He Broke Me, I Broke Us

My husband is known as a ruthless CEO, but somehow, he is tender and warm with me.

I'm passionate about art restoration, especially antique paintings, so he transforms his private collection room into a professional-grade studio just for me. He even brings in top experts to mentor me.

Once, I spent three sleepless nights restoring a rare 12th-century painting. He ends up buying the entire museum that the painting belongs to, just so I can study it without restrictions.

To marry me, he goes head-to-head with his powerful family, even stages a hunger strike, until they finally give in.

At our engagement party, he gets down on one knee in front of everyone and says, "Ash, you deserve nothing but the best in this world."

The ring he designs himself has an engraving on the inside that says, "Art brought us together, love holds us forever."

Everyone says Vincent Hawthorn loves me like a maniac, and I believe it—until I restore one of his late mother's paintings…

I spent a year restoring my late mother-in-law's painting, even using a drop of my blood in the ink for symbolic meaning. I brought it home, excited to surprise my husband, Vincent Hawthorn.

Before I could show it to him, his adopted sister, Camellia Waltz, tore the painting to shreds and dragged me into a locked room like I was a suspect. I was tied up for interrogation.

When Vincent heard the news and came over, Camelia was full of tears, accusing, "Over here, Vince! It was this maid who tore apart Mom's painting!"

With my mouth gagged and a hood over my head, I had no way to speak or defend myself. All I could do was struggle in vain.

Amid the wreckage on the floor, I watched as Vincent pulled Camellia into his arms and gently kissed the tears on her face.

"Oh, don't cry, Cami. It breaks me to see you like this. As much as the painting's important, you're more important to me."

Seeing the frown on his face, Camellia added, "But Ashley spent so many hours and effort on restoring that painting. She must be so sad."

At her words, Vincent picked up a steel whip and flogged me with it. "I love my wife more than anything in this world, so how dare you try to upset her?"

The whip thrashed against my skin, tearing it into an open wound. He didn't hold back at all, striking with such brutal force that I could hear his teeth grinding.

"My wife put her heart and soul into that painting, and you went and tore it to shreds just like that? You love destruction, don't you? Well, I'll show you what destruction is."

Blood drenched my clothes, and I couldn't stop shaking from the pain. Little did Vincent know that the woman he spoke so highly and dearly about was about to be tortured to death in his own hands.

No amount of whips was enough to quench his