Chapter 3

I didn't take his threats to heart. I took a couple of sleeping pills and finally fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When I woke up, I had over a hundred missed calls.

Apart from Ethan, there were dozens from my parents.

I quickly dialed my dad back. He said they were already on their way to the wedding venue.

He scolded me for getting drunk and sending crazy mass texts in the middle of the night, telling me to hurry up and get dressed.

I had a pounding headache and tried to explain over the phone.

But the situation was too complicated to explain in a quick call. I had no choice but to rush to the hotel venue first.

Ethan was already there, looking dashing in his custom tuxedo.

Seeing me walk in, a smug, triumphant smile spread across his face.

"I knew you'd show up."

"But if you want me to marry you, you need to sign this prenuptial agreement first."

I scanned the document. It stated that we could have no physical intimacy for the first three years of marriage.

Holding hands would result in a $10,000 fine. Hugging would be $30,000.

As for actual intimacy, just bringing it up would cost me $50,000.

When he was hooking up with Lily, he at least had the decency to hide it.

Now that we had initiated a confrontation, he didn't even bother to hide his disgust. He was openly putting a price tag on my body to force me into submission.

In the heavy silence, my phone rang.

It was my dad's cracking, tearful voice.

"Chloe... your mom just had a massive heart attack. She's in the ER being resuscitated! Get to the hospital right now!"

My hand shook violently. I turned to sprint out of the venue, but Ethan grabbed my wrist, pulling me back.

His face was filled with displeasure.

"It's just a prenup, Chloe. Do you really have to make up a lie to run away from it?"

I didn't have the energy to argue with him.

"My mom is dying! Let me go!"

Standing nearby, Lily burst into a mocking laugh.

"Wow, Chloe. Your lying skills are pathetic. Ethan literally just spoke to your mom on the phone a while ago, and now she's suddenly having a heart attack?"

"If you don't want to apologize to me, just say so. I'm not that petty."

Thinking of my mother fighting for her life in the emergency room, I swallowed my pride, grit my teeth, and uttered the words:

"I'm sorry."

"Can I leave now?"

Lily arched an eyebrow and handed me a pen.

Even after I signed the document, she stared at me with an amused, twisted grin.

"My, my. Why are we suddenly so obedient?"

Lily raised her hand and gestured. Several beefy bodyguards immediately stepped forward, slamming me down onto the cold marble floor.

The moment my knees cracked against the hard ground, a wave of sheer humiliation washed over me.

"Weren't you acting like a tough bitch last night when you kicked me?"

Lily took a slow step forward, extending her designer heel right in front of my face.

"Today is supposed to be your big day. I don't want to make things too hard for you."

"Lick my shoe clean, and I might consider letting you go to the hospital."

I looked up in utter disbelief. What shattered my heart even more was that Ethan just stood there, watching in silence, offering no objection.

"Just lick it, Chloe," Ethan said coldly. "Once you do, we'll let you go."

I bit my lip so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. But with my mom's life on the line, I had no choice.

"I'll do it. Just keep your word."

To the sound of mocking laughter and the flashing of phone cameras, I endured the most humiliating ten seconds of my life.

"Can I go now?" I whispered, my voice trembling.

Lily burst into hysterical laughter. "Look at you! What a good, obedient dog. You really do whatever you're told."

She violently kicked my shoulder, sending me sprawling.

"Let you go? In your dreams! I said I would consider it. I never said I actually would."

My jaw clenched so hard it ached. "Don't push me too far, Lily!"

Lily sneered contemptuously, grinding the sharp heel of her shoe directly onto my fingers.

"Oh, sweetie, today I'm going to teach you what 'pushing it' actually means!"

White-hot pain flared from my fingertips. Enraged, I lunged forward and bit her leg as hard as I could, wanting to tear a chunk of flesh right off her bone.

Lily shrieked in pain, pulling her leg back, and screamed at the bodyguards in a frenzy:

"Beat her! Beat her to death!"

Fists and heavy boots began raining down on me like a brutal storm.

I curled into a tight ball, using my arms to shield my head.

Through a crack in my arms, the last thing I saw before blacking out was Ethan picking up a crying Lily, cradling her in his arms as they hurried away, leaving me to be trampled.