see me like this, to know the depths of my degradati-
But maybe… maybe if she saw how utterly pathetic I’d become, she would finally be able to let me go for good.
“I find him… dirty,” Sofia said, her voice dripping with contempt.
She left those three words hanging in the air and walked away,
the sharp
click of her heels fading down the hall.
Roxanne came into my bedroom. She turned her back to me and knelt on the bed, arching her back like a cat in heat.
“Same routine as last time,” she said, looking over her shoulder. Her posture was wanton, but her tone was one of command. “Serve me first.”
“Can we not do this?” I suddenly wanted my dignity back.
father owes,
“Do you not want to pay off your debt?” she countered. “Jason, if you don’t clear what your
what do you think those creditors will do?”
“I know you’re not afraid to die. But you know what they’re like. They’ll go after the person you care about most. Someone like, say… Sofia.”
She held her seductive pose, but her words shattered my fleeting desire for
or self–respect.
“I understand,” I said.
Orb + + 1
I walked over and leaned down.
“Did you brush your teeth? Roxanne asked suddenly.
“Yes.”
“Good. Begin.”
Three hours later, Roxanne and I arrived at Mrs. Fang’s villa. Mrs. Fang was the premier matchmaker in the wealthy socialite circle, able to procure anyone for any need, male or female.
But tonight was different from the last time. Last time, the villa had been filled only with rich women.
ཇ ཆ ་ཚ ་ཥ་འ ཇ
Tonight, there were men here too.
Among them were several people I never wanted to see again. The guys who used to follow me around like puppies were now the ones who sto- mped on me with the most glee. They had all brought dates–young, beautiful women who stood in stark contrast to the older socialites.
Gavin walked over, his arm around a tall, stunning woman. “Jason, old friend,” he said with a smirk. “We’re here to play with women. You’re here to be played with by women. Isn’t that ironic?”
He reached out and patted my cheek, each pat a hard slap.
I said nothing. He wasn’t wrong.
“Hey, Jason,” Gavin laughed, “I heard that when you were inside, you spent a lot of time… picking up the soap. If you know what I mean.
He clapped his hands. A dozen muscular, hulking men came down the stairs.
Gavin slanned my face again “LVISCUS
Chapter 2
Gavin slapped my face again. was worried you might be craving it, so I brought some friends for you.”
Most of the humiliation I endured was verbal. A few taunts, a few insults.
But Gavin… Gavin wanted to destroy me.
The reason was simple. The man I had killed in self–defense, Gideon, was his older brother.
“Do we really have to do this?” I asked, a calm smile spreading across my face.
Gavin’s expression turned to ice. “Yes, we do. It ends when you’ve been tortured so much that you kill yourself and go join my brother.
“Good. That’s very good.”
I nodded and pulled a black hair tie from my left wrist. It was Sofia’s. I had secretly kept it when I broke up with her.
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I casually tied back my slightly long hair, stretching my neck and shoulders, my smile growing wider. “Gavin, it seems you really miss your brother.
In that case… why don’t I send you to him?”
As I spoke, I pulled a karambit knife from my pocket. I’d carried it with me every day since I got out of prison. I knew Gavin would come for revenge
eventually.
With Sofia, I could be infinitely gentle.
But with everyone else… sorry, I’m a fucking madman.
Gavin stumbled backward, his bravado faltering. “Jason, what about your mother?”
“You’re the one who started this, Gavin. Are you scared now?”
“Let me tell you something. Bringing up my mother is useless. I’m probably the person on this planet who wants her dead the most.”
I took a step toward him.
“Then… what about Sofia?” Gavin blurted out. “If you kill me, my family will go after her! Everyone knows how much you care about her!”
In an instant, all the air went out of me. It was as if my entire body had lost its strength, and I nearly collapsed.
Gavin started to laugh. “Jason, you’re a real romantic. But I’ve never seen a rich kid sacrifice so much for one woman. You really are a fucking
idiot.”
