Chapter 7
But Rowena would order the servants to take Clarinda to stand
barefoot on a path covered in small, sharp stones.
In such weather, it initially felt quite comfortable.
The path was covered in snow.
It was cold, but it didn’t hurt.
However, the snow would soon melt from her body heat,
revealing the sharp, edged stones beneath.
Just as she grew numb from the cold, a servant would arrive
with a ruler to strike her palms.
The pain was excruciating.
Her flesh would be torn, and blood would draw out.
The Langdon’s mansion was situated on Hillside Road, nestled in
an excellent environment surrounded by mountains and a
river.
Clarinda raised her offer several times before finally managing
to order an online taxi. It was late at night and snowing heavily,
Chapter 7
so the driver would only agree to wait for her at the foot of the
mountain.
Every step down the mountain was taken with difficulty.
It was the dead of winter, yet a thin layer of sweat broke out on
her back from the pain.
The road was slick with snow and ice. In the distance, a long,
black Bentley glided slowly up the road.
The driver’s sharp eyes spotted Clarinda, and he instinctively slowed down. “Boss, that appears to be Ms. Whitaker up ahead.”
In the back seat, a man leaned against the leather, his slender
legs crossed casually. His features, sharp and chiseled, were
half–hidden in the dim light.
His air of natural, imposing authority was not to be ignored.
He gave a slight nod at the driver’s words, not even lifting his
eyes.
His emotions were utterly unfathomable.
His assistant in the passenger seat couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Boss, aren’t we going to do something?”
“Do you want to do something?”
Chapter 7
The man’s deep, magnetic voice was tinged with a coldness.
His assistant immediately shrank back into silence.
After a long moment, the man finally glanced through the
windshield at the limping figure that seemed on the verge of
collapse. Squinting, he ordered, “Find out what Corbin was
doing tonight.”
“I already did. He’s probably enjoying his time with Ms. Conley
now,” his assistant answered quickly.
Then, he ventured, “Boss, Ms. Whitaker was likely forced to
stand in the snow for hours again. She might not make it much
longer.”
Just then, the limping figure fell to the ground.
“Boss, do you see that? Exactly what I-”
A deafening slam of the car door cut him off.
The man stepped out into the cold, shrugged off his cashmere
coat, and wrapped it tightly around Clarinda’s shivering form.
He scooped her up from the snow, his expression as icy as the
ground beneath his feet.
His assistant, quick to react, scrambled out and opened the
Chapter 7
backseat door. “Boss, to the hospital or…”
“Rivershade Mansion,” he said concisely.
“Understood.”
“Tell the doctor to be waiting there.“”
“I already did.”
The driver sensibly turned up the heater.
In the soft light now filling the car, the man’s gaze swept over
Clarinda’s red and swollen palms and soles. A trace of cold fury
flashed in his eyes, yet his voice remained utterly indifferent.
“Quite cruel.”
His assistant muttered under his breath, “Typical of Madam
Langdon…”
“Daron will be back in the country soon, correct?”
“Yes!””
“Take care of it.”
“To what extent?”
The man looked over, his expression nonchalant, a stark
Chapter 7
contrast to the viciousness simmering in the depths of his eyes.
“What do you think?”
When Clarinda woke up, she felt so weak she could barely lift
her arms.
Yet, she didn’t feel entirely terrible.
Her palms and soles, which should have been swollen and
unbearably painful, no longer ached intensely. The wounds
were a relatively gruesome sight, and that was all.
The pain in her tailbone, which had plagued her for two days,
had also subsided.
One thing, though. She wasn’t supposed to be here.
Frowning, she was about to call the hotel receptionist to ask
what had happened when an extremely faint scent of
sandalwood caught her attention.
It made her lose herself in a trance.
After she came back to her senses, her lips tugged into a faint,
knowing smile. She grabbed a familiar tube of ointment from
the nightstand, checked out, and left.
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The atmosphere in the villa was uncharacteristically
harmonious.
It somehow made her feel that the tension of the past few days
had existed solely because of her–the unwanted one.
“Clara, you’re back,” Adrienne greeted her with a bright smile.
Obviously, Corbin had sweet–talked her last night, which
explained her current great mood.
Clarinda wasn’t in the mood to respond.
But Adrienne clearly had no intention of leaving Clarinda alone.
Adrienne took a few steps forward, tucked her hair behind her
ears, and revealed a pair of dazzling pink diamond earrings.
They were made of collector–grade rare pink diamonds.
Clarinda had loved the pair for a long time.
She’d waited for ages for them to reappear on the auction block.
Corbin had promised he would buy them for her.
He’d said light pink was perfect for her, that she would be
stunning wearing those earrings.
He must have said the same when he gifted them to Adrienne.
C
Chapter 7
The flicker of dismay in Clarinda’s eyes was exactly what
Adrienne had wanted to see. She raised her chin, her delicately
made–up face tinged with complacency. “Madam Alden said you
know a thing or two about jewelry. Take a look. How are these
earrings? Corby bought them for 2 million dollars. Are they
worth it?”
“They’re OK.” Clarinda suppressed her self–mockery and offered
a faint smile.
“Oh, now that you’ve mentioned the price–he and I are still a
married couple.
Lateefa Khanam is a spirited writer who finds freedom in horse riding. She cherishes her mare and the newborn foal, calling them her little happy family.
