It was a chaotic morning. Perhaps it was too painful because Zoey couldn't remember much of what happened. She looked like every ounce of her energy had been sucked out of her as she sat dazedly on the bed, holding the covers.Shawn got down from the bed half-naked. He had a great body, and his abs were well-defined, with the lines traveling past his shorts. He didn't explain. Even if nothing had happened the night before, he wasn't about to explain himself.It was hard to tell if Shawn was purely evil or just hated seeing Zoey living a good life. He considered lending her a helping hand, to test if her love could withstand challenges. He wanted to see if her years of love were worth it.Would Laurence be able to accept it? He was so obsessed with loyalty and dignity, surely he wouldn’t forgive a betrayal. Shawn knew Laurence well; they were the same. They were dignified men, and they were not that generously open-minded.Shawn casually got dressed in front of Laurence. "You came
Zoey could feel her face swelling. It was numb and painful, and her ear was ringing. Her right ear, already injured once, was in so much pain that it felt like a hammer was pounding it. She couldn't hear Laurence clearly.Zoey sat dazedly on the floor, unable to recover for a long time. She knew Laurence would never forgive her. Under no circumstances would he forgive his wife for cheating, nor would he believe another word that came out of her mouth. It wasn’t like she was able to explain herself anyway. There was nothing she could say, and she felt helpless.Suddenly, it didn't matter to Zoey any longer. It was like she knew they would walk down this path one day and end up like this. They were not meant for a fairytale ending. She touched her cheek as the numbing feeling grew, still in shock. What would happen next? She would accept it calmly, whether it was a divorce or something else. Laurence suddenly lifted her roughly by the arm. It seemed like he was going to take her aw
With him being so close, she could still hear him clearly despite the ringing in her ears. Zoey looked at him in a daze as her eyes gradually turned red. Her jaw had also reddened due to his firm grip—as her skin was delicate and fair, any marks seemed obvious. "Am I cheap? Yes, a little," she thought. Her agony grew. She felt she could hardly breathe. She felt so miserable that she couldn't make a sound like someone stabbed her heart with a knife. Laurence lowered his fierce gaze to her. He hadn't been so angry for a long time. He did think about spending the rest of his life with Zoey. "But she played me like a fool and betrayed me!" he thought angrily. Laurence rarely got carried away by anger like he was now. Clenching her face, he stared into her eyes. "Have I not satisfied you? Do you have to sleep around? With Shawn Zuckman, no less! Do you have no pride? Don't you know how much he disdains you? Didn't you hear that he thinks you're a whore? Why do you have to o
"You wanted to quit long ago, didn't you? I'm granting your wish." Hearing him saying so, Zoey could only nod. It was as if she had dreamed about the fight in the morning, and Laurence being out of control was just a figment of her imagination. Quiet for a long while, Zoey glanced at the door and pursed her lips. "When I woke up just now, I discovered the door was locked." Laurence put his suit jacket on the sofa and grunted as he coldly raised his brow. "Yes, I locked it." Zoey pinched her nail hard, still feeling the pain in her chest as she took a deep breath. "Why?" "Isn't he doing too much? Am I a prisoner to him?" she thought. Laurence didn't reply, and she tensed up as he stepped over menacingly. Stopping in front of her, he looked askance at her. "You wish to go out?" Zoey subconsciously took two steps back and looked up to meet his eyes. "Can't I?" She felt the cold, hard surface of the wall as she pressed her back against it. He then asked, "You want to lea
Zoey rarely heard him say anything so mean and was stunned by his hurtful words. A surge of cold numbness rose from the bottom of her feet to the back of her head. She felt dizzy; her face gradually showed her sorrow as the man stared coldly at her like she was a stranger. Feeling numb, Zoey sniffled and said in a nasal and hoarse voice, "Aren't you torturing yourself as well by keeping me by your side?" She was as pale as a ghost. However, Laurence refused to allow himself to be moved by her pitiful look, thinking that his sympathy led to him being betrayed and cheated. Laurence mercilessly grabbed her face, his eyes devoid of pity. "Stop wasting your breath. I can do whatever I want." He let her go and scanned her whole body like he was sizing up a merchandise item. "Go clean yourself up." Knowing he meant it as an insult, Zoey felt humiliated. However, Laurence wanted to make her feel worse and added coldly, "Make sure you're squeaky clean." Even Zoey's fists we
Zoey meant her apology. She thought it was her fault and wished he would forgive him. Knowing she would suffer if he got angry, Zoey naturally didn't want to incur his rage and preferred apologizing. "Saying sorry is not going to kill me," she thought. But Laurence seemed to look grimmer despite her apology. Too exhausted to fight with him, Zoey lowered her gaze to avoid seeing his cold expression. Her being so did not turn him off. He grabbed her wrists and turned her around so he wouldn't need to see her face or meet her eyes. Zoey could no longer feel any warmth from him. She was like a stranded fish, deprived of air and suffocating. However, the man behind her was insatiable. He kept thrusting into her harder and harder, trying to vent his frustration and energy on her. He treated her with no respect at all and left bruises all over. Biting the back of her hand, Zoey refused to make a sound and slowly got used to it. Time passed, and the torture finally se
Zoey experienced a form of humiliation she had never felt before.It was as if Laurence had forgotten about her. It had been a week since he came home. During that week, Zoey had no one to talk to; she could only get information about the outside world by watching television.The news of Zoey from the hotel that night was still the hot topic of discussion for all the entertainment news channels.The news that Laurence's wife was cheating on him with Shawn was not something that was explicitly discussed, but everyone was talking about it in private.Even when the reporter did not get a clear picture of the woman's face on the bed, the public still made assumptions based on their intuition. That, paired with the deliberate fanning of flames by others who wanted to see her humiliated, made the rumors spread like wildfire.Zoey watched the news coverage about her calmly. She was now grateful for Laurence's coat, which he had tossed at her when he found her at the hotel. At least it co
Zoey was exhausted when she got home, so she changed into pajamas and sat on the balcony to watch the sunset mindlessly.After a while, she went into her bedroom to clear Laurence's belongings and placed them in a large cardboard box. She thought about his toiletries and decided that he would probably never use them again, so she tossed them all into the trash. After she was done, she realized that besides her slightly emptier wardrobe, her house seemed unchanged.Zoey took the cardboard box out to the living room. When the time was right, and he wasn't still upset, she would return his items.Now, all that was left binding her to him was their marriage certificate. But perhaps soon, that too would become a divorce certificate.The following day, Zoey took the subway to the office.The news of her termination had spread in the company, and due to the sudden nature of the information, no one knew what had exactly happened.Zoey's colleagues were the most shocked by the news as t