Chapter 1
After I helped Duncan Hernandez cure his childhood sweetheart’s frigidity, she couldn’t resist temptation and slept with a male model.
When she woke up, she had a breakdown and cut her wrists.
“Because of you, I lost my purity and can no longer stay chaste for Duncan. I’d rather die than live with this shame.”
Duncan gave her a cold glare.
“To cure you, my wife had to wear heavy protective gear and even suffered heatstroke. You have no right to blame her!”
Believing I hadn’t loved the wrong man, I resolutely resigned from my position as hospital director and devoted myself to preparing for pregnancy.
But the next day, I woke up tied up in an abandoned factory, surrounded by dozens of men with ravenous eyes.
Duncan’s face was dark with anger.
“Angela has kept her chastity for me as a saintess. It was you who insisted on curing her, leading to her downfall!
“So I’ll let you experience her pain for yourself.”
I laughed until tears came to my eyes.
Little did he know, my crazy foster brother had an obsessive need to control me. He had installed hidden cameras on me since I was a child.
When he found me, everyone present had to kneel and beg for mercy.
***
Duncan’s face was frosty.
I let out a self–deprecating laugh.
11:22D
Chapter 1
288 iVouchers
“Duncan, it was she who took the initiative to come to me for help. Now you’re blaming me instead. In the 40–degree heat, I even got heatstroke just to save her. Didn’t you know all
that?”
A sinister laugh from Duncan echoed through the abandoned factory.
At the same time, a strange fragrance was wafting in the wind.
“Stop pretending. So many medical staff didn’t get sick, and you’re the only one who can get heatstroke?
“Even if Angela came to you, so what? She just came out of being a saintess and is still naive. Are you being naive, too? I think you did it on purpose, wanting to ruin her purity!”
Angela Taylor, who stood on the side, feigned weakness and lifted her moist eyes.
“I really envy you, Valerie. You’re so well protected by Duncan. Unlike me, who grew up in Appalachia and never knew the dangers of the world, I was bullied as soon as I stepped into society.”
At the sight of the young woman’s red–tipped nose, the man’s eyes filled with pity.
“It’s okay, Angela. I will protect you for the rest of your life.”
Watching them exchange flirtatious glances, I let out a cold laugh.
“Duncan, if you dare lay a finger on me today, you’ll regret it.”
A hint of anger flickered across Duncan’s face.
“Valerie Scott, even now, you still refuse to repent! It seems I’ve spoiled you too much in daily life. Since that’s the case, I’ll teach you a proper lesson in discipline.”
With that said, his eyes shifted, and he immediately came up with an idea to punish me.
At the man’s command, dozens of buckets of ice water appeared in the abandoned factory.
Even though it was a sweltering day, a chill crept up my back.
“Aren’t you suffering from heatstroke? Then I’ll give you a good cool–down.”
He smiled casually and ordered someone to pin me to the ground.
A bucket of ice water was poured over my head.
11:22
Chapter 1
288 Vouchers
I felt a piercing chill.
The ice water soaked through my white nightgown. When the people around caught a glimpse of my faintly visible body, their eyes were filled with ill intent.
“So this is Mr. Hernandez’s wife? What a great figure. It’s quite a treat to feast our eyes on her today.”
Someone joined in the taunts, chuckling lewdly.
“Mr. Hernandez hates her to the core now. The reason he called us here is probably to hand her over to us for a taste, isn’t it?”
***
The filthy and indecent words reached my ears, sending a chill all over my body.
Duncan heard those words, too, but he looked indifferent and said nothing.
Before Angela showed up, he treated me well and never let anyone bully me.
If someone dared to slander me, he would stand up for me immediately.
But now, he was going to hurt me for a childhood sweetheart he hadn’t seen in a long time.
A clear tear rolled down my cheek.
I clutched my stomach and curled up on the ground.
My period had actually come early.
In the past, Duncan would’ve made me honey lemon tea, put a heating pad on my stomach, and rubbed it gently.
