Alice showed no fear; instead, she grabbed his hand and placed it on her neck.
“Robert, why don’t you just kill me? I’d even thank you for freeing me,” Alice said with a twisted smile.
Robert, however, withdrew his hand, looking at her with disdain, as if killing her would dirty his hands.
“If you despise me so much, why did you marry me in the first place?” Alice screamed hysterically.
“Don’t you know? If I hadn’t married you, how could Charlotte trust me to manage Moonlit Art Inc.? That belongs to Isabella, and I won’t let it fall into someone else’s hands,” Robert replied bluntly, his tone tinged with mockery.
Alice, her eyes red with anger, glared at him. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell my cousin about your dirty schemes? She won’t let you, a traitor, get away with it!”
Robert’s expression remained calm, a cold smile playing at his lips. “Alice, you’d better be smart about this. Over the years, Charlotte has been on a self-destructive path, and Isabella is no longer the easily fooled little girl she once was. If Charlotte really destroys herself one day, be careful not to be buried with her.”
Alice’s face changed. She wasn’t completely blind or stupid; she knew Charlotte and her daughters hadn’t had the upper hand in recent years. But Alice had always been unwilling to accept her fate. Unlike Robert, who managed to escape the fate of being a pawn, she remained a discarded piece, waiting to be thrown away.
“I know you’re no longer afraid of my cousin now. But what about Andrew? Isabella’s own uncle has loved her for so long. If Andrew hears about this incestuous affair, do you think he will act like nothing happened? I’ve heard he doesn’t tolerate any filth in his eyes, and crushing you would be as easy as crushing an ant for him…”
Before Alice could finish her sentence, Robert grabbed her by the neck again. This time, he didn’t hold back, his powerful fingers tightening around her throat until her face turned blue. She struggled to breathe, her hands flailing in a desperate attempt to free herself.
Just before she lost consciousness, Robert released her, letting her fall to the ground.
“I warned you, Alice. Keep your mouth shut.” Robert said coldly.
Alice looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. The man she had shared a bed with for years now seemed like a complete stranger. In the ruthless world of business, he was no longer the somewhat naive young man who had just graduated from university.
At that moment, Charlotte opened the door and walked out, looking at them with surprise.
Robert unfazed, glanced at Charlotte and then bent down to help Alice up. “Such a adult, yet so careless. Get up, the ground is cold,” he said, gently dusting off her knees like a caring husband.
Charlotte cast a slightly disapproving look at Alice before turning to Robert. “The guests are waiting. It’s impolite to leave midway,” she said.
Robert nodded compliantly, always respectful in front of Charlotte. His arm around Alice’s waist, they followed Charlotte back into the villa.
Alice like a puppet on strings, thought to herself: They truly are born actors, this entire family.
Meanwhile.
Andrew’s car stopped in front of the seaside villa.
Isabella looked out the car window at the familiar scenery. “Why aren’t we going back to the apartment? I miss Asher.”
“At this time, Asher and Amelia are already asleep. If we go back, we’ll disturb their rest,” he said matter-of-factly.
She glanced at him, his handsome face blatantly filled with desire. He always managed to justify his shamelessness with such confidence.
They both knew well enough that every time Andrew brought her to the seaside villa, there was only one purpose: he wanted to have sex with her.
She opened the car door, got out, and used the key card to open the door, kicking off her shoes as she walked straight into the bathroom.
After a day of flying and battling wits with the Harris family, she couldn’t wait to soak in a comfortable rose bath.
She collapsed into the spacious whirlpool bathtub, almost falling asleep. If it weren’t for the sudden urgent knocking on the door, she might have dozed off right there in the bathroom.
“Isabella, I’ll give you five minutes. If you don’t come out, I’m coming in,” Andrew’s deep, magnetic voice came through the door.
“Got it,” she answered lazily. She slowly climbed out of the bathtub, wrapped a large towel around herself, and stood in front of the bathroom mirror, leisurely applying lotion to her face and body.
She moved unhurriedly, not the least bit worried. The bathroom door was locked from the inside; she had no fear that he would break in.
Just as she was blow-drying her hair, the door suddenly opened.
Startled, she stepped back, almost hitting her head on the glass mirror. “Andrew, how did you get in?!”
He dangled a key in his hand. “Don’t forget, I designed this house.”
He tossed the key onto the vanity with a casual flair, wrapped his strong arm around her slender waist, and with a gentle pull, she fell into his chest.
She was annoyed; she had underestimated him.
At this moment, she was only wearing a large bath towel.
He changed his position, pressing her against the frosted glass tiles on the wall.
She initially didn’t want to let him have his way so easily. However, she was too inexperienced in matters of sex, while Andrew was evidently a master of seduction. His kiss, skilled and tempting, made her head spin, all her resistance gradually collapsing.
They kissed as they moved from the bathroom, step by step towards the bedroom. But as they passed through the living room, he couldn’t wait any longer and pressed her onto the wide sofa.
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Every time they reunited after being apart, Andrew would spare no effort in making love to her, as if trying to make up for lost time in one go.
The next day, she unsurprisingly couldn’t get out of bed, while he went to work looking refreshed.
Isabella lay on the bed, sleeping until the afternoon, only to be woken by a call from Olivia.
“If you have something to say, say it. If not, get lost,” she grumbled, grumpy from being woken up.
“Oh, I almost forgot, you just got back yesterday. Andrew must have kept you busy and tired,” Olivia teased on the phone.
“If there’s nothing important, I’m hanging up,” Isabella said, not in the mood to deal with her.
Olivia quickly got to the point. “You left your handbag at the Harris family’s place. Your ID and passport are in there. My mom asked me to bring it to you.”
“Really?” Isabella sat up lazily, still half-asleep.
“I guess you were in such a hurry to see Andrew that you didn’t care about anything else,” Olivia joked again. Then she said, “Send me your location. I’ll bring the bag to you.”
“Well, okay.” Isabella nodded, sent her location, then reached up to rub her hair and threw off the covers to get out of bed.