Lilith was feeling triumphant, but her mood quickly soured. "Dad!"Mason responded casually, "Alright." With a careless gesture, he let go of Lilith's hand. Whether it was her father's failure to catch her properly or not, Lilith unexpectedly fell straight to the ground. The leg that had undergone surgery made a snapping sound as it broke again, and the friction burned the skin on her arm with the ground. It tore open, leaving a large, bloody mess.Lilith winced in pain, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Her father scooped her up into his arms in a panic.Mason lowered his gaze, his tone cold. "I have some matters to attend to at the company. I'll be leaving." The elevator doors opened, and he exited without a second glance.Ava hurriedly followed.From behind, Lilith pouted, "Mr. Mason… Mr. Mason!"Eric, holding her in his arms, sighed softly. "Sweetheart, have we gone too far? Setting up Mrs. Zoe and having your mother confront the young lady... What if Mr. Mason

Zoe kept Mia's situation a secret. Gordon assumed that Mia had some business and would be away for a couple of days, with a nurse taking care of things. Seeing Zoe sitting there, lost in thought, he couldn't help but say, "You should go home. There's a nurse here."Zoe shook her head. She didn't want to go anywhere right now. She just wanted to stay here.As night fell, Gordon finally succumbed to sleep. Zoe sat alone on a simple chair, silently lost in her thoughts. A faint red mark on her cheek served as a reminder of the beating she endured from Carly.Outside the hospital room, separated by a transparent glass pane, Mason stood silently. He observed the injuries on Zoe's profile, her absent-minded expression, and the emptiness in her eyes. Memories of the day she came out of Rosemary's house, fatigued but radiant when speaking, flashed through his mind."Actually, I've always been like this. It's just that you never noticed.""Mason, that 300 thousand doesn't include sleepin

Zoe couldn't react in time.Mason turned her around to face the floor-to-ceiling window while he tightly embraced her from behind. He forced her to look at herself in the window.His words were full of humiliation. "If I'm not mistaken, you want to trade your body for Mia's freedom, right? But I've slept with this body countless times. Do you still think it's worth anything? Or do you prefer to indulge with men in a place like this rather than go back to being the respectable Mrs. Lockwood?"With just a few sentences, he shattered her completely. Zoe was not his match.Besides, Mason knew her body well. While verbally humiliating her, he tormented her physically. "Hold back, don't get my pants dirty!"Zoe's forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and her black hair clung to her head, looking disheveled. Finally, she couldn't hold back the tears any longer and cried out, "Mason, please stop!""Stop what? Didn't you want to sleep with me?" Mason was clearly angry. He

Zoe felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation.Mason made her feel like nothing more than a woman for his amusement despite carrying the title of Mrs. Lockwood. From the past until now, he hadn't shown her an ounce of respect. In his eyes, she was nothing more than a cheap plaything akin to a prostitute.Within the media room echoed Zoe's pitiful pleas and Mason's satisfied breaths. It had been a long time since he felt this comfortable.Mason lowered his head to look at Zoe. Unable to see her face, he grew dissatisfied, pulling her black hair gently to the side to kiss her.Zoe, lost in his grasp, held a fruit knife she had found during the struggle.Feeling desolate, feeling absurd, she knew that leaving this room meant returning to her former life as the seemingly respectable but utterly submissive Mrs. Lockwood. Mason might confine her at home, turning her into a woman hidden from society.Zoe didn't want that.She didn't want to return to the past. She didn't want Mia to go

Mason returned with congee, placing the items on a small round table. He was about to lift Zoe to eat when she, leaning against the headboard, spoke softly, "It's different."Mason was puzzled for a moment. After a while, he realized what she meant. Zoe looked at him, her voice softer than before, "You're different. In the past, I loved you, so even if I didn't want to, I would endure because I wanted to make you happy.""And now?"In the gentle light, Mason gazed at her delicate face, speaking even more softly, "Now, you don't love me anymore, right? Zoe, I don't know when you stopped loving me, but I don't care. In this day and age, love is no longer important."Mason was a businessman.He didn't believe in love.In the business world, no one discussed feelings. What men cared about the most was wealth, power, and influence. Wives, children, or even mistresses were just accessories to power.After finishing his words, he went over to pick her up and walked toward the sofa.