“Bam!”

Alina Addison pushed the door open and walked straight into the CEO’s office. “Edward, tonight you....”

But seeing what happened on the couch instantaneously put a lump in her throat. Though Brocken hearted, she never let her tears shed.

Edward Gates, her husband, was on the couch with a young model, Shelby Sue, both barely dressed and disheveled.

The same thing happened so many times that she lost count. Witnessesing her husband’s affairs had become something normal, but it still hurt. She felt as though a knife had been plunged into her heart, over and over again.

Meanwhile, Edward Gates grew impatient with the interruption. “Alina, what makes you think you can come here?”

She tried hard not to let her tears choke her. “Ed, will you come home tonight? You haven’t been home for three days,” she calmly asked. On the surface, she managed to keep her emotions under control.

“Hmmph!”

In his smile, there was a certain tinge of irony. “Alina, cute the sweet-talk. You just want me to sleep with you, don’t you?” He did not hesitate to put ridicule on her infront of another woman.

Alina’s face turned pale, but she could not deny it. That was exactly why she was here to see him.

Shelby was quickly irritated, for she simply could not allow her lover to be taken away by another woman all of a sudden. Firmly, she placed her slim hands on the back of his neck to pull him closer to her bare chest.

“Edward, ignore the crazy woman. I want more\~”

“Hush. Go home now. You can have all you want tomorrow,” Edward reassured her. He stared at Alina fixedly and saw the grim expression on her face that he had been waiting to see.

Shelby decided to call it off, she gave Alina a look of haughty disdain before she walked out of the office while her high heels click-clacked down the corridor.

“Kneel!”

Edward ordered Alina as soon as Shelby was out of sight.

The unexpected turn of events slightly flurried Alina. She did not expect that they would be having sex in his office. “Ed, let’s go home, shall we?” She bit her lips nervously.

She did not want to be in s a pot where another woman had been.

“What? I’m the one who’s paying for the service. Can’t I atleast have a say in where I’d like to have it?”

“That’s not what I meant; I just don’t want to....”

“Then kneel!” He harshly interrupted, for he no longer had the capacity to tolerate any delay.

Alina Addison’s disobedience caused the situation to become more intense. Angered, Edward Gates forcefully pushed her down.

Shelby’s fragrance still lingered on his body, which was irritating,to say the least. “Edward, could you please take a shower first?” She asked, earnestly.

“Ha!” He would not answer a woman he held in such contempt.

“Alina, let me remind you that you’re here to sell your body, so you don’t have the right to make any request.”

She had spent the last 14 years loving him, and yet, she did not even deserve basic respect. Unfortunately, she could stay no longer composed, and tears started to roll down her face.

Nonetheless, she had what she was here for—they had sex.

Edward savagely threw a stack of cash in her face as he disappointedly exclaimed, “Here is 10,000! Count it!”

The stack of new notes cut her face, but there was no time to take care of it.She kneeled as she picked up the cash that was scattered all over the floor, piece by peice.

After all, the money was all that she needed to save their son’s life.

Though married, he never paid her any respect that a woman in a marriage deserved. Instead, he treated her as if she was only a **********.

He only paid her to sleep with him, and 10,000 dollars was the price that was mutually agreed upon.

There was never any delay in payment; cash was the on,y method of transaction.

Edward preference cash over credit cards. In fact, he always made sure that there was enough cash to pay her to sleep with him. For anytime and anywhere.

He justified his actions this way—he needs to feel the pleasure that his money was well spent. The sheer delight of throwing money in her face after each session was irreplaceable.

But 10,000 dollars was barely enough to pay for Ethan’s hospital bills. She needed more.

“Edward...I want more,” she said while gritting her teeth with the painful feeling of humiliation.

Edward Gates did not hesitate to turn her body around and start thrusting her, rather savagley, in fact.

He seized her by the throat in exasperation, for he could not get over the fact that she had seemingly taken away the life of their baby in a willful abortion,and yet, here she was, risking everything to protect the child she bore with Julio Hayes.

The accident that happened six years ago was the very cause of all her miseries. The doctors informed them that he would never be able to walk again. Refusing to have her life burdened by a disabled man, she carried out an abortion to terminate the pregnancy. If he could, he would cut her into a million pieces just for her too feel the same pain that he had been through for the loss of their child if he could.

Her words were still ringing in his ears, vividly. “Ed, I don’t want to raise a child with a disabled man. Julio Hayes is the only man that I’m willing to bear a child with.”

“Edward, the fact that I’ve slept with a disabled man is what disgusts me most.”

The incident was still present in his memories—the pieces of shattered glass and the blood of his chi,d that stained his face. There was still warmth in the blood, but that did not change the fact that his beloved child was dead.

Clouded by the burning hatred, his eyes became red-rimmed at the tought of the painful past. He had lost interest in her body, so he pulled out, zipped his pants, and tidied up his suit to make sure that there was not even a crease. He looked, once again, well dressed and quite distinguished.

Another stack of 5,000 dollars was thrown at her. “Alina, you are a filthy woman!”

Alina had to endure the pain that sent her body shivering as she picked up the cash.

She soon realized that there were only 5,000 dollars.

“Edward, it should be 10,000, isn’t it?” She bit her lips and said.

