At those words, the glances that had previously been tentative instantly became brazen.
Only then did Alexander snap out of it and turn to look at me.
Meeting my gaze, reddened with humiliation, he furrowed his brow slightly and shot me a stern, warning look, as if reproaching me for behaving improperly.
Immediately, he echoed Isabella:
“The young lady is quite right. To bring you all joy is my wife’s greatest worth.”
In that instant, I felt as though I had been pierced through by an invisible knife.
This was my partner, the man who had once promised to protect me for the rest of my life, and now he was personally pushing me into the abyss.
A chorus of laughter erupted from the crowd.
More and more chopsticks hovered over me, and occasionally a drop of cold liquor fell onto my skin, sending a shiver through me.
My stomach churned; I tried to curse, but a towel was shoved roughly into my mouth, leaving me only able to utter desperate, muffled cries.
“Oh, she’s got some spirit, doesn’t she?”
The obese businessman leaned in close, extending a rough finger to touch my face. “I prefer them a bit wilder.”
I turned my head to avoid him, and the man looked a bit displeased.
“Miss Isabella, what’s this all about? Such a downer—how are we going to sign the contract later?”
Isabella shot me a fierce glare, then tugged at Alexander’s sleeve and cooed, “Alexander, keep your partner in check. If you offend the client, I won’t let you off lightly.”
Alexander panicked instantly, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.
“Miss, please don’t be angry. I’ll make sure she behaves.”
He walked over to me and gently wiped the tear from the corner of my eye, his movements so tender they made me feel sick.
“Don’t move. Just bear with it for a moment, Serena.”
He lowered his voice, speaking in a tone only the two of us could hear, “These people are beasts in the business world. Just be a good girl and don’t upset the young lady. I promise they won’t actually lay a finger on you.”
“Be a good girl, eh?”
Avoiding my glare, he returned to his seat at the head table.
He clinked glasses and chatted merrily with that group of men.
Rough hands kept brushing against my skin, even wandering towards my sensitive areas.
Yet Alexander turned a blind eye.
He thoughtfully and gently shielded Isabella from the drinks, even taking the trouble to peel the prawns for her.
The business partners glanced at my bedraggled state, then at the noble and elegant Isabella, their voices dripping with sarcasm.
‘If you ask me, the difference between these two wolves is truly vast. One is treated like a treasure, whilst the other is fit only to be stripped bare and served as a dish on our dining table.’
“Hahahaha! Miss Isabella is beautiful and talented, and of pure Alpha blood—what man wouldn’t fancy her? As for some women, they’re simply born to be a source of amusement. Alexander, don’t you agree?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Alexander raised his glass: “Indeed, Miss Isabella is exceptional—a goddess in the hearts of all wolves, truly captivating…”
As I listened to his praise, my heart felt as though it were being repeatedly crushed in a meat grinder.
Alexander had always been aloof and cold; such tenderness and attentiveness had once belonged to me alone.
The floodgates of memory burst open.
Fifteen years ago, that young man knelt for me in the rain until his kneecaps cracked, his blood mingling with the rainwater.
He took my hand, smiling so brightly: “Serena, we can finally be together for the rest of our lives!”
But later, he grew ever closer to Isabella.
As an adopted orphan, he wanted to climb the social ladder, and aligning himself with Isabella, the future heir to the tribe, was undoubtedly the best shortcut.
I don’t know when it started, but I became a dispensable shadow trailing behind them, even a pawn he used to curry favour with Isabella.
I lay on the cold dining table, staring numbly at the opulent crystal chandelier on the ceiling, listening to Alexander’s veiled and cautious confession to Isabella.
It felt as though I had died and come back to life.
I don’t know how long it took, but that nightmare of a dinner finally came to an end.
Isabella, with her arm linked through that of a business partner, smiled and left first.
It was only then that Alexander turned his attention to me.
He untied the silver cord and gently draped the clothes over me, as though the man who had been watching coldly just a moment ago had not been him.
“Right then, let’s go home, Serena.”
He said casually, his tone light, “You did very well today. When I get home, I’ll cook you the steak you like…”
Before he could finish.
With tears in my eyes, I raised my hand and, summoning all my strength, slapped him hard across the face.
“Smack!”
The sharp sound echoed through the empty private room.
