Chapter 2 Busted By Her Former Mother-in-Law
Chapter 2 Busted By Her Former Mother-in-Law
Chapter 2 Busted By Her Former Mother-in-Law
Adeline had gone completely numb. She was so embarrassed that she felt like all her blood was flowing to her head. All rights © NôvelDrama.Org.
But Victoria had no intention of holding her accountable. She did the opposite, however, shielding Adeline behind her like a mama hen and yelling angrily at Curtis.
Adeline found it difficult to believe Victoria had set her up after seeing the way she behaved.
"Curtis, look at all the ridiculous things you've done! This is ridiculous! How could you do something like this to my future daughter-in-law? You hate me and my children, don't you?"
Victoria turned to face Adeline, who was blushing and seemed embarrassed. She looked particularly angry, as if she cared most about fairness and justice. "Adeline, don't be afraid. I'm here to protect you!"
Adeline didn't respond. Her mind was a jumble as she examined her ex-mother-in-law with caution.
Curtis, who was sitting in his wheelchair, laughed sarcastically and gave a soft sneer. "Victoria, you beat the clock! You even brought my father here?"
Adeline frowned.
Victoria exclaimed as she dragged Adeline out the door, "Adeline, look how he's slandering you! Don't be afraid, my dear. I'll protect you!"
Adeline's mind was a jumbled mess at this point. She couldn't tell if it was Victoria or Curtis the one who tried to hurt her, so she could only refuse.
"No. I just want to go home and be alone."
Victoria didn't give her much of a chance to flee. Instead, she seized the opportunity to drag Adeline down the hall while holding the wrist.
Victoria turned to Curtis' father, Frank Riley, and complained, "Dad, Curtis slept wit my son's fiancée! Adeline was still a virgin! He must explain what he was doing! "
When Frank heard this, he became so enraged that he yelled at the second floor, "Curtis, you bastard! Get your ass down here!"
Adeline stood in the living room, embarrassedly pinching her palms with her fingernails. She felt humiliated, as if a knife had pierced her heart.
She was supposed to marry Frank's future grandson. But, after such an embarrassing incident, she was unsure how she should deal with Logan and Frank.
Frank's expression conveyed his displeasure. He covered his chest with his hand to calm his heartbeat and ordered the butler, "Hurry up and bring that bastard son of mine here!"
The butler nodded and went upstairs, then pushed Curtis' wheelchair to the first floor through the elevator.
Frank slammed his cane on the coffee table and demanded, "Tell me what's going on!" as soon as Curtis entered the living room.
Before Curtis could say anything, Victoria ran up to Frank and complained, "Dad! Curtis' business rival put some drugs in his drinks last night! Adeline stayed at our house lately. Curtis wanted to molest her after he saw her at home. He asked a servant to take Adeline to his bedroom!"
Several bodyguards arrived just as she finished speaking, bringing in the servant, whose face was covered in bruises.
The servant who had just entered dropped to his knees and yelled, "Sir! I listened to Curtis because I was an idiot! I did as he told me since I had no guts to refuse him!
All the evidence seemed to point directly at Curtis doing this, but Adeline had a feeling that something was wrong.
She frowned as she realized Curtis had not done this.
Curtis became enraged when he returned to his room last night and discovered a woman in his bed, and he even told her to get out. He didn't appear to be expecting anyone to show up that night.
But then he had sex with her for unknown reasons, and she thought perhaps his drug was to blame for his actions.
After careful consideration, she concluded that the glass of milk Victoria had given her was the cause of her drowsiness.
Adeline realized Victoria was the one who wanted to hurt her.
Pale and mocking but helpless, Curtis sat in his wheelchair.
He said with a mocking smile, "I know nothing I can say now will help because I did hurt her. Well, I'm ready to take the punishment."
Victoria couldn't stop herself from smugly laughing.
Adeline looked perplexed at Curtis, as she couldn't figure out why he admitted this when it wasn't his fault.
Rapidly raising his cane, Frank smacked Curtis square in the shoulder. "You're such a bastard!"
Curtis didn't dodge away and grunted softly after being hit.
Adeline gently frowned.
"Now, what are you going to do about that?" yelled Frank.
"I'll be responsible for her. I plan to marry her." Curtis quickly responded.
Frank grunted indignantly and appeared hesitant. "Aside from marrying Adeline, what other option do you see for compensating her? You should look at yourself in the mirror! And you should have asked her if she'd give you that opportunity, you jerk!"
Frank motioned to the butler, "Bring me my whip."
The butler froze before pleading to him on Curtis' behalf, "Sir, I'm afraid Curtis can't take this. He's still feeling the effects of the car crash. How can he endure being hit with this whip?"
"Just go get it! Cut the crap!" Frank said with a serious expression on his face.
The butler was speechless and brought Frank the long whip without a second's delay.
Frank grabbed hold of the leather whip and glanced over at Adeline.
"Let me ask you a question, Adeline. Are you willing to marry my bastard son? If you don't, I'll kill him today to make amends to you. As compensation, you may tell me anything else you want."
Adeline turned to face Curtis, who was staring at her with his mouth slightly open.
"If you will marry me, we'll become a family. I may be disabled at the moment, but I will do my best to treat you well. You can leave now if you don't want to marry me. You don't have to watch me get
punished."
Frank cut him off mid-sentence by having the butler bring him to his knees in front of a portrait of their ancestors.
The long whip smacked into his back with a resounding crack.
Curtis couldn't stop trembling, and his white shirt was quickly stained with blood.
Adeline's heart missed a beat, and she felt the urge to cry.
Curtis, who was on his knees and being whipped, reminded her of what happened to herself many years ago. Her sister had accused her of stealing something from her at the time, but nobody listened to her explanation, and nobody believed her.
Adeline realized they were both suffering from the same things: tragic fates and constant persecution.
In addition, his promise that they would "become a family" meant a lot to her. She hoped that by marrying him, she could finally escape her abusive family.
She and Logan had been dating for three years, but she was unsure where their relationship was going.
As Adeline's eyes closed in agony, her mind flashed back to the moment just before Logan had left.
She spilled the beans to him last night about her family's plans to trap her. She offered to get a marriage license with him so her family wouldn't hurt her anymore.
However, Logan replied, "Adeline, I always thought a mother would not be too cruel to her daughter, even if she hated her. Is there some miscommunication between you two?"
"Don't worry, Adeline. You'll be fine here since my mother will look after you. You are welcome to stay at my place as long as you want."
"Adeline, it's not that I don't want to marry you. I was hoping to get married to you after holding a big proposal ceremony for you."
"I'm sorry, Adeline, but this archaeological dig program is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Will you wait for me? We can get married when I get back!"
She felt like her heart was being torn in two as Logan's soft, dreamy voice continued to echo in her head.
But every time the whip cracked, it jerked her back to the bloody truth.
She had to accept the fact that neither she nor Logan could bring their relationship back to the past.
As Adeline's eyes opened, her gaze became more determined.
"I do, Grandpa! I'll marry Uncle Curtis!"