“What? I was honestly disgusted by your body. So much so I couldn’t even continue. Should I pay in full?”

She bit her lips so hard that the edges were bruised, which prompted him to wreak vengeance on her continuously. “Alina Addison, you really disgust me. Now, off you go!”

Knowing his temper, she knew that the amount of money was all that she could take from him for today. The bill will be due soon, and she had no choice but to ask the hospital for a few days’ grace so that she could collect more money from Edward in the following days.

Her eyes were dimmed with tears from the humiliation. She almost walked into the door from not seeing it properly.

Their love story was once so beautiful. Why did they end up like this? How did things get so ferociously hostile?

He had an accident six years ago. She wanted more than anyone else to keep him company throughout his recovery, but someone threatened her with her father’s life. The only condition was to leave the man, so she did as told. She pretended that she had an abortion and told him cruel lies so that he would set her free.

She was released 5 years later, but no amount of explanation could change the way that he perceived the truth. He was convinced of her betrayal without a shadow of a doubt. Alina could only gaze at her right hand, which was already disabled. The hand that she once used to play music and write poetry was no longer useful. Her hand was severely injured during her time in the prison, and the place was, to her, an abyss of darkness.

Ethan Addison was already asleep when she arrived at the hospital. He seemed like he was having a nightmare as there were deep furrows in his brows, even in his sleep. Tears began rolling down from the corner of his eyes. “Daddy...”

“Daddy, why don’t you come and see me? Have I done anything wrong?” He muttered under his breath, in a voice so full of despair.

“Daddy, I promise to change anything. I want you here.”

“I don’t want to live without you daddy. Daddy. Daddy...”

Alina covered her face and ran out the ward as soon as she began crying. Her hands were already dipping with tears, but no amount of crying could see the pain in her heart. Ethan was always reassuring her that she was the only one he needed and that his father’s absence did not matter.

Appearently, she had just found out, right there and then, how much her son wished for his father’s company. However, she could never fulfill this desire.

There was no time for her to cry, for Ethan’s health had sharply deteriorated. He was immediately sent to the operating theatre for emergency treatment.

The operation took almost 8 hours to complete.

Ethan managed to survive, but his condition had become progressively worse. His life depended on all sorts of medication to buy him more time until the umbilical cord from her second pregnancy became available to be extracted. Without the medication, he would not even last for a month.

Alina Wilde the tears away. She was released from prison a year ago and met Edward again after a long separation. They were still married, not for love, but for vengeance. He wanted to punish her for the betrayal.

He ruined her career in every way possible so that he became his only source of income. She had to make money by prostituting herself, solely to him.

It was a great sorrow to her every time she kneeled before him, like a protitute, but there was no other choice. Ethan was her life, and she would trade anything, including her dignity, in exchange for money, as long as it could pay for Ethan’s recovery.

She was determined to carry on regardless.

Alina gave her messy hair a comb before she left the hospital. She made a call to Edward Gate’s villa and to her surprise, he was there.

He might not be in the mood for sex in broad daylight, but she had to give it a try as she desperately needed the money. She laughed at herself with a gleam of mockery. All she needed to endure were a few thrusts as if she was lucky, she could make 5,000 dollars.

There was nothing to be ashamed of, for she was already used to the humiliation. With a brazen assurance, she stepped into the villa.

“Edward.”

She went straight to their bedroom and to her astonishment, what she saw on the bed had crushed her heart to many tiny bits.

Her stepmother, Qinn Yates, was seen clinging so tight to Edward’s body. He brushed his fingers across her chest, in an eager attempt to undress her. He unbottoned her shirt. One botton at a time.

Alina’s voice cracked with emotion. “What are you doing!?” In all fairness, that was such a dumb question.

Almost immediately, she acknowledged their presence with a condescending smile. There were a man and a woman alone in the bedroom. Their untidy clothes spoke for themselves. What else could they be doing?

She could tolerate any other woman, but not Quinn.

Quinn was the one responsible for all of her miseries.

Six years ago, it was Quinn who had threatened her with her father’s life in order to drive a wedge in her relationship with Edward. She went to see her father after the breakup, only to realize her father already long dead, muredred by Quinn herself.

The lethal weapon that killed her father was the paring knife that Quinn often used. She put on a glove to cover up her traces, so Alina’s fingerprints on the knife became the only evidence.

“Quinn, get the hell out of here! You’re the one who killed my father. You should be buried alive for what you’ve committed! How dare you seduce your husband!?”

With all her strength, Alina pulled the woman out from Edward’s embrace. “Edward, you’re my husband. I don’t want you to touch Quinn! Six years ago, it was she who threatened me with my father’s life. She—”

“Snap!”

Edward gave her a hard slap on the cheek. “Alina, I’ll kill you if I hear you speak another word of her in such a demeaning manner!”

“What are you trying to achieve by spreading slander? Rest assured that I won’t believe a damn word that comes out from your mouth! I on,y know that my child is dead because of you and Julio Hayes. Quinn was the only one who stayed by my side when I was deemed disabled!”

Alina stood and stared blankly at Edward in disbelief, for he had never hit her before. That was a first.

Quinn was, again, the culprit of yet another misfortune of hers.

The physical pain was one thing, but her heart ached even more at the thought of his empty promises.