I stared at the floor, motionless.
Gavin waved his hand at the muscular men. “He’s all yours.”
They approached me, leering. One of them reached out and stroked my face. The touch, which would normally have filled me with revulsion, elici-
ted no reaction from me at all.
I was focused on one thing: how could I get all of them, all my enemies, in one place?
And then, kill them all.
That way, no one could ever threaten Sofia’s safety again.
CRASH!
The villa door was kicked open.
It was Sofia. She strode in, flanked by a dozen bodyguards.
“Jason,
“Jason, you are such a goddamn fool!” she shouted, her eyes glistening with tears.
I understood everything from her tone, from her gaze.
She knew. She knew the truth.
Sofia wiped away a tear, her cold, powerful demeanor returning. “Jason, you protected me back then. You went to prison for me. Tonight, I’m standing in front of you. Let’s see who dares to hurt you!”
I stared at her, speechless. I didn’t want her involved in this mess. I wanted her to stay that innocent, good girl she had always been.
Chapter 2
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I stared at her, speechless. I didn’t want her involved in this mess. I wanted her to stay that innocent, good girl she had always been.
“Get them!” Gavin yelled, pointing at Sofia. “Grab her! If it weren’t for her, my brother would still be alive!”
I was the first to charge forward. I couldn’t bear the thought of her getting hurt. But this time, I didn’t have to do much. Sofia’s bodyguards were professionals.
I did, however, get my hands on Gavin and beat him half to death.
Then, we recorded everyone: the rich socialites, the fallen heirs, the call girls…
Sofia turned to Mrs. Fang. “If this video gets out,” she said, her voice like steel, “every single person here will bring ruin upon their entire family.”
Mrs. Fang swore that she would handle everything, that what happened tonight would never see the light of day.
Then, Sofia took me away.
4 7 11 4 4 1
She took me back to the penthouse. The one I had given to her.
She told me she had been living there the whole time.
She led
to
oggpole my old bedroom. I saw the familiar comforter, the familiar pillows.
Sofia pulled
night, I would
wa
N
7
4
me down to sit on the bed, then curled up in my arms. “You know,” she whispered, “I was so afraid of forgetting your scent. Every myself meticulously before I would even dare to get under the covers. But it’s been over two years since they’ve been washed. The bedding has started to smell.”
“I…” I wanted to say something, but the words were caught in my throat.
Sofia shook her head. “I know everything. I pulled some strings, found out what really happened after graduation. And I know why you said all those things to belittle me.”
After graduation, my father had spearheaded a massive real estate deal, involving Gavin’s father and other powerful figures in the city. But he’d taken the money and run, leaving me with a mountain of debt. Gavin and his brother, Gideon, had tormented me endlessly, beating and humiliati- ng me as a daily routine. I promised I would pay the money back, but even I didn’t believe my own words. It was hundreds of millions. What was disgraced, lazy rich kid going to do to pay that back?
alestu Gavin neven sudden ody
Before my father ran, Gavin and Gideon had been my lackeys. The chance to suddenly
a
under their thumb was intoxicating for them.
Gid-
eon, especially, was a sadist. He held me captive, tortured me. The scars on my body… he carved them with a box cutter.
The breaking point carne when I overheard him on the phone with Gavin. They were planning to go after Sofia. I had been delirious from the pain and had called out her name in my sleep. They knew she was my weakness. They were going to destroy her in front of me.
I was so badly beaten at that point that they didn’t even bother to tie me up. To prolong the torture, they‘
even
been injecting me with adrenaline.
I managed to get my hands on a syringe, shot myself up, and went after Gideon and his bodyguards.
Gideon died. I bit out his throat. Several of his bodyguards died too.
The Gavin family wanted me executed. But my body was covered in wounds, and the surviving bodyguards confessed. In the end, I was convicted of excessive self–defense. It made sense; they had been running away when I hunted them down.
