Smack!

Smack! Smack!

Over a dozen slaps landed on Elara’s face in quick succession, leaving her fair cheeks covered in crisscrossing finger marks.

Elara’s hair was disheveled, and her cheeks were scratched by Chloe’s nails, burning with sharp pain.

Tears rolled down her swollen face, stinging even more.

Until Chloe finally stopped, she looked back at Julian, sticking out her tongue in a spoiled manner:

"I'm done, I'm done. My hand hurts."

Julian chuckled softly, pulling her hand over to blow on it.

As he lowered his gaze to see Elara collapsed on the ground in such a wretched state, a flicker of hesitation and complexity crossed his eyes.

But very quickly, he spoke coldly again:

"Elara, I’ve let it slide whenever you throw a tantrum at me, but you shouldn't have taken your anger out on someone else. This is a lesson for your bullying."

"This matter is over now; you are not allowed to make things difficult for Chloe again."

He let go of Chloe and stepped forward, intending to pull Elara up.

Elara, sitting on the ground, was covered in tears, but she suddenly began to laugh, her whole body shaking.

The sound was so bleak it made one’s heart feel a sense of panic.

Julian felt a twinge of pain in his heart: "Elara..."

Elara snapped her head up, staring at him with bloodshot eyes.

In the next second, she swatted his hand away and lunged violently at Chloe.

Chapter 7

Elara used nearly all her strength, pinning Chloe to the floor as she clamped her hands around her neck.

Chloe was caught off guard, letting out a panicked shriek: "Mr. Julian! Help me!"

But Elara already had one hand gripped tightly around Chloe’s throat, and with the other, she slapped Chloe across the face mercilessly.

Smack!

Smack! Smack!

Elara’s voice was icy, laced with fury:

"Since you claim I hit you, I’ll show you exactly how I hit!"

"Using me to practice your nerve? Well, I’ll use you to practice my touch! I want to see if a face as shameless as yours is really thicker than anyone else’s!"

The rage in her chest intertwined with the burning heat in her palms.

Being choked and slapped, Chloe didn't even need to pretend this time; she looked truly pathetic, whimpering and screaming for help.

Elara’s movements were lightning-fast. By the time Julian and the bodyguards reacted, she had already landed nearly twenty slaps on Chloe.

"Elara! Have you lost your mind? Let her go!"

Julian rushed forward, grabbing Elara and forcefully dragging her away.

Chloe lay on the floor, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her neck covered in bruises; she looked utterly miserable.

Once pulled away, Elara used the last of her strength to shake off Julian and collapsed onto the floor.

Her hair was disheveled, her appearance like that of a madwoman, yet she looked up with tears in her eyes, stubbornly challenging him:

"Does it hurt your heart? Are you going to protect your little secretary again this time? Are you going to slap me twenty times for her sake, or maybe a hundred?"

Julian stared at her in a daze.

Chloe, lying on the floor, coughed in agony and wailed: "Mr. Julian... save me..."

Julian immediately disregarded Elara, rushing over to scoop Chloe into his arms and leave.

Chloe held tightly to Julian’s neck, turning her head to glare at Elara.

Her eyes were filled with venomous resentment.

Elara wiped the tears from her face, and upon seeing the blood on her palms, she realized she must have scraped her hand when she fell to the ground earlier.

But Julian, who used to be the first to notice even a scratch on her, had long since stopped seeing her at all.

Elara stood up, retrieved her medical kit, and applied medicine to her own wounds.

Yet as she did so, thinking of Julian’s cold, unfeeling demeanor, tears kept rolling down, washing away the ointment on her cheeks.

Unable to bear it any longer, Elara hugged herself and wept bitterly.

Julian left, carrying Chloe, and never looked back.

In the sprawling villa, she was left all alone.

Elara cried for a long time before falling into an exhausted, hazy sleep.

Little did she know, in the middle of the night, the bedroom door was suddenly kicked open, jolting her awake.

Julian, his face like a sheet of ice, rushed to the bedside and loomed over her.

In his bloodshot eyes, intense emotions churned.

