His clothes were off, and he pressed himself against me. I fought back by biting and kicking as hard as possible and screaming for help. Matthew looked like a crazed panther as he let out a chilling laugh. "You were never like this before. Weren't you the one who loved me the most? Today, I'll make sure you enjoy it! Haha!""Let go of me, Matthew!" I was in despair. Nausea overwhelmed me again. I’d rather die than have him touch me.When he hit me again, the world started to spin."You don't know what's good for you. I’ll love you like I used to. Chlo, I don't want it to be like this either. I don't want to hurt you. After being apart for so long, I've missed you terribly. I want to be with you!"Crash! With a booming sound, the door burst open from outside. I yelled, "Help me! Let go of me!"The instinct to survive made me fight even harder. Suddenly, I felt lighter. I heard a muffled sound followed by a furious roar. "How dare you touch her?!”It was Atlas's voice. I quic

In the following days, Atlas would visit my home in the evenings whenever his schedule allowed, always arriving after Ava had gone to sleep. I had been curious about Matthew. There had been no news of him, as if he had vanished. The sudden calm left me somewhat uneasy, but I didn't dare bring it up with Atlas.Things at the company were running smoothly, thanks to Grayson. Everything seemed to fall into place with him in the marketing department, and he and Ryan worked together seamlessly. Stella called a lot, but I always made excuses and avoided meeting her. After the incident at the party, I knew her true intentions. Engaging in constant mind games with her was exhausting.Today, I returned home early, went to the supermarket, and bought a bunch of groceries. Then I picked up my daughter, and while playing with her, I prepared several dishes. It had been a long time since I had put this much effort into cooking.Ava ran around and asked me, "Mommy, are you inviting someone ov

Morning came, and as the first batch of aluminum-framed windows had arrived, I sent Ava to daycare early. Then, I drove to the warehouse. Before I could finish inspecting the goods, I received a call.It was from that sharp-witted woman I met last time, inviting me to a suburban club. After entering the address into the navigation system, I realized it was on the border of the neighboring city. It was a long way from here.I had a feeling the person I was meeting was not her. Someone else must be involved. I debated whether or not to tell Atlas about this as I rushed toward the location.Ultimately, I decided against it. I still didn't know their intentions for wanting to meet me. Why worry him unnecessarily? Besides, I was selfish. I feared losing him, even if it meant being far away from him.When I arrived at the club, my suspicions were confirmed. There stood Atlas's aunt, whom I had met once from a distance. The sharp-witted woman introduced her as Mrs. Celine Pierce.Perhaps

I deliberately slowed down to observe the vehicle behind me. After some distance, I was sure the SUV was tailing me. I wanted to see who was in it, so I stopped at a convenience store to buy a water bottle.I sipped the water and watched the SUV slowly pass by. However, it had tinted windows, and I couldn’t see inside. I waited until it was far ahead before returning to my car.This time, I drove slowly and no longer saw the car following me. I relaxed and thought I might’ve been overly paranoid.As I continued to drive, I came across a stretch of road along the coast. After passing through, I could get onto the highway back to the downtown area. However, I was wrong in assuming everything was fine.The SUV darted forward and blocked my path when I reached an intersection. I slammed the brakes and quickly locked my doors. I tried to reverse, but a black sedan had boxed me in. I didn’t know when that sedan appeared.I panicked and called for someone on my phone, not even checking w

I looked toward the door in terror. Before they reached me, the leader pointed his flashlight at me. The sudden brightness blinded me, and I couldn’t see their faces. I didn’t recognize their voices either.One whispered, “What a waste of a pretty woman.”“Shut up!” A stern voice silenced them. “Get her out of here.”I was startled and saw a figure approaching me. I tried to speak, but my words came out as muffled grunts. The man picked me up, and I struggled to free myself, but he kicked me. “Stop moving!”I looked toward the others standing in the distance. The leader was tall and muscular. They wore ski masks, so I couldn’t see features besides their eyes.I continued to squirm, and the man suddenly dropped me. I continued to make muffled cries and looked at them pleadingly. The man looked at me and then crouched to touch my face.“Boss, are we going to kill her? That’s a shame. Oh, you should have some fun with her first, then we can—”"Shut the hell up! Quit your nonsense a