He knew she was terrified of dogs, and yet he wanted to lock her in a cage with one?

But Preston was unmoved. He turned and left with Giselle, ignoring Serena’s hysterical sobbing.

Only the sound of Serena’s agonizing screams remained in the house.

After the night passed, Serena was left bloodied, not a patch of skin on her left uninjured.

She crawled out of the cage, having endured the greatest humiliation of her life!

Battered and covered in wounds, Serena dragged her luggage and left the house where she had lived with Preston for three years.

She had once thought this was the beginning of happiness; instead, it had become her nightmare.

After a simple dressing of her wounds at the hospital, she boarded a plane home.

She was wrong. She shouldn't have broken ties with her family for Preston.

And she never should have thought that Preston was her entire world.

As the plane cut through the deep blue sky, Serena closed her eyes in pain.

Everything was over.

But she would definitely make Preston and Giselle pay the price!

Chapter 7

Giselle clung to Preston for the entire night. Refusing to give up, she spent the next three days entangled with him at a hotel.

Preston treated her very well, catering to her every whim, and rarely spoke a harsh word to her.

Giselle witnessed his attitude toward Serena throughout, and she secretly felt thrilled by his blatant favoritism.

The sound of the shower in the bathroom stopped abruptly.

Preston emerged, fully dressed. Seeing her looking dazed, he pinched her cheek with a smile: "What are you thinking about?"

Giselle asked suddenly: "Preston, if one day Serena proposes a divorce, will you accept it?"

Preston denied it without a second thought: "That’s impossible. Back then, she chose to break ties with her family just to be with me. She suffered a lot for me during my early business days; she wouldn't be willing to leave me."

"Then what about you? I remember you saying back then that you would find a way to divorce her..."

Giselle recalled what Preston had said that night, her eyes full of anticipation.

But Preston’s words were like a bucket of ice water poured over her head.

"Giselle, I only said that to calm you down. In reality, my interests are too deeply intertwined with Serena’s; it’s very difficult to make a clean break."

"I know you’ve been wronged, but under the current circumstances, I can only wrong you for a while longer."

"You don't have to fear her coming after you. I will protect you, but the status of Mrs. Preston—I’m afraid I can't give that to you just yet."

Giselle had expected as much.

She suppressed her reluctance and smiled at Preston: "I know. After all, you and Serena have years of history, and you’ve walked through thick and thin together. Your bond is naturally deep. I just wonder how Serena is doing now. She is terrified of dogs."

Preston’s gaze darkened. In his mind, he saw the final look Serena gave him, and the words "I hate you" shouted in pain and despair lingered in his heart.

Whenever he thought of those three words—"I hate you"—Preston felt a sense of panic and unease.

Having known Serena for ten years, Preston thought he was certain about what kind of person she was, but right now, he felt he couldn't quite be sure anymore.

"I’m going to the company. Don't go home for now; I’m afraid you and Serena will have another conflict."

Giselle nodded, adjusted Preston’s tie as she always did, and saw him out.

Once Preston was far away, she dropped the smile, biting her lip in frustration.

How could she have tried so hard and still be unable to steal Preston away from Serena?

Preston had clearly told her he could divorce, but it turned out to be just a little trick to appease her!

But it didn't matter. She had already made him sign that divorce agreement anyway; the position of Mrs. Preston was already within her grasp.

Throughout the day, Preston felt an inexplicable panic. His heart kept pounding, and he felt as if something massive had happened.

He took out his phone. Four days had already passed, and Serena hadn't reached out to him even once.

After being locked in with that Tibetan Mastiff that night, he wondered how she was holding up.

Once he finished his work, Preston called home. The servant answered.

"Where is my wife?"

The servant replied cautiously: "Ma'am left early four days ago and hasn't returned yet."

Preston’s fingertips stiffened: "Did she say where she was going?"

"She probably went to the hospital. Ma'am was very badly injured at the time, covered in blood. I assume the hospital saw her injuries were too severe and kept her for treatment?"

"How could she be severely injured? That Tibetan Mastiff was trained; it wouldn't attack a human!" Preston flew into a rage, loosening his collar in frustration.

He had only meant to scare Serena. He had specifically asked for a dog with low aggression. How could she have ended up covered in blood?

He didn't even dare to imagine how desperate and terrified Serena must have been, trapped in a confined cage with nowhere to run!

Preston was about to set aside his work and go home when he received a call from Giselle.

"Preston, save me! My father is trying to drag me away to pay off his debts again. I really have no choice..."

Preston’s face changed abruptly, and he immediately turned his car around, heading toward Giselle’s home.

When he arrived, Giselle’s father was violently dragging her, intending to sell her: "I raised you all these years; it’s only right that you exchange yourself for money for me!"

Bang!

Preston kicked the man over and pulled the panicked Giselle into his arms.

Giselle was tear-stained, trembling as she hid in Preston’s embrace: "Preston, you finally came. I was so scared..."

Chapter 8

Watching Giselle cry like this, Preston’s heart twisted into a knot.

At this moment, Giselle’s father shouted aggressively: "It's you again! Mind your own business! Don't think I don't know you just treat my daughter as a plaything."

"You're a married man, lying to her every day and giving her no money. If you have the guts, really marry her! How are you any different from those who pay for prostitutes out there?"

Preston’s expression turned colder and colder. He had no patience left: "If you dare to touch her again, I guarantee you will never see her again."

As soon as he left with Giselle, several bodyguards filed in and gave the father a lesson.

Heart-wrenching screams erupted from the upstairs room.

Giselle hesitated, wanting to plead for her father: "Preston, no matter what, he is my father. Please, don't kill him..."

"Don't worry, I’ll leave him his life. Giselle, can you stop always thinking of others? You should think about yourself for once."

"Why don't I send you abroad? You can do whatever you want there. Then they won't be able to find you, and you won't have to live in fear every day."

Giselle looked up from his arms: "Will you go with me?"

Preston remained silent for a long time.

He had tricked Serena into believing he was expanding his business overseas and would be living abroad for a long time, purely to keep Serena from looking for him constantly, allowing him time and space to be with Giselle.

But now, a major problem had arisen in his marriage with Serena, and he would definitely be suspected if he didn't return home for long periods.

"Giselle, you go first. I will try my best to find time to come visit you."

Giselle wept silently: "Preston, do you think I'm a burden too? Are you trying to dump me?"

"How could that be? Don't let your imagination run wild. I’m just heartbroken that you were hurt. If you don't want to go, then don't. I’ll listen to you."

It was already late at night by the time he settled Giselle down.

Preston rushed home. The house was as it had always been, unchanged—except for the absence of Serena.

For some reason, he suddenly missed Serena.

He went from room to room, but couldn't find her anywhere.

He grew increasingly panicked, his footsteps faltering as he walked out of the master bedroom.

Serena hadn't entered the master bedroom for a while now, and it wasn't the way it used to be either.

After he brought Giselle in, it had been changed to Giselle’s favorite color scheme.

The wedding photos on the wall were gone, the photos on the bedside table were gone, and even the albums Serena used to browse through were missing.

He suddenly remembered that day, when she had ordered the servants to burn them all.

Serena’s things had also been moved from the master bedroom to the guest room. But when Preston saw the empty guest room, he froze completely.