Her fingers toyed with the sensitive points on his body, coaxing an instinctive reaction from him.

There was no preparation.

Cassia lowered herself onto him.

The pain made Kaelen’s back arch, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Aren't I dirty?" Kaelen’s eyes were hollow, filled with a numb despair.

Cassia paused, her hot breath falling on his ear.

"You're just a plaything. Dirty or not, what's the difference?"

She rose abruptly, her voice laced with venom.

"Don't think this is over. What you did to Aidan… your pain right now is nothing compared to his. You should live a life worse than death to atone for your sins."

Atone…

Kaelen looked up in despair at the woman on top of him, bitterness flooding his throat.

He hadn't done anything.

What was there to atone for?

Cassia was quickly dressed again. She tossed a bottle of pills at Kaelen. "Don't forget to take your medicine."

Kaelen picked up the bottle.

Contraceptives.

The kind that prevented pregnancy.

Every day, regardless of whether they were intimate or not, she made him take one.

That was why in over three years of marriage, she had never once gotten pregnant.

A flicker of resolve crossed Kaelen's eyes. Then, right in front of Cassia, he uncapped the bottle and poured the entire contents into his mouth.

He swallowed them all dry, without a single drop of water.

Seeing this, Cassia lunged forward and grabbed his hand. "Are you trying to kill yourself? Spit them out!"

Kaelen nearly choked on the pills, coughing violently before he managed to force them all down.

His eyes were bloodshot as he looked up at Cassia.

"Why should I spit them out? Did you suddenly decide you want to have my child?"

Cassia’s grip on his hand went slack. She sneered, "You're not worthy."

With that, she turned and left without a backward glance.

Kaelen watched her go, then staggered out of the bathroom.

He regretted it…

He regretted throwing everything away, bringing his entire family's fortune with him to marry into the Thorne family for Cassia.

After Cassia left, Kaelen sat alone in a corner of the bedroom, staring into space for a long, long time.

That evening.

Martha, the head cook, brought in his dinner. Seeing him like this, her heart ached.

"Sir, you have to eat something. How will your body hold up otherwise?"

Kaelen’s face was pale. He shook his head. "I'm fine, don't worry."

Martha sighed and draped a heavy coat over his shoulders.

Just then, a bodyguard knocked on the door. "Sir, Ms. Thorne wants you at The Gilded Orchid."

The Gilded Orchid was one of the Thorne family's properties.

Kaelen's eyes were filled with confusion.

Why would Cassia want him there?

He had no right to refuse. The bodyguard escorted him to the most exclusive suite at the club.

The room was filled with the heiresses and socialites of Port Sterling, with Cassia Thorne presiding over them all from the head seat.

When they saw Kaelen arrive, their gazes raked over him, naked and assessing.

Back when the Rivers family was still powerful, when he was the golden boy of the city, who among them would have dared to look at him like this?

"Come here."

Cassia beckoned to him.

Kaelen walked toward her, step by step, his mind a complete blank. "Why did you bring me here?"

Cassia held a glass of wine, her words delivered one by one. "You're too idle at home. I found you a job."

She paused, gesturing to a half-naked male model beside her. "From now on, he's your coworker. You'll learn from him how to do your job properly."

"The Thorne family doesn't support freeloaders."

Kaelen’s face turned as white as a sheet.

Three years ago, it was she who had said that as Mr. Thorne, he shouldn't be seen working in public.

And now, she wanted him to be a male escort?