" I was hoping I wouldn't have to fuck you up again "
Bella is stunned at his words, she could feel the dangerous vibes he was given. She quickly distanced herself from him. " You are cheating on me, with my sister!" " No " Vaughn says nonchalently " I cheat with other women too " " How could you do this to me?!" " We've had this conversation countless times before. It's not about you. I want some pussy, and I have enough money to get with whomever I want, so why shouldn't I?" " You...You said you loved me " " Loved you " He scoffed coldly. Vaughn felt like laughing at the moment, it was ironic the number of time they've gone through this same scenerio. This was why he couldn't stand Bella, because everything about her felt like it was repeated. But he really couldn't blame her, it was because of her mental illness. " I never loved you Isabella, I've only tolerated you this much due to your condition. I can cheat as much as I want, and you would remember non of it " Bella felt tears run down her rues, she couldn't believe that the man she loved with all her heart was saying this to her. Perhaps it would have been better if Vaughn had only been cheating on her. Right now he sounded like he hated her very existence. Bella ran pass Vaughn and went to her bedroom. She didn't try to leave the house because she knew Vaughn wouldn't let her go. She hurried took out her jot note and scribbled something inside, she then tossed it under her bed. The moment she had done this, the door of the room was pushed open; She had forgot to lock it. Bella wasn't even given the opportunity to try getting away before she was grabbed roughly by her Husband. " Vaughn, Please.." " I don't fucking have time for this today. I wish you'd just stayed out if my way " Vaughn grumbled. He was very irritated by Bella's actions. To him it was like she was prying into his business. He proffered her to be docile, to just stay put and only appear in front of him when he had need for her. Although he didn't want to hit Bella again; he was afraid that someone might start noticing. However he had no choice, he was going to be busy today and he didn't need her interfering in his business. " Whatever " He says. Bella feels pain shoot across her forehead as it hits the Cabinet. " Just fucking sleep " Vaughn tosses her on the bed and stalks out of the room. He alerts the Nurse to bandage Bella up and then left for the Company. The Nurse hurried upstairs to see Bella laying helplessly on the bed. Her heart moved in empathy for the woman, she carely came to move Bella into a more comfortable position. " Go to sleep, It won't hurt as much " Bella looked at the Nurse hesitantly, and she sudden feel a sense of Déjà vu, even though her face was covered in blood from the cut wound on her forehead, and she was feeling very dizzy, Bella still had to ask. " D...Does he always...hurt me?" The Nurse gave her a surprised look. In all the years she had been attending to the Madam after Vaughn was through with her, this was the first time Bella had openly asked this million dollar question. The Nurse was very hesitant. She knew that Vaughn McCoy's security was very tight, and there could be cameras in the room. However, she knew it wouldn't matter. Afterall, Bella wouldn't remember anything tomirrow and Vaughn wouldn't give a shit about what she told her. " He does. But only when you question him. You should stop, just be contented with the fact that you are his envied wife, the one he comes home to everyday " " The one he beats up whenever he wants " Bella says, she doesn't feel sad now, but there was hatred growing steadily in her heart. " It's alright " The Nurse told her. She went to tgw bathroom to retrieve the first aid kit she had left there, when she returned, Bella had passed out from the pain. She shook her head in Pity and remorse, if only she didn't need this job to sustain herself, she might have helped Bella escape this abusive relationship. Slowly, she cleaned and bandaged Bella's wounds * * * Bella woke up in pain. She groggily looked around her and found a strange woman sitting beside her. " Good morning Mrs Mcoy " " Morning. W..Who are you?" " I am Molly, the personal Nurse assigned to you by your husband. You fell down the stairs yesterday and hit your head. Unfortunalesly, Mr Mcoy had a lot of work to do so he couldn't be here " " He's always working " Bella said, feeling solemn that Vaughn would choose to work rather than be by her side when she was tired. The Nurse gave her a strange look, she hesitated before asking. " Have you...ever considered leaving him?" " What? Why would I want to do that?" Bella was taken aback by the question. Vaughn was her life, she'd loved him since they were teens, he had given her