Terence was indeed the illegitimate son of the Laris family and had only been brought back after his mother's tragic death. Grandpa had been weighed down by guilt so he never allowed anyone to mention that.

Grandpa's eyes blazed with fury after he heard Marilyn's words. "Shut your face up! Leave the Laris family if you can't do that!"

I turned to look at Terence worriedly. Marilyn probably had hit a nerve there.

Under the table, Terence wrapped my hand in his warm palm and gave my hand a little squeeze. It seemed that he was saying "I'm okay."

Marilyn's face reddened in exasperation. She didn't dare to give grandpa any lip and shouted at Terence with a finger pointed at him, "You're such an ingrate! Scott's father was so nice to you when he was alive! How could you pick on me and Scott like this? How could you beat him…"

"I didn't mean it," Terence interrupted Marily unhurriedly. He held his coffee with natural grace, unfazed by being called an illegitimate son.

"Mom, why are you having a row again?" Scott strode downstairs at this time.

He looked dapper in a tailored white suit but his expression was frigid.

I was astonished to see his broken lips and swollen cheek.

>

>

Scott had been called away when he tried to molest me yesterday and I'd heard thuds in the study later. My mind was reeling when I pieced these things together.

>

Marilyn scurried to Scott and gently touched his face. "Look at Scott's face, father. This is definitely an atrocity!"

"Enough. Terence said he didn't mean it and that's it," Grandpa snapped and shot a glare at Terence, blaming him for beating Scott too hard.

Marilyn was enraged by grandpa's partiality for Terence but didn't dare to protest. She darted me a warning glance and then left.

>

I cast my eyes down and cracked a bitter smile.

"My mom gets irritable sometimes. Please don't feel offended," Scott said in an airy tone. He glanced at Terence who was sitting in Scott's usual seat. Taking the seat beside me, Scott wrapped an arm around my shoulders and said in a pretentious voice, "Good morning, darling."

I got goosebumps when he called me darling. Perhaps because I was still afraid of him, I shuddered, and only then did I realize that Terence was still holding my hand. I pulled my hand back with a jerk.

Terence kept his countenance without looking at me. His lips were pressed into a tight line and he took on a frosty look.

Scott talked about the affairs in the company with grandpa over breakfast and suddenly swirled his head to look at me intently. "You look beautiful today, darling."

He then leaned over to kiss me. I averted my face in disgust and glimpsed the wickedness in his eyes. My right arm was given a little push the next second.

I knocked over Terence's coffee and it spilled all over him.

I then gave Scott a dirty look and quickly stood up. "I'm terribly sorry, Terence."

At this moment, a bag of tissues was thrown over. Chloe, who had been silent all the time, said in a seemingly kind voice, "Use the tissues, Chelsea. Hope Terence didn't get burned."

I pulled a few tissues and blushed when I found that most of the coffee had spilled over Terence's crotch.

Scott reached out and gathered me in his arms. He rested his chin on my head and said without any repentance, "Sorry, Terence. Chelsea didn't mean it."

Scott was such a jerk. If grandpa weren't here, I would've slapped him in the face.

He must have done that deliberately and said those derisive words to bug me.

"It doesn't matter." Terence took the tissues in my hand and smiled significantly. When he saw Scott's arm around my waist, his eyes darkened and he stalked off.

[...]

After breakfast, grandpa liked going to the garden to see the lavenders and indulge in memories.

I came to the garden and saw grandpa in the pavilion. When I walked towards him and thought about how to talk about the divorce with him, someone popped out of nowhere and rudely pulled me to a corner.

"Are you going to talk with grandpa? You've already forgotten my warning yesterday?" Scott pressed me against a trunk and touched his nose to mine, glaring at me fiercely.

He gritted his teeth and looked as if he wanted to eat me alive. My knees went weak and I said in terror, "What are you doing? Let me go…"

Sure enough, he opened his mouth and bit my neck hard. He then testily tore open my shirt and sank his teeth into my collarbone.

I screamed in pain, pounding him and pulling his hair hard.

He didn't let go of me until I smelled blood in the air.

"You want a divorce? That's a pipedream, Chelsea!" He roared with a sullen face. His lips were stained with my blood and he looked scary.

I shivered and felt my heart being gripped by a huge hand. Waves of fear washed over me and I uncontrollably trembled.

"You're a downright lunatic!" I disengaged myself from his grip and ran away as fast as I could.

However, before I made it far, my waist was caught and I was violently dragged into the bedroom.

Scott slammed the door shut and threw me to the carpet. In an acerbic voice, he shouted, "You can't wait to divorce me. Who are you going to hook up with?"

"I'm not that sleazy. It's your mother…"

He kicked me in the stomach and interrupted me. I groaned and curled up in pain, feeling like throwing up.

Scott wanted to help me up but he just took a few steps towards me and stopped. He then looked at me with an apathetic expression as though I weren't a human but a dog.

I heard my heart breaking into pieces. Tears flowed down my face and fell to the ground. "Why on earth do you treat me like this, Scott?"

We'd grown up together and been married for four years. He'd even have feelings for a pet dog after so many years together. Why could he beat me so brutally?

Scott snorted out a laugh. He got down on one knee and pinched my chin to force me to look up at him. "Do you know why I didn't make love with you in the past four years?"