Chapter 9

Suddenly, Benedict wrapped his arms tightly around me from behind, his breath coming in quick, desperate gasps as he pressed his lips to my neck.

"Don't go, Lucia... don't leave..."

I fought the wave of nausea rising in my stomach and, taking advantage of his momentary distraction, twisted around and kicked him hard.

He let out a pained grunt.

I glared at him, cold fury in my voice. "Try that again, and I’ll make sure you regret it."

Benedict clutched his lower body in pain, his bloodshot eyes locked on me.

"Lucia, even if you’re not mine, you can’t belong to anyone else!"

I rolled my eyes, thinking, “What a lunatic,” before walking away.

But it didn’t take long for me to understand exactly what he meant.

---

My private photos started circulating wildly online.

Even though the PR team acted swiftly to suppress the scandal, the damage was already done.

My Instagram was flooded with vulgar comments, mostly from men, lewd and mocking.

Howard Corporation’s stock plummeted.

I sat in my o