no reason to want to leave him. " I love him, I've never considered a divorce before " " Maybe you should" Bella heard the woman mumble, when she asked her what she meant by that, Molly gave an excuse and hurried out of the room to prepare her breakfast. Bella thought there was something strange about the Nurse. She wouldn't have simply asked her to get a divorce if there wasn't some motive behind it. Was she one of the multiple women who wanted Vaughn? But she didn't seem in anyway malicious towards Bella, it seemed more that she was concerned about her. Whatever. She searched for her phone and found it on the cabinet. She was surprised to see the crack on the screen; when had she dropped it? Bella reached for it but clumsily knocked it to the ground. She rolled her eyes at her own silliness and hunched over to pick it up. She noticed the red cover of her personal journal immediately. It was flung under the bed messily. " Why is this here?" She asked herself as she picked it up. Bella was never careless with her journal, because it contained a lot of important dates and events she might be attending. She went through the pages and paused when she came upon the one that contained her messy hand writing. Her body went cold as she read through the sentence scribbled on the page. ' He's An Abuser. He Cheats. Check The Cameras '' He's An Abuser. He Cheats. Check The Cameras 'What? It was clear that she was the one who had written this, but who was she referencing? Who was the abuser? This was something Bella just couldn't ignore. Bella rose to her feet and scurried out of the room. She walked down to the very end of the hallways ontil she got to the security room. Mark, who was the guy that oversaw the security Cameras hadn't come yet, it was still early in rge day. Bella hesitantly walked in and went directly for the monitors. She scrolled through vidoes after vidoes of boring everyday activity. She was almost tempted to leave after not finding anything, but that was ontil she came upon the footage of her and Vaughn fighting. At first she thought it was just a minor disagreement. But that was ontil she saw Vaughn grab her by her hair and slam her face on the wall. She saw the half naked woman, Vaughn's assistant who had always been kind to Bella snickering as her injured body was flung to the ground. ' T
Vaughn was stunned at the news of Bella's accident, but he quickly recovered. With a scowl, he tossed the phone away. "Send an ambulance to her location."The men exchanged glances, and one of them summoned the courage to ask, "Won't you be going to check on her?""Why the hell should I?" Vaughn glared at him. "She got herself into this mess, she can get herself out." He turned around and walked upstairs to his room.Vaughn stripped off his clothes and went to take a shower. Afterward, he lay on his bed, preparing to sleep. But before he could doze off, his phone started ringing. He groaned in irritation as he picked it up. It was his secretary. "What?""Mr. McCoy, Bella is—""Yes, I know. She got into an accident.""You need to be at the hospital, sir! The media already got wind of what happened. If you don’t go now, they’ll start suspecting something. It’ll be bad for your reputation!"Vaughn wanted to refuse, but he knew his secretary had a point. He valued his reputation above all
It was a miracle from God that she had overcome her mental condition, but Bella feared this freedom wouldn’t last long. And she couldn’t go to any hospital to get herself tested because she just knew Vaughn would get wind of it. The whole world seemed to worship the very ground he walked on; everyone was so eager to please him.This was why Bella hadn’t told him about her recovery. If her husband knew that she remembered all the abuse he had put her through, he might get rid of her. She feared he would hurt or kill her. So, she kept her mouth shut and pretended to still be mentally ill. Vaughn treated her kindly, like she was the most precious thing in the world. It was hard to imagine that this was the same man who had hurt her countless times.“Home sweet home,” Vaughn said as he wheeled her into the house. It was the fourth day after she had awakened from her coma. Vaughn had demanded she be brought home despite the hospital’s protest. He had told her not to worry, that the best nu
