Chapter 7 Strip
650 Words
"Julian," Seraphina said steadily, "you can punish me however you like, but you must promise not to trouble Jessica."
Elara's eyes lit up instantly. "Really? Anything?"
"Yes."
Elara smiled sweetly. "Then take off that dress you're wearing. Take it off right here."
The moment she finished speaking, shock rippled through the crowd. The celebration tonight was grand. Thousands of guests filled the hall.
To make her undress in public…
A flicker of hesitation passed through Julian's eyes, but he said nothing. He simply watched Seraphina.
He was waiting. As long as she asked him, even with just one pleading look, he would step in and smooth things over.
But she did not. She lowered her head. After a long moment, she said softly, "Okay."
Seraphina lifted her hand behind her back and slowly pulled down the zipper of her dress.
The men in the room quickly turned away. She was Julian's wife. No matter how little he favored her, she was not someone they could stare at casually.
Julian watched as the gown slipped off her body inch by inch. Underneath, she wore a thin black slip dress that clung tightly to her figure, barely concealing anything.
Julian's fists tightened gradually. Anger ignited in his eyes. She was doing this on purpose.
She would rather humiliate herself in front of everyone than ask him for help.
"That's enough," he said suddenly. "I said that's enough. Stop. Do you hear me?"
Seraphina heard him. But she did not stop. She finished removing the dress, dropped it to the floor, and then looked at Elara. "I've taken it off. Are you satisfied?"
Elara stood there, stunned.
Seraphina turned and walked toward the exit. From beginning to end, she did not look at Julian once.
Whispers rose among the female guests.
"How shameless. She actually stripped. No wonder Julian doesn't want her."
"That's not all. She even slept with Lucas Sterling before."
"Lucas? The one Julian sent to prison? How could Julian marry a woman like that?"
The cold night air hit her the moment she stepped outside. After only a few steps, she felt something warm trickle down.
She was bleeding from her nose again. She wiped it away carelessly, but her vision blurred.
Darkness swallowed her, and she collapsed onto the ground. When Seraphina woke up, she was lying in a hospital bed.
Elara sat on the sofa across from her, humming cheerfully. The moment she saw Seraphina open her eyes, she smiled brightly.
"Sera, I just heard some good news," Elara said lightly. "The doctor says you're dying soon."
Seraphina's heart skipped a beat. If Elara knew, then Julian…
Elara seemed to read her thoughts and laughed even harder. "Relax. Julian doesn't know. I paid off the doctor. He told Julian that you're perfectly healthy."
"How could I let him know you're dying? What if he feels sorry for you? What if he can't let you go? Absolutely not!" Elara added.
Seraphina did not want to say a single word to her. She closed her eyes.
Elara walked over to the bed and leaned close to her ear.
"Sera, since you're about to die, let me tell you a secret," she whispered. "Do you know why our parents were poisoned back then?"
Seraphina's eyes flew open. All those years ago, both their parents had died from poisoning. The police had concluded that they had accidentally mixed rat poison into their food.
But Seraphina did not remember ever having rat poison at home. Where had it come from?
Elara's expression held no trace of sorrow for their parents. She smiled casually as she continued. "They were too biased. They called you the white swan and me the ugly duckling. I was hiding outside the door and heard everything. So I bought rat poison and put it in their food."
She tilted her head and grinned. "Don't you think they deserved it?"
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