When He Sold My Nudes, I Married My Hidden Guard

Chapter 3

The next morning, Loren rose early, fussing over his attire like a peacock spreading its tail. I kept my gaze unfocused, mimicking my blind days, and asked, "Are there any important meetings today? Can you take me with you? I'm bored at home alone."

He hesitated for only a second before agreeing. He thrived on the thrill of playing games with another woman right under his girlfriend's nose. I pretended to be oblivious, rummaging through the wardrobe to find the most hideous, clashing colors I could assemble. "Dear, do I look pretty in this?" I asked. I watched him struggle to suppress his laughter, even as he offered hollow compliments. Don't disappoint me yet, Loren.

It was, as I suspected, Rosa's birthday gala. The young heirs and heiresses of various families were in attendance, including Loren's lackey. Seeing me arrive on Loren's arm in such a tacky outfit, their eyes filled with disdain, which immediately shifted to fawning sycophancy the moment they looked at Rosa.

As soon as we sat on the sofa, Rosa draped herself over him. Loren couldn't wait to kiss her, his hand resting firmly on my waist. I could feel his warmth. It took me back to when I was twenty, when I’d blocked a baseball bat meant for him from the Mafia, leaving me permanently blind. He had knelt before my mother's tombstone, tears streaming down his face, swearing he would care for me for a lifetime, and that may God strike me down and damn me to hell if he ever broke his promise.

Now, he was holding the daughter of the mistress who had driven my mother to her death. So, his "lifetime" had lasted a mere five years. Strike me down? Damn me to hell? Death is easy, Loren. What I want is to make your life a living hell.

Loren hadn't disappointed me; his performance only hardened my resolve to seek revenge against him and Rosa.

"I want to leave this place, Ethan."

I had only one number saved in this mobile phone. Ethan. My mother’s trump card. She had told me repeatedly never to trust a man's sweet words after she discovered my father’s infidelity and the existence of an illegitimate daughter only months younger than me. Trapped between family constraints and her yearning for freedom, she had eventually taken her own life, leaving Ethan to me—with the hope that I would never need to use him.

"Where are you?"

The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, yet these two words brought me an inexplicable sense of peace.

"At Rosa's birthday gala." I watched from behind the crowd as Loren’s wandering hand slipped into the small of Rosa's back, my stomach churning with revulsion. "I don't want to see these two sickening creatures anymore. I want them to disappear completely."

"My lady, you have finally decided to make use of me."

The nausea roiling in my gut inexplicably settled at his cryptic response. Perhaps it was because he was my mother’s man, and I trusted him instinctively.

"They don't know I’ve regained my sight yet. Ethan, don't come over just yet. Wait for my word. I still have a little gift for Loren."

"As you wish, my lady."

Ethan's voice sounded like a machine awaiting commands, devoid of fluctuation, yet something about it sent a shiver down my spine through the phone line. I didn't tell him how long he would have to wait. As for the gift for Loren—he hadn't disappointed me, so I certainly had to give him something extraordinary in return. If he wanted to play at hiding in plain sight right under my nose, I would give him a thrill he wouldn't forget.