I Married His Brother to Save Him

Chapter 2 Past Scars

"Planning to snitch to Camilla and catch us in the act? Nice try," Julian snarled, hauling her into the room and slamming the door shut behind them.

His breath came in ragged, fevered gasps, heat coiling up inside him against his will.

Despite every precaution, he had fallen prey to Camilla's dirty tricks—and he had no idea how.

Seeing the flush spreading across his face, Sylvia suddenly understood the truth. Camilla had drugged his room beforehand; the pills were nothing but a backup ploy. She had been a pawn in this trap from the very start.

She mouthed frantic pleas in silence, tears of frustration spilling down her cheeks as she resorted to desperate hand gestures, begging him to listen.

Julian caught her flailing hands, slamming them above her head onto the bed. Her tear-streaked face—soft, vulnerable, like petals battered by a storm—unraveled the last of his self-control. He crushed his mouth against hers in a brutal, possessive kiss.

Sylvia fought like a wild thing, thrashing against him.

'No. If this goes any further, Julian is ruined. Bedding his late brother's widow on the very day of his funeral—such a scandal would cast him out of the Hugo family for good.'

"Didn't you want to ruin me?" he growled, pinning her writhing wrists to the mattress, his legs caging her beneath him. "Why act like a blushing virgin now?"

His scorching breath grazed her damp eyelid, sending a shiver racing down her spine. Familiar, drowning pleasure tangled with crippling terror, making her scalp prickle with dread.

Desperate to stop him, she sank her teeth into his lower lip, hard enough to draw blood.

Julian only kissed her more fiercely, a reckless, unrelenting assault that trampled every shred of her resistance.

He flipped her over roughly and tore open the back of her dress, revealing a mosaic of bruises—old and new, horrifying to behold—marring her skin.

The most horrifying was a jagged burn scar, stretching from her inner thigh to the curve of her waist, coiling across her tailbone like a grotesque centipede.

His body went rigid mid-movement, his ragged breaths catching in his throat.

Sylvia realized he had seen the scars and panicked, scrambling to cover herself with the tattered fabric of her dress—only for him to pin her down firmly, preventing her from hiding.

"Who did this to you?" he ground out through clenched teeth, his voice low and dangerous.

Silence was her only answer.

Remembering her muteness, Julian sneered coldly. "It was that dead husband of yours, wasn't it? Sylvia, do you regret abandoning me for a monster like him?"

His cruel accusations sent silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

After she married into the Hugo family, Leon Hugo had gradually woken from his coma, filling Camilla with unbridled delight. They were forced to consummate their marriage.

But Leon was paralyzed from the waist down, completely unresponsive to physical touch. Unwilling to accept his fate, he had tortured her relentlessly, using every cruel method imaginable.

Sometimes he used ice, other times scalding water; at his most deranged, he would rake his nails across her skin until not an inch of her was unmarked. Her inability to scream only fueled his brutality, making him lash out even harder.

She had tried to beg for help.

She had gone to Camilla, tearfully recounting Leon's abuse, only to be scolded for "causing trouble."

"We paid a million dollars for you to keep Leon happy," Camilla had snapped. "If you can't even do that, repay every penny we spent on you."

At that moment, Sylvia had understood the cruel truth. As long as Leon was satisfied, even if he tortured her to death, the Hugo family would never hold him accountable.

She had contemplated suicide countless times, but each attempt had been foiled. Clinging to the faint memories of her time with Julian, she had endured through sheer willpower, holding on until the day Leon finally died. Only then had she felt a flicker of relief.

Tears soaked the sheets as Sylvia turned her face away, overcome with anguish.

Julian leaned close to her ear, his voice cold and mocking. "Back when we were together, I wouldn't even let you cook, for fear you'd burn yourself. And yet you traded me for money, married a monster who hurt you."

As he spoke, he tried to continue his advances, determined to punish her for her perceived betrayal.

Determined not to ruin him, Sylvia struggled violently, tumbling off the bed and slamming her forehead against the nightstand. Fresh blood welled up instantly, streaming down her face.

The sight of the blood jolted Julian back to his senses, the fog of desire and rage lifting just enough to see the pain in her eyes.

His voice was rough, strained, as he spat out the words, "Do you think I'd ever want a shameless, ungrateful woman like you? You're not worth it. If not for the drugs, I wouldn't spare you a single glance."

A sharp, urgent rapping sounded at the door the second he finished speaking.

Sylvia became nervous instantly, her face draining of all color. Had Camilla's accomplices arrived to witness the scandal?

Without waiting for Julian to respond, she scrambled to hide behind the curtains, her disheveled state leaving her no way to explain herself if caught.