To recover more quickly, Flora curled up under the blanket and fell asleep after dinner. During the night, she slept for an unknown duration. Suddenly, Flora felt herself being embraced in a warm hug, and a warm hand was gently caressing her body.
This broad and warm embrace felt like Henry's, so warm and strong.
"Henry..." she murmured with affection unconsciously escaping her lips.
The roaming hand on her chest faltered for a moment and then turned into a rough kneading. Flora was startled by the sudden pain and let out a painful cry, instantly waking up from her slumber. When she opened her eyes, she was faced with the sight of a gaping maw of a blue dragon. She screamed in fear and instinctively began to struggle.
"Little wretch, not bad, you're starting to resist," Maxwell sneered and pinned her down, pressing her hands to prevent any further move.
"Let go! Let me go!" Flora yelled loudly, writhing and struggling. "I have no grudges with you! Why are you doing this?" What was wrong with this man? Was he insane?
"The Smith Family has no grudges with you either, but why did you treat Joshua like this?" Maxwell roared, instantly penetrating her body.
Flora was left stunned, staring at him blankly, Smith Family? Joshua?
Could it be that all this torment was because of Joshua? What was the connection between him and Joshua? She allowed him to ravage her body repeatedly.
She coldly spoke, "Joshua betrayed me first. Shouldn't I have canceled the engagement?"
Her words made Maxwell's actions even more brutal. Through gritted teeth, he said, "You caused Smith Family's downfall, and you brought Smith Family Group to the brink of collapse. Don't think that breaking off the engagement erases everything. In this lifetime, you won't walk out of here alive. I will make you pay for your actions with every ounce of your being!"
Even though it hurt badly, Flora didn't make a sound. She had no regrets about ending her engagement, but what did it have to do with the collapse of the Smith Family Group? Wasn't it already bankrupt when she called off the engagement? Smith Family in ruins? She couldn't understand what he was saying!
After a long while...
"If you hate me so much, why don't you just kill me?" Flora fearlessly asked, staring at him as Maxwell got off her and began to dress him piece by piece.
Maxwell, still securing the robe's belt and bending down, used one hand to lift her chin and spoke coldly as he stared at her intently, word by word, "Because I don't want to let you die so easily. I want to punish you in place of Joshua, possess you, and then kill you."
Only he knew how much Joshua had once loved the woman. Yet, over the years, she had humiliated him as the daughter of a wealthy family. To gain her attention, Joshua had even openly displayed affection for other women, just to catch her eye and gain her favor.
And the woman before him was colder and more heartless than other women. She didn't hesitate to employ cruel methods to terminate the engagement while Old Mr. Smith was in the hospital and when Joshua had just taken over the leadership of the Smith Family Group, all just to break off the engagement!
He despised such disloyal women, he had always hated them!
"Do you think that this way I will love him? I'd rather be killed by you than marry that jerk." That man was fooling around even before they got married, making her a laughingstock among her classmates and a subject of public ridicule!
"You can rest assured, I will grant your wish," Maxwell firmly grabbed her hair and pulled it forward, forcing her to fall into his arms, whispering in her ear.
Flora felt a sharp pain in her scalp. However, despite the pain, she, a proud woman, bit her red lips hard and refused to make a single sound. Her tightly furrowed face met Maxwell's eyes, and he waited for her to shed tears, cry, and beg him to spare her.
But he didn't get any of that. Instead, all he saw on her face was stubbornness and resentment, emotions that shouldn't be present on the face of a young girl!
"If you're willing to shed tears in front of me and beg me to spare you, then I might consider raising the room's temperature by two degrees. If you're not willing, then I will have to lower it by two degrees." He increased the pressure on her, his hand caressing her frosty-cold body.
He could imagine how painful it would be to be exposed to such temperatures for an extended period, especially for a girl. However, he couldn't fathom how her willpower could be so strong, he even started to doubt if she was a girl!
"You can forget about it!" Flora spat coldly at him, even in death, she wouldn't let him manipulate her, and she refused to let him be more self-satisfied.
Maxwell's face darkened, and he turned away from her, saying, "Then you better stay here and wait until you come to your senses, and when you decide you want to live a bit longer, you can tell me."
After throwing a cruel smirk her way, Maxwell walked toward the door. Flora collapsed on the bed, massaging her painful scalp, and she lightly pulled the blanket over her. That man was as cruel as he promised, and the temperature inside the room indeed dropped significantly. He didn't want her to freeze to death directly, so he gave her a bedcover that was far from being warm enough. He was smart, knowing she wouldn't resort to suicide most directly.
With newfound hope for escape, Flora was no longer as stubborn as she had been a few days ago. She accepted the meals without resistance. However, after spending so much time in the cold air, her skin had become so dry it felt foreign to her.
At this point, she had little concern for her skin; she just hoped to have the chance to leave this icy room. Over the past few days, that devilish man almost violated her once a day, and he remained just as rough and cruel as ever.