"So what if you’re on your period? Last year, Kade and the guys even threw a game night for this, and not a single soul ended up in the hospital."
Bronson’s grip on Estelle tightened, his fingers digging into her arm with ruthless force.
Estelle gasped, her voice trembling as pain seeped into her words. Through gritted teeth, she hissed, "This is marital rape!"
Bronson let out a cold, mocking chuckle, his tone dripping with disdain. "And then what? What are you going to do about it, Lawyer Maddox?"
His smirk grew darker. "Go ahead, sue me. But when you do, I’ll bring your mother’s ashes into the courtroom. From then on, if you want to pay your respects to her, you’ll have to visit me in prison first."
The fire in Estelle’s eyes dimmed, her fury fading into helplessness. She collapsed onto the bed, her body limp and lifeless, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
"Bronson, why don’t you just die?" she whispered, her voice hollow, the words a fragile echo of her shattered spirit.
Bronson, the master of cruelty, stroked her cheek with unsettling tenderness as though her words had been mere whispers in the wind. "If I die, Estelle, you’ll come with me. Don’t think you can escape. Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I’ll find you. And when I do, I’ll break your legs and keep you locked up at home. I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life, whether you like it or not."
By the time Estelle woke up, Bronson was already gone, likely at an urgent meeting. These fleeting moments of solitude were her only reprieve.
The torment of the previous night had left her feverish. She fumbled for fever-reducing pills, swallowing them with cold water that burned her throat like fire. It was swollen, painfully so.
This routine had become mundane, almost second nature. Bronson seemed to revel in her silent endurance.
The first time Estelle had endured such humiliation was at a dinner party. Her mother was still alive then, and Bronson forced her to skip work to attend.
While he could drag her to the gathering, he couldn’t make her feign politeness. Her disdain had been etched on her face, growing darker with every passing minute.
Normally, the icy tension between them was enough to keep others at a distance. But by the time she arrived, most of the guests were already drunk. One of Bronson’s friends, unsteady on his feet with a wine glass swaying in his hand, stumbled toward her.
“Sister-in-law, Bronson’s told us so much about you. Finally, we meet! Come, let me toast to you!”
Estelle ignored him, her focus entirely on her meal, radiating an air of aloof detachment. She was like a mountain flower, untouchable and out of place, her indifference a stinging slap to Bronson’s pride.
The man was caught off guard and fidgeted awkwardly, unsure of how to recover.
On Bronson’s other side, Kade, ever the peacemaker, noticed the tension and stepped in quickly.
“Have you had so much to drink that you’ve forgotten yourself? Do you even realize how much Bronson protects her? He’s finally brought her out, and you have the nerve to push her to drink?”
Kade gave the man a subtle nudge with his foot, trying to steer him away. But before he could take more than a step, Bronson’s cold voice cut through the air.
"Estelle, didn’t you hear my friend speaking to you?"
A chill settled over the room. Kade’s stomach tightened, sweat forming at his temples. Bronson was never one to tolerate defiance, and Estelle’s stony demeanor had clearly worn thin on his patience.
“Are you deaf?” Bronson growled, snatching the chopsticks from her hand.
Though his voice was low, it carried a weight that silenced the rowdy room in an instant.
Estelle drew in a steadying breath, rose from her seat with her wine glass in hand, and approached the trembling man. Without hesitation, she clinked her glass against his and drained its contents in a single swallow.
Then, as if delivering a verdict, she hurled the empty glass at Bronson’s feet. Her voice, calm but cutting, sliced through the thick silence.
“Is there anything else? If not, I’ll take my leave.”
Bronson’s lips curled into a smirk, his gaze sharp and unyielding. He didn’t bother to rise. Instead, he reached out, grabbing her arm with an iron grip and yanking her down to the floor at his feet.
The movement was so sudden that Estelle couldn’t brace herself. She landed on her knees amidst the shattered glass.
Kade cringed at the sight, an involuntary hiss escaping his lips, but Estelle didn’t so much as wince.
“Bronson, she’s a woman. Don’t…”
