Chapter 2

Trent was a control freak and insisted I wear a bracelet with a tracker embedded inside, so I hadn't had a single male friend since our marriage.

How was I supposed to have an affair under these conditions?

At first, I thought Lucy would be reminded of how she was kicked out of the Bradford family and would eventually back off.

Instead, she slapped me hard again. "I've had enough of your nonsense! But I'll admit, you should be awarded Best Actress for your acting skills.

"Did you really think I'd come here without first gathering solid evidence of your affair?"

Lucy then grabbed an envelope from her bag, filled with a stack of photographs, and hurled it at me.

The photos showed a naked couple engaged in various intimate acts in the bedroom. But, most shockingly, the woman in the photo looked just like me!

One of Lucy's companions looked at me with disdain and sneered. "You filthy woman... Aren’t you afraid you may contract a disease or something from the men you've been with?"

"No amount of money can erase the fact that you come from a poor family... You reek!"

"You look pure but act like a tart... Shame on you!"

I was seething with anger from their relentless insults, each of them accusing me of adultery when their so-called evidence was obviously just photoshopped images.

At that moment, I decided I wasn't going to waste any more time. I reached for my phone to call Trent, but Lucy snatched it from my hand the moment she saw me.

She then tossed it to one of her friends for safekeeping, leaving me stunned.

"You've just committed several felonies, Lucy. This is your last warning... Leave!" I repeated.

"My God! Lucy, you really ought to show her who's the boss around here!"

Lucy seemed to take that as motivation and ripped the necklace off me. It had been a gift from Trent, who had spent a fortune on it at an auction just to please me.

"Who are you to tell me to leave? Everything you have right now belongs to my family! You'd still be stuck in that poor village of yours if Trent hadn't fallen for you!" Lucy barked.

The other women cheered Lucy on after her dramatic performance.

I gave them all a cold, unwavering stare.

One of the women, patting Lucy on the shoulder, said, "Look, Lucy! She's glaring at you!"

"Just look at how unhappy she looks!"

"I think it's time she learned a lesson she'll never forget..."

Hearing this, Lucy locked eyes with me, her gaze cold and full of malice as she walked over.

I knew there was no way I could win this battle—not when there were so many of them.

Desperate, I rushed for the door, but Lucy grabbed my hair again, yanking me down to my knees.

The whole ordeal happened so quickly that all I could remember was screaming in pain.