The next day, Bella woke up early to cook breakfast for Vaughn. She greeted him with a smile when he came downstairs. "Good morning, dear.""Morning, baby." Vaughn placed a soft kiss on her lips. He eyed the food on the table with surprise. "You cooked?""Yeah. Anna told me about the accident this morning. I felt bad for making you worried, so I wanted to make it up to you.""I appreciate the sentiment, baby, but you know you don’t have to do all this. We have the maids for a reason.""I know. But this is like a thank you for being such an amazing husband to me."Vaughn smiled at her and didn’t bother protesting further. He took a seat and dug into the food. His eyes widened in surprise at the delicious taste. Although it was just a simple breakfast, it was far better than what the cooks made. In all the years he had been with Bella, this was the first time she had cooked something so delicious."This is so good, baby. I didn’t know you could cook.""I’m not that good. I just spent ho
"What is this?"Bella kept her head bowed. Despite hearing the anger in his voice, she didn’t respond; she had nothing to say. Her silence only angered him more."Isabella, what the fuck is that necklace doing in your bag if you didn’t pay for it?!"She raised her head, stunned at the use of her full name. Vaughn had never referred to her by her full name before, and they’d been together for years. It seemed she had successfully managed to piss him off, and this was only phase two of her plan. She was very content with herself.Bella spoke with a nonchalant voice, "I guess I forgot to pay for it."Vaughn was so angry that even the staff became terrified. The manager quickly stepped forward to help resolve the issue. "Mr. McCoy, the fault is ours. Your wife was clearly tired; she truly forgot to pay for the necklace. It’s just a misunderstanding.""Step aside," Vaughn told him coldly. The older man shuffled away. The billionaire advanced toward his wife, and the fact that she seemed un
Westbridge Academy of Music and Arts was one of the most well-known universities in the country. It boasted a large number of celebrity graduates each year, including some of the most famous artists in the world. It was the place to be for anyone seeking connections or looking to boost their fame further.It was safe to say that the school's criteria were very high, and it was extremely difficult to gain admission. For someone like Bella, who had no talent in art, it would have been nearly impossible to be accepted. But here she was, a first-year student of music and dance, something she didn't even have an interest in.But it was alright because she wasn't actually here to study. Bella had enrolled at Westbridge because it was the only way she could meet a certain person without raising Vaughn's suspicion. This person would be her key to escaping her abusive marriage and exacting revenge on her husband.Bella had to move out of the mansion due to her new college being a three-hour dr
“Boss?” Vaughn’s attention was diverted back to his bodyguard, who had also noticed Bella’s fleeing figure. “Should we go after her?”“No need. I doubt she’s the one.” If that had indeed been his wife, why would she have run away after seeing him? Just now, it was as if she had seen a monster. No, that couldn’t possibly be his Bella. Vaughn walked forward, ignoring the crowd that was gradually forming.As someone famous, he always caused a stir wherever he went, which was why he had his security team with him at all times. He hated interacting with people he regarded as beneath him.“Mr. McCoy, welcome,” the Vice-Chancellor of the school, Mr. Adams, greeted him. They shook hands, and he led the young billionaire to his office. “I want to state what an honor it is to have you at our institution.”“Sure, but I’m sure you know the real reason I’m here.”“Of course. Your wife…” Mr. Adams shuffled through a stack of papers until he found what he was looking for—Bella’s schedule, which had
"Indeed," Damien said simply. He accepted Vaughn's outstretched hand, but the handshake only lasted a moment. Both of them were too disgusted with each other to continue touching.Their mutual disdain was palpable; no one could ever guess the deep hatred that ran between the two men. Bella had overheard Vaughn complaining about Damien and his family on countless occasions. While Vaughn's father, Stephen McCoy, was a gold merchant with his main company in South Africa, the Beriosova family had a dark history.There had been speculations that Luciano Beriosova was a drug lord who used his legitimate business as a cover-up. It might have been just rumors, but Vaughn had said the same thing, and Bella didn’t believe he was making it up.“While I would love to catch up, I was just about to take Bella home,” Vaughn said.“Wasn’t she supposed to start classes today?” Damien asked.“She’s tired, aren’t you, baby?”That voice... there was no way she could say otherwise. Vaughn's harsh gaze pro
