Amara's POV
The nausea hit me so hard I almost threw up right there. I shoved him away and bolted for the bathroom, vomiting until my whole body trembled.
When I came out, the entire hall was filled with servants, all standing stiff and terrified.
Grayson sat on the couch, flicking a lighter open and closed. The flame danced across his face, casting a cold, shadowy glow.
“I’m paying you all a fortune,” he said slowly, voice low and sharp, “and this is how you take care of my wife?”
Every one of these servants had been handpicked by him. After what happened with the kidnapping, he’d made sure they were bound by life-and-death contracts. If anything happened to me, none of them would survive either.
One young maid collapsed to her knees, crying, “Mr. Locke, we all know Miss Wells means everything to you! So, we’ve done everything carefully, her meals, her clothes, her bedding, everything’s the best we could find!”
Before she could finish, a bodyguard stormed in, grabbed her, and, without hesitation, cut off both her hands before dragging her out.
The hall went dead silent after that. No one even dared to breathe.
“No one can tell me what happened?” Grayson said coldly. “Fine. Each of you, leave me a pair of hands.”
I stepped forward quickly, lips trembling. “It has nothing to do with them. It’s my problem. Let them go.”
He looked at me, his expression softening instantly. He pulled me into his arms and gently wiped my face with his sleeve, as if nothing had just happened.
“My wife has spoken,” he murmured. “Forget about today.”
But the next morning, every servant in the villa had been replaced. But even with scented candles burning in every corner, the smell of blood still lingered in the air.
Yet, Grayson acted like nothing had happened and even personally fed me spoonfuls of nourishing porridge, one bite at a time.
I ate mechanically, my heart frozen solid.
Before, I might’ve told myself this was love, that his cruelty came from how much he cared. But now, it just felt pathetic. Like a cheap, poorly acted play, and I was sick of watching it.
“Baby,” he said, smiling as if nothing was wrong, “you look beautiful today. What’s the occasion?”
I smiled faintly. “There’s an auction later. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
As we were about to leave, his phone rang. A strange ringtone, two long tones, one short, like a secret code.
Before he could answer, I took it from his hand and ended the call.
“Today, you’re spending time with me,” I said, watching his face closely. “Or is that call something… special?”
He looked startled, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a nervous chuckle. “Just work. Nothing special. Of course, you come first.”
But on the drive there, the phone rang again with the same tone, over and over, each time more insistent.
This time, I could see the irritation tightening his jaw.
Just before he lost his composure completely, we arrived at the venue.
I handed his phone back and said, “Go ahead. Answer it.”
He grabbed it quickly, not noticing the frost in my eyes.
Just as he started to dial, the massive auction hall doors swung open. The giant panoramic screen flickered to life, and the moment he saw it, the color drained from his face.
It was a sex video. The man’s face was blurred out, but the woman’s wasn’t.
The audio filled the room, breathy and familiar.
I walked calmly to the front row and sat down.
“I don’t know who was kind enough to send me this,” I said lightly.
Ignoring Grayson’s thunderous expression, I added with a mocking smile, “Grayson, did you know your ex-wife’s quite the performer? Seems like she doesn’t mind any man at all.”
The crowd erupted in whispers.
Someone laughed, “That body though, it kind of looks like Mr. Locke, doesn’t it?”
Another jumped in quickly, eager to please, “No way! Mr. Locke only loves Miss Wells. Everyone knows his ex-wife caused Miss Wells’ miscarriage. He hates that woman. He wanted her dead. There’s no chance he’d ever touch her again.”
With that, the tension broke, and people started laughing more boldly.
Someone at the back even whistled and said crudely, “Say what you want, but damn, that woman’s got one hell of a body. My blood pressure’s through the roof just watching her.”
