with P
After all the effort that Millie had made to escape the villa, was she now out of the pan and into the fire?She struggled desperately, her strong survival instincts giving her unexpected strength. Still, the disparity in strength between a man and a woman was undeniable—she couldn't overpower the taxi driver."Let me go!" Millie cried, her voice trembling and on the verge of breaking into sobs."Relax, sweetheart. I'll take good care of you. Heaven must have taken pity on me to send you my way!" the man said with a lecherous, greedy smile.Millie felt nauseous at his words. Just then, her hand brushed against a rock on the ground. Immediately, she grabbed it and smashed it against the man with all her might.Millie didn't know where she'd hit, but the man yelped in pain and released his grip.Millie then seized the opportunity and bolted away without hesitation. If he'd managed to drag her into the abandoned building, there would be no escape. No one would hear her cries f
Millie decided that she couldn't just sit around and wait for Pierce to deal with her. After all, why should he be the one to decide her fate?Worst came to worst, she'd call the police and turn herself in. Even in prison, she'd get food. It was still better than being tortured like this.Determined, Millie steadied herself against the wall as she got up. After drinking enough water to fill her stomach, she regained some strength and headed toward the balcony.It was the dead of night, and the maids were all asleep. Millie studied the external structure of the house.Right outside the balcony was the outdoor unit of the air conditioner. If she climbed over the railing, jumped onto the unit, and slid down the drainpipe bit by bit, she might be able to make it safely to the ground.And if she missed and fell… Well, the maids wouldn't dare stand by and let her die. They'd have her sent to the hospital.Her choices were simple—stay here and starve to death, or take a chance and f
Pierce then picked up the fruit knife from the table. "I am her husband. Since I failed to keep her in line, then I share the blame. I'll take responsibility for her mistakes. So, I'll cut myself twice to double the punishment.""Pierce, no!" Samantha shouted in panic. But it was too late. With one swift motion, Pierce slashed his left arm twice. It left two deep wounds, and blood began gushing from the cuts. The wounds were severe, and he might even have damaged his tendons or nerves."Doctor! Get the doctor!" Samantha screamed.A vein throbbed at the side of Pierce's temple, but he didn't make a sound."Is this enough? If it isn't, I can add two more cuts. She's my wife, so her mistakes are my responsibility," he firmly said."It's enough! Stop! Doctor, hurry up!" Samantha cried even harder.The doctor rushed in and quickly bandaged Pierce's arm. Fortunately, the treatment was prompt enough to prevent any long-term damage to his left arm.Samantha, now a sobbing mess, clun
"Pierce, now you've seen my true colors. I'm not a good person. From the very beginning, I got involved with you to get revenge on Stefan. I ruined Wanda's reputation to punish that scumbag and that vile woman. I was even willing to risk everything, including myself."You've seen it all—I'll stop at nothing to achieve my goals. Now, whether you call the police and have me arrested or decide to divorce me, I have nothing more to say," Mille evenly stated.Pierce frowned deeply, his expression unreadable. "The maids did call the police, but I suppressed the matter. This is a family matter, and I believe you didn't mean to harm Sammy. But no matter what, you shouldn't have used a knife!""Then what do you want me to do? Apologize to Samantha? Let me tell you, I'm not the type to bow my head. I'll never apologize!" Millie's voice rose sharply."I expected this," Pierce said with a frown, his gaze filled with a complicated mix of emotions, including disappointment.Millie met his eyes,
"How dare you hit me? Why are you all just standing there? Help me already!" Samantha became agitated and called for help.The maids came forward at her command, clearly siding with Samantha. Although the maids' movements were light, Millie could feel them sneakily battering her. When they grabbed her arms, their fingers cruelly dug into her skin.Millie felt pain all over her body. The maids subtly pinched her thighs, her waist, and other places concealed by clothing. Some even covertly pricked her with needles.Their methods were calculated and sinister, and it was obvious that Samantha had prepared them for this in advance.The pain was so intense that cold sweat dripped down Millie's face, and she realized that she had to get out of there immediately.Knowing that she was at a disadvantage, Millie acted quickly. If they managed to restrain her, she would sustain numerous injuries in the most covered up places that were not easily detectable when one looked at her.With he
No one was cooking in the kitchen. Were they going to eat out?As Millie was pondering this, the sound of a car horn honking came from outside. Unexpectedly, Samantha and Pierce arrived together.Samantha, who was usually lively and chatty, silently stood behind Pierce. She was unusually subdued that day."You're back! Are we eating out tonight? Should we bring the cake with us?" Millie asked.Pierce froze, his expression dark as he stared at the cake on the table. He questioned, "Did you prepare this?""What's wrong?" Millie instinctively took a step back as a chill ran down her spine. Pierce's gaze was terrifying.Just then, Samantha quickly spoke up, "Pierce, Millie just joined us recently and isn't aware of this. Don't be mad at her. "You know… Pierce was kidnapped at his birthday party when he was a child and almost died. He hasn't celebrated a birthday since then."Millie's face became ashen at her words. It was Samantha who had suggested celebrating Pierce's birthda
"Let's go home, I'm tired." Millie didn't want to discuss it, so she changed the topic.Pierce looked at her in frustration, but he could only drive her back home. Millie pretended to be asleep on the way home to avoid the awkwardness of being alone with Pierce. When she returned to the villa, she went directly upstairs. She didn't allow Pierce to sleep in the room, either. …The next day, Millie overslept on purpose so that she wouldn't have to leave the house with Pierce. When she went downstairs, she found that the housekeepers were energetically decorating the living room. "What are you doing?""It's Mr. Atkinson's birthday in a few days. We're secretly putting up some decorations to give him a surprise."Millie lightly knocked her head. She had been so busy that she'd forgotten Pierce's birthday at the end of the month. "How do you usually celebrate?" she asked."Ms. Sammy would buy a cake and make a home-cooked meal for him, and there'll be presents too.""Despi
At that moment, Julian called out to her, "Millie, there's a question that I've been meaning to ask you for some time.""Fire away, Julian," Millie replied."Who do you think is better-looking, me or Pierce?"Millie choked on her food and coughed so hard that tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. What sort of question was that?"Eat slowly, nobody's going to take your food away from you." Julian patted her on the back.Millie finally regathered herself after a while and quickly said, "Both of you are good-looking in your own way!" She wasn't going to offend anyone here. Julian's smile widened. He then put a hand on his cheek before continuing to ask, "Then from the two good-looking options you have, choose one who is better looking.""Julian… What a shallow question…""Just say it, I want to know too," Pierce said, his voice low and pleasing to the ear.He looked at Millie calmly, as if he was saying that he wouldn't be angry even if she felt that Julian was better-loo
Millie felt a little embarrassed after reading the message.She didn't blame Pierce for anything since she wasn't forced into it. If anything, she also willingly joined in at the end.Millie hesitated for a while and texted her reply: "It's not what you think. Something urgent just came up at the studio, so I had to leave. You don't have to stay at the company. Come home tonight.""Alright, then let's have dinner together tonight."Millie felt a mild headache come on. In truth, she didn't feel like having dinner with Pierce either. But if she were to refuse, he would probably assume that she was still hung up over what happened last night.So, she had no choice but to accept. Pierce replied, "I'll pick you up at six.""I might still be busy with work by then. I'm actually not sure when I'll be able to leave.""It's fine, I'll wait for you."Millie had no words left to argue.The studio had gotten significantly busier recently. Wanda's public apology paired with Millie's repu