Seeing that I was feeling unwell, Duncan frowned slightly and tried to step forward to help
me up.
But he was suddenly pulled back by Angela.
The young woman leaned close to him, one hand resting on the bell she always carried with
her.
With a gentle flick, a strange fragrance wafted out.
Duncan’s expression immediately turned fierce.
11:22
Chapter 1
288 Vouchers
“Such a good actress. This is just the beginning. There are dozens more buckets of ice water waiting for you!”
Blood trickled down my thighs.
The men around pointed and whispered, treating me as a topic of gossip.
Angela frowned.
“Duncan, how can Valerie be so old and still not know how to take care of herself? Maybe we shouldn’t punish her anymore.”
She gestured toward my lower body, her face full of fake concern, but her voice dripping with disdain.
A wave of cramping pain surged in my stomach, and I begged Duncan.
“Duncan, let me go. I’m on my period. I can’t be exposed to cold water.”
He looked me up and down, then drew his conclusion.
“You’re lying. Your period isn’t due for another few days. Who knows what dirty tricks you’ve used, putting fake blood to deceive me? Angela is innocent and kind, so she might be fooled by you, but I won’t be.”
Was Angela so virtuous in his heart, while I was just despicable?
Duncan thought I had lied to him, so he ordered his men to pour bucket after bucket of ice
water over me.
The coldness attacked me, freezing me senseless.
Desperate, I brought up my brother, hoping Duncan would stop.
But he curled his lips, his eyes filled with mockery.
“Your foster brother is just a worker. What ability does he have to save you? Let me tell you, if he came today, I’d make sure he never left.”
I explained, “No, that’s not true. My foster brother had been involved in both legitimate and underworld circles for years. He is…”
Someone cut me off directly.
Chapter 1
288 Vouchers
“Your brother is Zachary Rodriguez? He was slapped by his boss at the construction site a while ago.”
I froze.
How did they know my brother’s name?
The people around burst into laughter.
They said I was daydreaming and lying without even preparing a proper story.
“Valerie, it seems I really need to teach you a harsh lesson. Your skill at lying is getting better and better.”
Duncan was furious and personally poured all the remaining ice water over me.
This time, I collapsed to the ground from the pain.
Bloodstains stained my white skirt.
Duncan squatted down and looked at me with disgust.
“Aren’t you supposed to have heatstroke? I’m cooling you down, and you’re not happy about
it?
“I really regret marrying you. The mess you’re making now is such a disgrace to the Hernandez family.”
Regret?
It was clearly Duncan who begged me to marry him back then. He fell in love with me at first sight and spent tens of millions pursuing me.
He used his power to clear away all obstacles around me, confined me by his side in a way that left no room for refusal, and clumsily yet gently melted my defenses.
The night before our wedding, Duncan got drunk. He held me tightly and wouldn’t let go, saying he loved me the most.
After we got married, he also whispered all those mushy, sweet nothings to me and vowed to grow old with me.
My whole body ached as if it had been run over by a tractor.
Chapter 1
288 Vouchers
I also felt a tinge of regret.
I shouldn’t have fallen in love with him.
Scalding tears slid down silently, dropping onto the back of his hand.
The man paused slightly.
I could clearly see a flicker of worry cross his face.
But Angela, who was close by, flicked the bell again, and he instantly returned to his cold indifference.
Angela was the saintess of Appalachia.
I had heard that they were skilled in sorcery.
I thought that bell must have had the power to bewitch people’s minds.
“Duncan, there was something wrong with Angela’s bell. It was a harmful thing!”
Upon hearing my words, a trace of cunning had flashed across Angela’s face. She had unconsciously hidden the bell behind her.
I grabbed the corner of Duncan’s clothes.
“Look, Angela is panicking. Duncan, please trust me just this once, okay? There must have been something wrong with her.
“She’s the one who begged me to perform the surgery for her condition. I really didn’t do anything wrong…”
Chapter 2
1 288
