Wedding Night: She Gave Herself to Another

It was the following day when the ridiculous events at the wedding spread throughout the social circle. Jack Mead, Rachel's grandfather, called to assure me that the marriage would still happen, promising he would make sure Rachel and I still went through with the wedding and vowing to discipline her severely.

I simply replied calmly, "It won't be necessary since I'm going to back out of the marriage, Mr. Mead Senior."

Mr. Mead Senior sighed heavily before hanging up.

I began drawing up the divorce agreement, and before I could even print the document, the front door was slammed open.

Rachel stormed in aggressively with a group of bodyguards, pointing right at my face and yelling, "I never realized you were so malicious, Charlie!

"I was just being kind and helping someone out, and you actually ran to Grandpa to complain! His men almost tore Quentin apart! You can go ahead and experience it yourself since you think getting bitten by leeches is no big deal!"

She waved her hand, and a few bodyguards grabbed me and tied me up. They carried me outside and threw me into a car, which went on a rough drive out to an isolated area. They then dragged me out and dumped me into a dark, damp pit.

I hit the ground hard, and only then could I see clearly that the bottom of the pit was a squirming mass, completely covered in leeches.

Quentin stood at the edge of the pit, putting on a pained, helpless expression as he said softly, "I hope you won't hold it against Rach, Charlie. I'm sure she only lost her temper because I almost got hurt. I'm certain that she'll let you out once she cools off, so you should just hang in there for a little while."

Rachel had already lost her patience. She commanded coldly, "Throw him in!"

In the next second, everything around me spun as I was thrown heavily to the bottom of the pit. I could feel a damp, cold, and slimy sensation covering my entire body as countless leeches immediately wriggled and attached themselves to me.

I merely thought that the piercing pain and numbness made me lose all track of time. It wasn't until I felt my consciousness gradually slipping away and even breathing became difficult that Rachel's indifferent voice finally came from above. "Get him out of there—don't actually end up killing him."

Rachel's bodyguards hauled me up like a sack of garbage, dragged me all the way back to the house, and dumped me onto the cold, hard floor.

Rachel stood over me, looking down with a casual, indifferent expression. "I hope you remember this lesson well, Charlie. Quentin is going to stay here while he recovers from his injuries, so make sure you take good care of him."

She then hooked her arm through Quentin's and walked straight into the bathroom, where the sound of running water soon drifted out faintly, mingling with suggestive panting and low giggles.

I, on the other hand, was left lying there on the floor. I was covered in injuries and couldn't even move a muscle.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but Quentin suddenly walked out while wrapped in a bathrobe, with several noticeable hickeys on his neck. He squatted in front of me with an undisguised look of triumph on his face.

"Rachel was giving me her virginity while you were waiting like an idiot at the wedding yesterday. She actually bled a lot, but she forced herself to bear the pain just to satisfy me. You've been with her for years and never even slept with her. Is there something wrong with you down there, Charlie?"

I was incensed. I clenched my fist and tried to punch him, but Quentin intentionally threw himself backward, hitting the floor with a loud thud. "I was only trying to help you to your feet, Charlie, so why are you suddenly hitting me?"

Rachel suddenly stormed out and struck me hard across the face. She then barked before the stinging pain could fade, "Hold him down!"

In that instant, two bodyguards grabbed my arms, pulling them behind my back, and slammed my head down toward the ground.

"You'd better apologize to Quentin this instant—grovel before him and beg for his forgiveness!" Rachel snarled.

I was forced to bang my forehead against the floor repeatedly with a succession of dull thuds, causing my vision to go dark. I was completely consumed by humiliation and pain, but that wasn't the end of it.

I was forced to endure a prolonged beating as they kicked and punched me mercilessly until I began losing consciousness and lacked the strength to even groan.

I was eventually dragged to my feet and stuffed into the car. I was thrown into an abandoned warehouse in the suburbs following a long, bumpy ride. I felt several cold, hard objects being tied to my body as I drifted in and out of consciousness.

I then heard the rhythmic ticking that instantly jolted me back to consciousness—it was actually a bomb.

I got patted on the cheek by the leading bodyguard, who crouched before me with a ruthless expression, saying, "You shouldn't mess with people you can't afford to offend in your next life, buddy."

I fought back with everything I had, but I couldn't break free. I glared at them with bloodshot eyes and barked, "How dare you! Rachel will make you pay for this!"

Those bodyguards immediately burst out laughing.

"You think Ms. Mead actually cares about you, huh? Mr. Sorenson is the only person she cares about right now! She'd only worry that Mr. Sorenson had to get his hands dirty, even if she found out that Mr. Sorenson wanted you dead. Have a safe trip to the afterlife!"

They laughed uproariously as they locked the warehouse doors from the outside.

I was left in the dark, with only the cold, rapid ticking of the countdown. I closed my eyes as the final glimmer of hope within me extinguished. "Goodbye forever, Rachel…"

It was then that someone called out my name. "Charlie!"

I hadn't expected anyone to call out to me at a moment like this. I figured I was just hallucinating at that point. I clearly never expected Ruby Shaw, my arch-nemesis, to rush into the warehouse.

I had known Ruby for 20 years, and we had been rivals since childhood. I was seven years old when she destroyed my school craft project in public. I was 12 years old when she stole my registration form for the math olympiad.

I was 18 years old when she intentionally ruined my answer sheet during our final exams. I was 23 years old when she poached my entire core team during my first startup.

I never expected her to run in and save me, completely putting her own life on the line. I yelled to her anxiously, "It's a bomb, and it's about to explode, so get out of here this instant!"

Ruby came straight to me without any hesitation, cut through the ropes binding me in one swift motion, and hurled the bomb out at the last possible moment.

I immediately shielded Ruby from the shockwave as the blast went off on the other side, holding her tightly. I eventually blacked out as the violent explosion tore open my back.

…

Third-Person Point-of-View

In the meantime, Rachel was meticulously treating a microscopic scratch on Quentin's body. Those who looked closely would see that the scratch was so tiny that it was already on the verge of healing itself.

Quentin spoke up, putting on an innocent act. "Isn't Charlie's punishment a bit too harsh, Rach? What if it deeply hurts him? I'd hate to be the homewrecker tearing a family apart."

He then turned his face away in self-reproach and slapped himself hard across the face. "Why can't I just control my feelings for you? Why can't I control how dependent I am on you? If it weren't for me, you and Charlie would be out having a wonderful honeymoon right now."

Rachel immediately grabbed his hand in distress, her voice soft yet urgent while saying, "It's not your fault, Quentin—none of it is. I did everything of my own free will."

She then looked up at Quentin, her eyes brimming with reproach. "Charlie is the one being completely selfish and spiteful here. I was just trying to help you, but he got all defensive because of it.

"It's actually a good thing to teach him a lesson before the wedding. He needs to know his place so that he doesn't get ahead of himself after we're married and thinks he can walk all over me."

Quentin lowered his gaze, his voice downcast yet laced with seduction while saying, "You shouldn't say that about Charlie, Rach. I'm the one to blame for everything here."

"You shouldn't bring him up anymore, Quentin," Rachel said, cutting him off. She then touched Quentin's face gently and murmured, "You're the only one I truly care about now."

They drew closer together, their breaths mingling in the space between them.

"Quentin…" Rachel murmured as she leaned in and took the initiative to kiss him.

Quentin pulled her in by the waist and held her close, their lips meeting in a deep, passionate kiss. He kept murmuring her name between the kisses, his hot breath mingling with hers. "Rach…"

Rachel responded with her eyes shut, her fingers sliding into his hair as she became entirely swept up in the treacherous kiss.

It was then that the door burst open with a bang.