Chapter 5

Sylvia Bennett POV

When I was half-asleep in the middle of the night, I felt as if a mountain were pressing down on me.

A familiar scent filled my nose.

My eyes flew open.

Zachary Foster’s face was dark as he roughly tore at my pajamas.

“What are you doing!”

I struggled desperately, bending my knee to shove him off.

He didn’t dodge or move away. He lowered his head and kissed me.

My lips were brutally sealed. The rough kiss was full of punishment, leaving me no room to breathe.

My wrists were pinned like they were trapped in iron clamps.

I bit down hard.

The taste of blood instantly spread through both our mouths.

Zachary winced, lifted the back of his hand, and casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Before I could react, he pressed down again.

This kiss was even fiercer, even harsher than before.

The bloody kiss made me feel suffocated and nauseated.

I pounded on his chest and struggled with all my strength.

“Zachary Foster, are you insane!”

He stopped, bracing his hands on either side of me, looking down at me from above. His eyes were dark and heavy.

“I am insane.”

“Sylvia Bennett, are you really that cheap? Posting our video for everyone to see?”

I trembled with rage and actually laughed.

I had never known Zachary Foster could be such a hypocrite.

“That’s right! I wanted everyone to see what high-and-mighty Mr. Foster of Los Angeles looks like when he’s in heat!”

“It’s not like I’m the only one you’ve ever been in heat for anyway. What’s wrong with letting more people see?”

That sentence instantly ignited the fire in his eyes.

His face darkened to the extreme.

“Fine.”

In a few motions, he tore away the last of my clothes, his actions completely merciless.

“Since you like having your husband watched so much, then let her watch properly.”

My whole body went rigid.

“What did you say? Who?”

A soft laugh sounded from the bedroom doorway.

The lights were suddenly switched on.

“Ms. Bennett.”

Yvonne leaned against the doorframe, a provocative smile hanging from her lips.

“Zach said you’re too boring in bed, like a dead fish, and you can’t get him hard. So he asked me to come teach you.”

I couldn’t believe it.

The overwhelming humiliation made it impossible to breathe.

Zachary Foster had actually brought her into our villa. Into our bedroom.

He was letting this woman watch him violate me.

I grabbed a book from the nightstand and hurled it toward the doorway with all my strength.

“Get out! Get out!”

Yvonne turned sideways and dodged.

Not only was she unafraid, her smile became even more brazen.

“Ms. Bennett, with you acting like such a shrew, how could any man like you?”

Yvonne walked to the foot of the bed and watched leisurely.

“At a time like this, you should be more proactive. Moan a little sweeter. Then Zach will like you.”

Tears slid down uncontrollably, and my whole body shook.

“You hear that? Learned it?”

Zachary hovered above me, his voice cold.

He pressed down again.

Pain and humiliation tangled together.

I desperately reached toward the nightstand, my fingertips brushing the photo frame.

I grabbed the frame and slammed it hard against the wall.

The glass shattered.

I picked up a shard of glass and pressed it against my neck.

“Zachary Foster! If you dare move again, I’ll die right in front of you!”

Zachary’s movements instantly froze.

His pupils contracted sharply, and uncontrollable panic flashed through his eyes.

“Sylvia Bennett, put that down!”

“Here Ms. Bennett goes again.”

Yvonne let out a scoff beside us.

“Crying, throwing a tantrum, then threatening suicide. Ms. Bennett sure is skilled at this routine. Stop pretending.”

Zachary’s gaze moved between me and Yvonne.

The panic faded, and his expression turned cold and hard again.

“Sylvia Bennett, I won’t keep indulging you forever.”

I stared fixedly at him.

At the coldness on his face. At the way he allowed another woman to humiliate me.

I thought I had already hurt so much I had gone numb, but a chill still seeped uncontrollably from the bottom of my heart.

“Fine. Then don’t regret it.”

My hand tightened around the shard of glass, and I slashed it toward my carotid artery.

“Sylvia!”

Zachary Foster’s face changed drastically. He grabbed the shard in one swift motion.

The sharp glass instantly sliced open his palm.

Blood poured out.

Like a madman, he wrenched the glass from my hand and flung it away, then clamped his other hand over my neck.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

He roared at me, his eyes bloodshot.

I turned my head away, refusing to look at him or speak.

Zachary stared at the emptiness in my eyes. After a long standoff, he was the first to give in.

“Fine.”

“You win. Sylvia Bennett, you win!”

I still didn’t look at him.

“Get out.” I forced the word from my throat.

Zachary stared at me for a long time.

Then he abruptly got up, threw on his clothes in a mess, and stopped beside Yvonne Hayes.

“Let’s go!”

Yvonne wanted to say something, but he dragged her out of the room.

Their footsteps faded, and the front door slammed shut.

The house fell completely silent.

That night, I didn’t even have the strength to turn over.

Tears flowed into my ears, then onto my pillow.

They dried up, then kept falling again.

When I woke up the next day, my eyes were so swollen I could barely open them.

In the bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face again and again before I could barely see.

I had just changed and opened the bedroom door when I saw Yvonne coming upstairs.

I looked at her coldly.

“What are you doing here again?”

Yvonne walked up to me and shook the set of keys in her hand.

“Zach gave me the keys to this villa. He said I can come whenever I want.”

She curled her lips and lifted her wrist as if showing off.

On her slender, pale wrist was a sparkling diamond bracelet.

“Look familiar?”

Of course it did.

It was a globally limited-edition piece I’d fallen for at a high jewelry show six months ago.

Its intricate manufacturing meant I’d been waiting for the brand to finalize its launch schedule.

When Zachary accompanied me to the exhibition, he had sworn he would buy it for me the moment it launched.

Now it was on Yvonne’s wrist.

“I casually mentioned yesterday that this bracelet was pretty, and Zach gave it to me.”

Yvonne admired the bracelet, her gaze provocative.

“Sylvia Bennett, so what if you grew up with him? So what if you dated him for twelve years? So what if he loves you?”

She took a step closer.

“All I had to do was crook my finger, and he obediently came to my bed.”

“If I can take your bracelet today, I can take your place as Mrs. Foster tomorrow.”

I kept looking at her calmly, as if I were watching a clown performing with all her might.

When she saw I wasn’t reacting, she actually grew a little anxious.

Just then, the sound of the front door opening came from downstairs, followed by familiar footsteps.

Zachary was back.

Yvonne’s eyes shifted. A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

She stepped back a few paces, retreating to the edge of the staircase.

“Tell me, if I say you pushed me down from here, will Zach believe me or you?”

I had seen enough of this fake-fall frame-up routine.

Since she was so determined to pin this crime on me, I might as well make it true.

Without hesitation, I followed her and kicked her hard.

“Ah—!”

Yvonne really screamed and tumbled down the stairs.