Chapter 4

It was George again.

Tonight, Irene had a social event, so he came to my place for my attention.

Not wanting to get dragged into trouble, I pretended not to hear anything and went back to sleep.

At two in the morning, a bucket of cold water woke me up.

I opened my eyes to find Irene standing at my bedside, her gaze so murderous it could kill.

She ordered the bodyguards to yank me out of bed violently.

My wrist twisted into a strange angle and the pain brought tears to my eyes.

“Irene, what are you doing?”

She clamped her hand down hard on my jaw, her eyes blazing with fury.

“Miles Jobb, you still have the nerve to ask?”

“Didn't I warn you that if there were any more problems with George, I won't let you go!"”

An ominous feeling rose in my heart.

“What's wrong with him?”

Irene sneered.

“What? Are you pretending to be stupid? He fell at your place, who else would be if not you, who push him?”

My face drained of color as George’s earlier taunts flashed through my mind.

“So what if my method of framing you is low-level? As long as Irene loves me, she’ll believe me and take my side.”

"It didn't matter how many tricks you use, but how effective they are."

A bitter smile tugged at my lips as I asked, “If I say I didn’t push him, would you believe me?”

Though she didn't say anything, her action said it all.

She ordered someone to bring a rattan cane, had me stripped naked, tied up and then whipped my abdomen again and again.

To appease George, she pulled out her phone and initiated a video call with him right in front of me, then pointed the camera at me.

George's voice came through the phone.

“Irene, you must stand up for me. You don’t know how that useless piece of trash kept cursing me, saying I was a homewrecker, shameless and in the end, he tried to push me. Luckily, I dodged, or I’d have rolled down the stairs and died!”

Irene coaxed him gently, but her strikes got even harder.

A searing pain spread from my abdomen. My stomach was a bloody mess. I clenched my palms tightly, swallowing the scream of agony in my throat.

My face went deathly pale as tears of humiliation and pain streamed down my cheeks.

Irene frowned. A twitch appeared between her brows and a hint of reluctance flashed quickly in her eyes before she looked away.

“I still need to stay with George. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

I endured the bodyguards' mocking stares in numb silence. Some even took advantage of the chaos and started groping me.

“Are you crazy? This is President Crawford's husband!”

The man leisurely ran his hand over my body again.

“Is this even a man? Ever seen a dude paler than a woman? I've never played with a guy before!”

“Besides, President Crawford's husband is that other one now. She said to leave him to us, isn’t that basically her permitting us to do whatever we want?”

“Even if something happens to this loser, she won’t blame us. You all know how much she spoils the other one.”

Those words silenced the others and their hands grew even bolder.

I screamed in agony, my eyes almost bloodshot. "Let me go!"

At that critical moment, a loud “thud” echoed as several bodyguards standing ahead collapsed before me.

My eyes widened.

The newcomer gently cradled me in her arms.

“I'm sorry I'm late.”

***

After soothing George to sleep, Irene felt utterly exhausted.

The doctor had said George wasn't seriously hurt, with no physical injuries. But for the child's sake, she had no choice but to go along with his wishes.

She was getting older and she wanted to have an heir for herself. After giving birth this time, she would get rid of him.

After playing around for so many years, it was time to finally settle down.

The moment she stepped out of the ward, she bumped into the renowned neurosurgeon.

"President Crawford."

“I didn't get to speak with you last time, but I really wanted to tell you—you must be extra careful about that tumor in your husband's brain. Right now, we can only manage it... He nearly died from that massive hemorrhage last time. As his wife, shouldn't you be paying more attention?”

Irene was taken aback. “What tumor?”

The neurosurgeon murmured in confusion, “Did Miles not tell you? I specifically warned him to be careful. Who knew he’d hit his head… If he’d arrived any later, it could have been fatal…”

Irene staggered, her face turned white, as if she had just emerged from an ice cellar. “How could that be?”