Jessica's life had never been more challenging than it was at this moment. Don’t get her wrong; she’d always wanted her sister to get divorced, but what’s the point of that anymore when Vaughn didn’t even give her a second look? She’d never seen the man so obsessed before.The news of the divorce had taken the world by storm. Many people were in disbelief as Vaughn and Bella were viewed as the perfect couple. They’d been seen together acting all loved-up, and now they were separating?While Bella seemed to have disappeared completely from the public eye, Vaughn, unfortunately, was left to deal with the aftermath of the divorce. The paparazzi followed him like a second shadow. The blinding flash of their cameras and the inappropriate questions they threw at him pissed him off to no end. At this point, he might just work directly from home.But even while at home, there were still some people who came to bother him from time to time. Damien blamed him for his split with Bella, like Vaug
Bella met with the lawyer the next day. He was a middle-aged man who had been working with the Walker family for almost a decade. According to Ethan, he was one of the best lawyers money could buy."Ms. Page, you need to understand, if you insist on not filing for domestic violence, you'll likely end up with very little after the divorce. Your husband has such a good reputation in the public eye. Also, since you filed for the divorce, he has more advantage in this case.""It doesn't matter. I didn’t want anything to begin with. I want a smooth parting if that's possible."The man hummed in understanding. "We'll still have to meet up with your husband's lawyer. Your husband has asked that you speak to him in person.""Fine. Where?" Vaughn was probably going to try to convince her not to go through with the divorce. However, her mind was made up. If he came all the way to China for that, then she'd like to see the disappointment on his face when she rejected him. Also, she had some thin
Her words didn't garner the reaction she had been expecting. Her father and brother looked like they had anticipated her saying this."I have a lawyer ready. In two days, all arrangements to go to court will be concluded," Ethan said, assuring his daughter with a soft smile.He was usually a detached person who rarely showed such emotions. Ever since the tragedy years ago, he’d felt as though he had lost his reason to wake up every day with a smile. But now, with his daughter back, he vowed to honor his deceased wife by being a good and supportive father.Bella was surprised. She hadn’t expected Ethan to have already found a lawyer for her. She wondered if Damien had told him about the divorce earlier. Either way, she still felt uneasy about having to ask for their help.“I… thank you. You didn’t have to do this for me, but I’m grateful.”“This is what we must do. You are the daughter of the Walker family, and nobody is allowed to get away with bullying you.”“We’ll easily amass half
Bella's mouth fell open. She wanted to curse but couldn’t find it in her to utter even a single word. She felt completely drained. Jess took her silence as submission, and with one last hateful glare, she stormed out of the house, slamming the door hard behind her.Bella slowly rose to her feet and walked to her bedroom to strip off her clothes. Mindlessly, she walked into the bathroom to shower. Even the hot water didn’t manage to calm her down. Today was turning out to be one of the worst days of her life, and that was saying a lot, considering she had had a lot of bad luck in the past few years.She didn’t sleep a wink that night. Whenever she closed her eyes, even for a moment, her mind quickly flashed back to Damien and the conversation they’d had earlier. Bella wasn’t frightened by Jessica’s threat. At this point, she didn’t think her life could get any worse. But the fact that the woman was pregnant couldn’t be ignored. And Damien had so ruthlessly lied to her face for weeks. T
Bella blinked, startled. "Your... sister is Jess?" It was hard to imagine that the stubborn girl Dylan talked so fondly about was none other than Jessica—the woman who clung annoyingly to Bella's lover. "That's a surprise. I don't see any resemblance.""Yeah, she takes after our mom. Lucky her. By the way, are you familiar with Jess?""Well, not that much. She hangs out with Damien a lot, so we've met a couple of times." Bella tried not to let the bitter jealousy seep into her voice. She wasn’t sure if she pulled it off because Dylan was looking at her with those attentive eyes that seemed to see right through her very soul. She turned her gaze away, afraid that if she kept looking at him any longer, he might see how much bitterness she was masking."Didn't think they were back together."Back together? What the hell did that even mean? Her eyes darted back to him so quickly she went dizzy for a moment. "What?""You know, the guy I was telling you my sister's been dating—the rich boy.
