As he spoke, he reached out and zipped up her dress. Approaching the coat rack, he picked up an overcoat to cover her exposed skin and carried her out in his arms. Once back at the villa, Ethan couldn't wait a moment longer and threw her onto the sofa.
Unbuttoning his shirt, he glared at the girl curled up in a ball, "Scared now? You should have been prepared when you agreed to marry me!" He leaned down, grabbed Jane Su's ankle, and lifted her skirt.
His fingers pressed through the thin fabric, and Jane clenched her legs. However, Ethan scoffed coldly, leaning in until their foreheads touched. The strong scent of alcohol overwhelmed her, and Jane bit her lip, trying to turn her head away.
But when his finger crossed the last barrier, a shock ran through her. She looked up and grabbed his shoulders, "Uncle Ethan! You can't do this to me!"
Ethan's lips curved into a smirk as he retracted his hand and started unbuckling his belt, his voice husky, "Whether I can or not is for me to decide. You have no say in it."
The next day.
Jane awoke to see gray curtains. Through the gap, she could tell it was a gloomy day outside. Climbing out of bed, she immediately felt a sharp pain in her thigh.
Bearing the pain, she walked barefoot to the window and drew the curtains open, surprised to see snow falling outside. Her eyes then fell on the torn dress on the floor, and memories of the previous night's horror flooded back.
Ethan had tied her to the bedpost with a belt and humiliated her again, but he never went all the way. Jane couldn't understand why Ethan was suddenly treating her this way, especially after his words: "Jane, you're not worthy of being my woman."
Thinking about it, she couldn't help but smile bitterly. If she wasn't worthy, then why not just divorce? Why keep treating her this way?
As she was lost in thought, her phone rang. It was a call from Tiffany Lu, Ethan's niece. Jane quickly answered, trying to sound normal.
"Jane, did my uncle do anything to you?"
Jane saw the bruises on her neck in the mirror. To keep Tiffany from worrying, she lied, "No, Uncle Ethan is so gentle. He just scolded me for taking those photos of him."
"Oh, that's good. Guess who I just saw?" Tiffany's voice held a hint of disdain, "Who else but that jerk Colin Yu! He had the nerve to ask for your number."
"I didn't give it to him, of course. But I have his number. If you want to vent, I can send it to you."
The mention of Colin Yu made Jane pause. It had been more than half a year since she last heard his name. She had thought their paths would never cross again, but here he was, re-entering her life.
But now, it was too late.
Jane deleted Colin's number without hesitation, as if she had never heard it.
In his office at Lu Corporation, Ethan sat at his desk, watching the surveillance footage of Jane staring at her phone. He wondered if it was about that man. But what could that man do?
Jane would eventually be his, he wanted more than just her body...
He walked to the fridge, poured himself a glass of red wine, and stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the bustling city. His thoughts were consumed by Jane's tearful pleas from the night before.
Cursing himself, he drank the wine in one gulp and then called Jane.
Jane heard her phone vibrate. Seeing Ethan's number, she hesitated before answering, "Uncle Ethan."
Her voice was hoarse. Just the thought of her pleas from the night before...
Ethan set his glass on the coffee table, loosened his tie, and smiled enigmatically, "Dress nicely tonight. You're accompanying me back to the family home. Be ready at five; Wenhang will pick you up."
"Uncle Ethan, can it wait a few days?" Jane worried about the marks on her neck being seen.
But before ending the call, Ethan said, "You don't have the right to refuse."