Mechelle's POV
I turned around in a daze, indeed there was a black sedan following us, just about ten meters behind, unable to see the faces inside the car. Yet, I felt an evil gaze fixed on me, which scared me enough to immediately avert my eyes, my heart pounding wildly.
Were those people after me for the substantial inheritance? I stole a glance at Daniel Duncan beside me; his face was grave, even tinged with hidden concern.
"Mechelle, nothing will happen. Those people wouldn't dare to snatch you away from me so blatantly," Daniel reassured me.
"Yeah, thanks, Elder Daniel," I murmured, lips pressed together.
"I promised your father to take good care of you. Of course, I won't let those people harm you," Daniel Duncan chuckled, reassuringly.
After shaking off the car that had been tailing us, our vehicle soon entered a tree-lined avenue, a hundred meters long. Specks of sunlight filtered through the cracks between the leaves, casting countless flickering spots on the ground.
"Alexander, why are you back so early today?" Daniel Duncan asked, grinning.
"The company had nothing urgent, so I came back first. I heard Morris Diaz committed suicide by jumping off a building?" Alexander Duncan raised his lips slowly, almost smiling, his gaze fixed on my face, the smile more enigmatic.
I hurriedly lowered my head, tightly biting my lip, an inexplicable fear rising within me.
Daniel Duncan paused for a moment, then quickly suppressed his smile, speaking seriously, "You're quite well-informed. I just accompanied her to the hospital to see her father's body, and on the way back, we were followed."
I lifted my gaze, suddenly meeting those deep, mysterious eyes, my heart in turmoil. Hastily, I lowered my head again, "Elder Daniel, if there's nothing else, I'll go back to my room."
"Go ahead! You've been through quite a scare just now," Daniel Duncan replied.
I almost rushed past Alexander Duncan and hurried back to my room, unable to suppress the grievances in my heart any longer. I collapsed onto the bed, whimpering as tears flowed freely.
Father, do you really want me to marry Elder Daniel? Do you really want me to stay in the Duncan family forever?
Just as Alexander Duncan said, with my father gone, I'm no longer the fearless heiress of the Diaz family. Soon, I'll be married to a man older than my own father.
I stepped out of my room, the tears still wet on my cheeks, only to bump into Alexander Duncan passing by my door. I quickly lowered my head, holding my breath as I stood still.
"Should I call you stepmother, or..." Alexander Duncan raised a corner of his lips, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
I bit my lip tightly; his words felt like a chilling wind with a cutting edge, sending shivers down my spine. I've never feared anyone before, but he seemed like a demon crawling out of hell, exuding an invisible pressure.
His slender fingers suddenly gripped my jaw, his handsome face looming large in front of me, his breath almost palpable.
"Let go of me!" I struggled to speak.
The gleam in Alexander Duncan's eyes turned cold in an instant, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "Why should I let you go? Although I don't fancy women who come to me willingly, it wouldn't hurt to indulge myself occasionally."
I flushed with anger, humiliation, and indignation, glaring fiercely at the man so close to me.
"How dare you!" The words escaped my lips.
"Do I not compare to that old man?" Alexander Duncan taunted arrogantly, his hand moving to my sensitive spot, squeezing forcefully.
"Ah—!" The pain almost brought tears to my eyes. I dared not cry out loud, fearing someone might suddenly appear from the staircase. I could only plead, "Please! Let me go!"
"Are you afraid Daniel Duncan might see?" Alexander Duncan smirked, his gaze flickering towards the living room downstairs, his tone ambiguous. "Well, if you were to cuckold him before the wedding, he'd probably be so furious he'd strip you naked and toss you into Roger's heap."
"Please, what happened that day was my fault. I shouldn't have peeked, I shouldn't have..." I bit my lip hard.
Suddenly, like plucking petals off a flower, Alexander Duncan advanced, pushing me into the room, quickly shutting out all external sounds.
Suddenly, a tingling sensation surged in my lower abdomen, like an electric shock. It spread rapidly through every limb of my body. I bit my lip tightly, fearing to hear strange sounds from my own mouth.
"Let go of me! No, I'm begging you, let me go, please?" My voice carried a hint of coyness and breathlessness. I immediately bit my lip harder, no, this couldn't happen.
"Let you go?" Alexander Duncan chuckled softly, his voice piercing in my ears. "Your body seems to be much more obedient than your mouth."
"No, this can't be happening..." I felt a fear I had never experienced before. Although I had never experienced intimacy between a man and a woman, I had seen it. The scene from that night flashed through my mind again—
I watched without blinking as that man carried Ivanka Diaz onto the soft, spacious bed. In just a few moments, their clothes were all removed. I didn't see that man kiss Ivanka Diaz, but I saw Ivanka Diaz passionately kissing his muscular body, from his chest down to his lower body. Then I saw Ivanka Diaz kneeling between the man's legs, seeing the man's blissful expression and Ivanka Diaz's intoxicated look...
I knew that if I didn't stop him now, he would soon possess me.
I struggled to break free from his grasp, trying to escape, but my legs gave out, and I fell onto the soft cashmere carpet.
"Tsk tsk! Compared to your mouth, I prefer your body," Alexander Duncan smirked slowly, his cold gaze shamelessly roaming over me.
I immediately crossed my arms over my chest. Once was enough for such humiliation, yet I had endured it several times in just two short days.
Alexander Duncan paused, forcibly suppressing the desire surging up from within, and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Don't try to play the pitiful card in front of me. I'm not falling for it. But if it were Daniel Duncan, he'd probably have given in by now."
"Why are you treating me like this? Just because I accidentally saw..." My words were cut off indifferently by Alexander Duncan. His smile turned even more sinister, masking a hint of inexplicable pain in his eyes, replaced suddenly by a cruel smirk.
"Since you've already seen it, I might as well indulge you."
"I didn't mean to," I protested.
My voice trembled uncontrollably. When I was little, I loved stories of Snow White and dreamed of meeting a prince from fairy tales. But as I grew up, instead of a prince, I encountered a demon crawling out of hell.
"I know you did it on purpose. Many women want to climb into my bed, just like your sister Ivanka Diaz, isn't it? You're not far off either. Although you're soon to become my stepmother, I don't mind at all."