'What am I doing? 'Bella thought to herself as Vaughn's kisses trailed to her neck, his fingers slowly working the loose ends of her dress. He had never kissed her like this before—slow and loving, almost as if he thought she would slip out of his grasp at any moment."Vaughn..." Her words were cut off when his lips pressed against hers once more. He backed her against the sofa, his fingers slipping through her dress to caress soft skin. Things were escalating so quickly that Bella feared if she didn’t do something now, she might not get the chance in a few more minutes."Vaughn!" Her trembling hands came up to push her husband's chest.The billionaire pulled back with a small frown, but he didn’t give her the distance she so desperately needed."What’s the matter?""I don’t want to do this!""Come on, it’s just sex. We’ve had sex before, remember...?""It’s not just sex! It’s sex with a man who literally betrayed and destroyed my life! I’d be crazy to let this happen!""Your body...
And damn, that revelation made him anxious. Vaughn prided himself on his ability to manipulate others; he was a businessman, after all. With money, he could get whatever and whoever he wanted. But now... even with half his fortune on the line, billions of dollars laid on the table, just begging to be taken, his woman didn't even glance at it a second time.Was I that much of a monster?Vaughn wasn't the kind of asshole who lied to himself—he knew he wasn't a good person. And honestly, he'd never cared before. Good people didn't get what they wanted. Just look at Bella—kind, gentle, and good—yet she was stuck with a monster like him. Goodness made people stupid; it made them ignore all other signs and signals. It was what made her marry him, despite the fact that he hadn't exactly hidden his flaws back then. She must have noticed how he got around her sister—the inappropriate touches must have been obvious. But she believed he was good enough not to break her heart. That was her mistak
Damien has been acting weird lately. On the days they are together, he clings to Bella like a second shadow, and on other days, he seems to disappear off the surface of the Earth, not even leaving her a text to ease her anxiety. Bella worries, but she knows better than to push things at this point. He is a busy man as well; it's understandable.She attends her horrible classes and spends her leisure time dreaming of freedom—of a divorce. Vaughn doesn’t contact her either, thank God for that. She saw on the news that he was cooperating with Eric's company on a project. How totally bizarre was that? Two businessmen who hated each other’s guts working together? It sounded too unreal.At this point, Dylan Snow seemed to be the only normal aspect of her life. They hung out once in a while, and their friendship was proving to be a wall she could lean on.“Hey, how are you?”Bella cringed, not even needing to look back to know who it was. Silas Walker, the latest thorn in her flesh. She didn
"I want to see him! I'm not leaving unless I do!"The secretary felt her irritation soar higher with this woman's behavior. She'd worked in the company for only a few weeks after the boss's last secretary had quit her job all of a sudden. She couldn't understand, for the life of her, why someone would want to give up a job working for America's most generous billionaire. The pay was good, and the boss was kind and easy to deal with.But there were some days when the middle-aged woman was tempted to bang her head on her desk. And it was all because of this blonde bitch. She knew who Jessica Page was—a famous model and sister-in-law to Mr. McCoy. Though Martha had never met the boss's wife in person, she'd heard from her coworkers that the woman was kind and down-to-earth. Her sister, on the other hand, was a bitch! She thought being related to Mr. McCoy meant she could treat his staff disrespectfully."Ms. Page, please understand that the boss is currently busy with work. If you have a