Kaelen trembled uncontrollably.

"Cassia, I'm your husband! How can you do this to me?"

"Scared?" Cassia's eyes were cold and cruel, as if she were looking at an ant she was about to crush. "When you were hurting Aidan, did you ever think that he would be scared too?"

"I didn't! I really didn't do it…"

No matter what he said, it was useless.

"Please, I'm begging you, just investigate it again, please?"

"I really didn't hurt him…"

But Cassia's gaze remained a frozen wasteland.

Kaelen's heart sank into a pit of ice as he watched ten female bodyguards approach him.

He screamed, his voice raw.

"Stay away! Get away from me!"

"Let me go! Let me go!!"

But what could one man do against ten of Cassia Thorne's personal security team?

Kaelen could only watch in horror as he was dragged away, watching Cassia’s elegant figure recede into the distance.

A guttural roar of desperation and crazed hatred tore from his throat. He was on the verge of shattering completely.

How could she do this to him!

"Cassia, I hate you!"

"I HATE YOU!"

But no matter how loud he screamed, Cassia’s expression remained perfectly serene, as if she were watching a complete stranger. Cold. Detached.

"Just leave him breathing. The rest is up to you."

Kaelen was finally dragged into the backyard. His struggles were futile.

"Don't touch me—"

SLAP!

Someone struck him across the face, then grabbed a fistful of his hair, sneering. "Still think you're Ms. Thorne's husband? You're just a kept man. This is all on Ms. Thorne's orders. Just accept your fate!"

Accept his fate? What fate?

Kaelen trembled violently. He hadn't done anything. Why was he being subjected to this?

He wouldn't accept it!

With a sudden burst of strength he didn't know he possessed, he broke free and stumbled toward the door.

"Cassia, how can you be so venomous! I'm your husband!"

"Cassia?" a familiar male voice called out.

Kaelen’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up and saw Aidan Vance, dressed in a pristine white shirt, standing at the doorway.

His voice was a cold, deliberate whisper.

"Kaelen, my friend, you're not still waiting for Cassia to come save you, are you?"

Kaelen froze. "Aidan? You… didn't you lose your mind?"

But the man before him was grinning, a triumphant, mocking glint in his eyes. He looked anything but insane.

"If I didn't 'lose my mind,' how would Cassia ever get rid of you?! If it weren't for you, I should have been the one by her side."

Aidan leaned in close, a cruel smirk on his face, and whispered in Kaelen's ear, "The attack, almost being neutered… I staged the whole thing."

"It was the only way I could stand by her side. The position of Mr. Thorne can only be mine."

Kaelen’s jaw tightened, his hands clenching into fists. "How could you?"

He lunged forward like a madman. "You despicable bastard!"

But before he could even touch Aidan, the female bodyguards yanked him back.

"Take good care of him."

Aidan dropped the command and turned, walking back into the house.

The pack of women closed in on him. Kaelen was consumed by a nauseating mix of despair and helplessness.

He struggled, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Cassia, Aidan isn't crazy! Cassia, can you hear me…?"

RIIIP—!

His clothes were torn to shreds.

In the study.

"Ma'am, Mr. Vance just went to see Mr. Rivers in the backyard," a bodyguard reported.

Cassia sat on the sofa, lighting a cigarette she had no intention of smoking. "Mm, noted," she said nonchalantly.

Just then, Aidan walked in.

He moved smoothly to Cassia, wrapping his arms around her slender waist.

"Cassia, I want a baby."