Elara looked up at his dangerous gaze, instinctively scooting backward, her voice trembling:

"Julian, what are you doing now?"

Julian stared at her expressionlessly:

"Although Chloe was saved by the doctors, she suffered psychological trauma and attempted suicide in her hospital room."

Elara’s heart skipped a beat, her face turning pale instantly.

But she quickly doubted that Chloe was the type to commit suicide.

She couldn't help but recall the look in Chloe’s eyes before she left.

Julian’s tone held a hint of mockery and playfulness: "Are you afraid, too?"

Elara dug her nails into her palms:

"I did nothing wrong; she was the one who hit me first. If it happened all over again, I would still do the exact same thing!"

Julian stared at her intensely, then suddenly broke into a laugh.

The laughter echoed through the room in the dead of night, giving Elara a bone-chilling sensation.

The next second, Julian suddenly lunged onto the bed, pinning her beneath him.

Elara struggled in terror:

"What are you doing? Let me go, let me go..."

From somewhere, Julian pulled out a dagger.

Chapter 8

His violent, cold eyes locked onto her, and as he toyed with the dagger, he said slowly:

"Although Chloe was found in time, she is still in the operating room in critical condition due to excessive blood loss..."

"She was driven to suicide by you, and you still claim you’re innocent?"

"Elara, when did you become so indifferent to human life?"

"When did you become this cold-blooded and vicious?"

"Since you refuse to repent... then..."

"You should taste what it's like to be cut by a blade!"

He gripped her wrist violently.

"This slash! Is my way of paying you back for her!"

He tightened his grip on the dagger and sliced hard across her arm.

"AHHH!!!"

Elara shrieked instantly.

Yet, the man remained unmoved, and he sliced down with the blade again.

With crimson-rimmed eyes, he said: "This slash is a penalty for your arrogance and bullying!"

Blood sprayed out. Elara trembled in agony, sobbing through her tears:

"Julian! I never targeted her! Every single time, she was the one provoking me! I didn't! I never bullied her!"

"It was always her acting! Let me go... just let me go!"

However, his only response was a third slash.

"This slash is a penalty for your extreme malice and refusal to repent!"

Three deep wounds were carved into her arm in succession.

Fresh blood bloomed like petals across the bedsheets.

The moment Julian released her, Elara collapsed onto the bed, completely drained of strength.

"Julian..."

She stared blankly at him, the intense pain and loss of blood causing her consciousness to drift away.

With her emotions surging, she felt an inexplicable, dragging pain in her lower abdomen.

Tears flowed mechanically, and as her blood drained away, her face turned paler and paler.

Her voice trembled as she mumbled:

"Why... why have you become like this..."

Julian gasped for breath; the image of Chloe lying in her hospital bed covered in blood was assaulting his reason.

Only now, looking at Elara’s despairing, vacant expression, did he seem to fully regain his senses.

The dagger dropped from his hand and clattered to the floor.

He instinctively took a step toward her, and Elara’s eyes widened in terror.

Julian felt a pang of pain in his heart. He rushed over, scooped Elara up from the bed, and sprinted out:

"To the hospital! To the hospital immediately!"

She couldn't tell if it was the blood loss or Julian’s cruelty.

Elara felt only cold, as if she were being submerged in an endless sea of ice.

She was quickly rushed into the operating room, and as her vision went black, she lost consciousness completely.

When she awoke again, she was already in a hospital room.

The wound on her arm had been bandaged, though it still throbbed with pain.

The moment she opened her eyes, she met Julian’s gaze.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he had been guarding her all night without sleep.

Seeing her wake up, he immediately stood up and looked at her with concern:

"Elara, you’re awake! I’m sorry, I was just too angry yesterday and lost control of my emotions, which is why I accidentally hurt you."

"I’m sorry... I..."

He reached out to touch her, but Elara instinctively shivered and whispered:

"Don't touch me!"

Julian’s movement froze instantly.

Elara was bloodless, staring at him intently.

Hate and tears intertwined in her eyes, and she said each word slowly and firmly: