Her husband whipped her twenty times while his pregnant mistress stood beside him smiling...
CHAPTER 1: The Twentieth Strike
The first strike came so suddenly that my mind refused to accept what was happening. I stood frozen as pain exploded across my back, staring at the man I once trusted more than anyone in the world.
By the twentieth strike, I was on my knees on the cold marble floor of our mansion, my blood staining the place where we had once danced as newlyweds. Beside him stood Vanessa, smiling in a dress I had bought with my own money, watching my humiliation like it was entertainment.
“Look at her,” Vanessa whispered. “She still thinks she’s the victim.”
Adrian held the riding crop tightly in his hand. The man who used to hold me gently was looking at me like I was a stranger. He was always admired—perfect suits, a charming smile, a voice that convinced investors to trust him and people to forgive him. But that night, under the crystal chandelier we picked together, I finally saw who he really was.
“You embarrassed Vanessa at dinner,” he said coldly.
I swallowed the pain burning through my body. “She told your business partners I couldn’t have children.”
Vanessa laughed softly. “I only said people were asking questions. Don’t be dramatic.”
“She said I only married you for your money,” I whispered.
Adrian’s expression hardened. “Didn’t you?”
Those words hurt more than the crop. For three years, I had played the quiet wife. I stood beside him at charity events, smiled for cameras, and let everyone believe Adrian Vale had saved a woman with nothing. He loved that story.
What he never knew was why my old family name disappeared from the public eye. He never wondered why impossible business deals suddenly became possible after our marriage. He never asked why powerful people opened doors for him after I entered the room.
Vanessa knelt beside me, her expensive perfume cutting through the air. “Apologize. Maybe Adrian will let you stay in the guest house after the divorce.”
“Divorce?” I asked.
Adrian threw a folder onto the floor. “I’m done carrying dead weight. Vanessa is pregnant.”
Silence filled the room. Vanessa placed her hand over her stomach and smiled.
For the first time that night, I stopped feeling pain. I felt clarity. I reached for my phone with shaking fingers.
Adrian laughed. “Calling the police? Go ahead. Tell them your billionaire husband punished his unstable wife.”
I looked up at him and smiled. “No. I’m calling my father.”
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His laughter vanished. When my father answered, I said only one sentence:
“Dad… it’s time. Let’s destroy everything he’s built.”
