A fire seemed to smolder in his chest, making him furrow his brow. Almost distractedly, he stubbed out his cigarette. He stood on the balcony, letting the night’s biting, bone-chilling wind wash over him; it felt as though only this masochistic act could dissipate some of his gloom.
After a long while, Simon Hawthorne finally stepped forward, preparing to go back inside. Suddenly, his phone rang.
He paused and instinctively glanced at the sleeping woman inside. He pulled the balcony door shut more tightly before answering, "Yes?"
Linden said, "Mr. Hawthorne, you previously asked me to keep an eye on Riley Lancaster’s private interactions. We finally have a lead."
Simon narrowed his eyes. "What did you find?"
Linden hesitated for a moment, finding the situation a bit tricky. "I’ll send you the photos. You can decide how to handle it."
Simon opened WhatsApp and took a look. Linden had sent several secretly taken photos.
When he clearly saw the main subject in the pictures, he frowned slightly. This was quite unexpected.
A moment later, he instructed, "Pixelate the man’s face, then send these photos to the Lancaster family and the Jennings family, the ones Riley is supposed to marry into."
Zoe Lancaster’s older sister was vicious enough to send her own sibling to another man’s bed. She needed to suffer a bit and pay the price. Zoe might have a good temper, but he certainly had no mercy.
Simon turned off his phone and walked back into the master bedroom.
Still carrying the chill of the night air, he looked at the figure on the bed and waited to warm up a bit before lifting the covers and climbing in. He reached out and pulled the woman, whose back was turned to him, into his arms. He clearly felt her stiffen, though she kept her eyes closed and remained completely still.
She was most likely awake, or at least pretending to be asleep. Regardless of which it was, her guardedness toward him was very real. Simon didn’t get angry. He gazed at her face in the moonlight for a long time before closing his eyes. His large hand absently stroked her back. "Think it over carefully."
He was referring to her resignation.
Zoe kept her eyes closed and didn’t move, offering no response. They slept like that for the rest of the night.
When Zoe woke up, it was already past eight in the morning.
She had expected to spend the night trembling in fear, yet she had slept so soundly. In fact, she had fallen asleep faster and slept more peacefully than she usually did alone. She found it simply unbelievable.
Simon was already gone. She didn’t know when he had left. As always, he put his pants on and walked out.
This made Zoe frown. She felt less like Simon’s wife and more like a mistress he kept on the side. He would come over to sleep with her whenever he felt like it, but otherwise left her to her own devices, not caring about her at all. She felt like nothing more than a tool to warm his bed and vent his lust.
"Bastard," she cursed, rubbing her temples.
Resigning was out of the question. She understood that in this life, a person ultimately had to rely on themselves. While she was indeed after the compensation outlined in their agreement, she was clear-headed enough to know she couldn’t just rely on that money. Only by spreading her own wings and growing stronger could she stand tall and have true confidence.
After getting up and washing up, she headed straight to Lance Langley.
After her gossip session with Miles Yates, today was fundamentally different from yesterday. No one was spreading rumors anymore. She didn’t know what methods Miles had used, but he had completely nipped the rumors in the bud.
This allowed Zoe to breathe a sigh of relief. She didn’t run into Miles again and devoted herself wholeheartedly to her work.
At the end of the workday, Zoe received a call from her father, Martin Lancaster. His voice held a suppressed anger. "Zoe, are you busy? Come home for a bit."
Zoe was actually very resistant, but Martin didn’t give her a chance to refuse. His attitude was quite forceful—typical of traditional parents who habitually controlled their children and expected absolute obedience.
Zoe had no choice but to change direction and head to the Lancaster family villa.
Upon arriving, she heard waves of crying coming from the living room.
It was accompanied by Wendy Lawrence’s pleading voice. "Lancaster, are you trying to beat Riley to death? She’s your daughter! No matter what, you can’t be this heavy-handed!"
Martin roared in uncontrollable rage, "This is the good daughter you raised! Doing such disgraceful things—where am I supposed to put my face now?! The Jennings family made the photos public! Now so many people are pointing fingers at her behind her back, calling her a fickle slut!"
Knowing she was in the wrong, Wendy could only throw a tantrum and cry.
When Zoe walked in, she saw Riley kneeling on the floor, her face covered in tears, and her body sporting red welts from Martin whipping her with a switch. Beside her was Wendy, hugging her tightly and refusing to let go. Since Zoe had known this mother-daughter duo, she had never seen them look so wretched and miserable.
Ever since they had moved into this house, they had always been arrogant and high-and-mighty. But now—
Seeing Zoe arrive, Martin finally threw away the switch in his hand. "Zoe."
Riley looked at Zoe, a flash of hatred crossing her eyes. Even Wendy felt a surge of resentment in her heart; to think this little bitch had to witness them like this!
Zoe’s expression remained calm as she swept a mild glance over the two of them. "Dad, what’s going on?"
Martin looked like he wanted to speak but stopped. Frustrated by Riley’s failure to meet expectations, he pointed at the photos on the table. "See for yourself."
Zoe took a look and was immediately taken aback.
In the photos, Riley was wearing a daring, provocative bunny girl outfit, letting a man pour alcohol over her body. Her expression was wanton and seductive, practically screaming, ’Screw me.’ The man standing in front of her with one hand in his pocket had his face pixelated, leaving his identity unknown.
This was only one of the photos. The others were even more daring and promiscuous.
It was hard to imagine that this was Riley, who usually portrayed herself as a proud, elegant, and highly educated woman.
Zoe suddenly remembered witnessing Riley get into a car once, boldly demanding a kiss from the person inside—
Was it her fiancé?
Martin provided the answer to this doubt: "The Jennings family has already called off the engagement. A family with status and prestige won’t swallow the bitter pill of being cuckolded in silence. Now that the photos are public, her reputation is completely ruined!"
Zoe understood. Riley had cheated.
Wendy cried, "Lancaster, you have to think of a way to suppress this! Otherwise, how is Riley going to get married in the future? With her naked photos flying everywhere, who in this circle would dare take her?!"
Martin’s face was dark. "If she hadn’t done it, this wouldn’t have happened! Did someone force her to climb into another man’s bed?!"
Enduring the pain, Riley looked at Zoe with red, tearful eyes and said viciously, "Zoe, was it you? Did you do this? You hate me... so you made this happen!"
With a single sentence, the surroundings fell silent. Even Martin looked over at her.
Zoe felt a wave of mockery in her heart. So this was the reason she had been called back. They suspected her?
Zoe walked step by step toward Riley, stopping in front of her. "Just because your own methods are despicable, you see everyone else as filth too. Don’t you think you deserve this? When you drugged me and tried to send me to Preston Quincy’s bed, did you ever think you’d get your comeuppance?"
Riley panted heavily.
Martin’s face looked ugly for a moment; it was highly likely he knew about that incident as well.
Zoe chuckled softly. "That’s why someone like you will ultimately get nothing. You were too greedy, stringing along multiple men. Since you couldn’t secure your place with the Jennings family, how much of a hold do you really have on this other man?"
These words struck a nerve. Riley’s expression abruptly twisted into something hideous. "This man has a noble status! Zoe, if I marry him, you won’t be able to compare to me for the rest of your life!"