Billionaire's Battered Wife

"Do you, Allan Bryan, take Naomi to be your lawfully wedded wife?" "I do." The priest was given a chilly response from the man when he was asked this question. His tone of answer hit her like a bucket of ice water. She suddenly had the impression that she had been defeated after everything she had done. "Naomi Redfield, do you take Allan Bryan to be your lawfully wedded husband?" "I…." Her lips were shaking so badly, and she felt herself becoming lightheaded. She shuddered in apprehension as the people seated on the expensive chairs behind her bore their gazes into her back. She would be in a lot of trouble if she did anything that made each of them unhappy. The Bryan family held her like a bird in the cage. "I… I do." Her gentle voice declared, however, her response reverberated across the enormous reception hall. It further tore apart the cracks that appeared in her heart. "I now pronounce you husband and wife by the authority that has been bestowed upon me. You can now kiss your bride." Allan drew Naomi in closer, until their faces were only a few centimeters apart, but Naomi breathed heavily, her anxiety coming into play. His eyes were red with rage and frustration, and she could see it in his face. He had no interest in her at all. He had never had one in the past, now will he ever have an interest in the future. "On the day of your wedding, you should avoid expressing yourself in such a way. The guests will probably imagine that we are mistreating you in some way. You certainly don't want them to form such an opinion about both of us, do you?" Allen spoke softly into Naomi's ear. Right now, they looked like couples whispering sweet nothings to each other. She became more rigid, but the expression on her face gradually became less tense. Then she gave a reassuring grin as they inched closer to one another and, at last, their lips made contact with one another. The newlyweds were met with applause and cheers as they made their way into the lobby. Nonetheless, this day marked the beginning of everything. The beginning of Naomi's suffering. Three Years and Ten Months Later. Naomi stood in front of the mirror, a blank look on her face. It's been either three or four years since this happened. A total of almost four years spent incarcerated in this devilish dungeon. There is no way out, and there is no opportunity for isolation. She let out a long sigh as she gingerly put on her garments. Although it was undoubtedly excruciating, she prevailed. As she had finally finished donning her ragged gown, her husband entered the room wearing nothing above the waist except a towel. "Are you still here?" Allen asked. The water that had been dripping from his hair eventually landed on the carpet. He had only recently emerged from the bathroom after his shower. "I truly apologize." Before leaving the room, Naomi bowed. Who cared that her back hurt, that her thighs hurt, that her heart and soul were likewise aching and tired? Who cared about any of that? No one does. Hence, she must go through it all by herself. As they watched Naomi walk through the hallway, the manor servants couldn't help but laugh. They talked among themselves about how she had descended from the position of the Eldest wife to that of a mere s*x slave. They were correct in their assessment, given that Naomi is nothing more than a s*x slave in the house and for the husband that she got married to. Three years ago, Naomi had already developed the ability to ignore the words spoken by the servants and pretend not to care about it. Even though she is the eldest wife, she has no influence over any of the other wives nor the servants, not even the lowest of them. Naomi made her way cautiously down the stairs to the basement, which was the location of her room. There is nothing she can do to change the fact that she had ownership of the most concealed and shadowy portion of the mansion. Even the servants sleep in better rooms than her. "Ahem! Ahem!" Naomi had a strong hacking cough. As the powerful cough rocked her entire body, she bent over in anguish and froze in place. She was frail, lacking in size, and starving. She leaned on the wall to support her back before lowering herself down to the ground in a sluggish manner. The sound of her stomach rumbling could be heard throughout the entire room, yet nobody paid any attention to it. It is too early for food right now. Then, all of a sudden, she heard footsteps and someone was pounding on the door. That's a first for her. In the normal course of events, they would simply storm into the room and drag Naomi out. "You are needed by Madam right now. She is waiting for you in the sitting room." A man's voice could be heard calling out. Naomi immediately recognized it as the voice of the butler. "I'll be there as soon as possible." Naomi replied. She got to her feet and moved deliberately toward the living room. Because she was hungry and weak, her steps were significantly more languid and slow, so the Madam waited a few more minutes for her to arrive at her destination. "You must have grown wings right? How could you have me wait around for you for such a long time? Do you think you are a significant person now that I have been lenient with you for a while?" Naomi hadn't even come to a complete halt in front of her when the woman who was in front of her pushed her backwards and caused her to fall on the ground. Naomi moaned in discomfort as she noticed that she was beginning to sweat around her forehead. Her thoughts were racing in circles. It even appeared like she was bleeding. "Mum, you need to take extra precautions to ensure that you do not hurt yourself." Allen spoke, but he did not get up from where he was sitting. How is it that he only cared about his mother and not the person that is bleeding? Naomi hadn't noticed that he was sitting there, but as she turned around to look, she saw that there was a woman sitting next to him.... Actually, she was sitting on his lap at the time. Their hands were intertwined, his around her waist and hers around his neck. He looked at her with a warm smile on his face as he continued to stare at her. Naomi bit her lips so hard that they began to bleed, but she eventually let go of them even though they were bleeding. Since she did not anticipate receiving anything other than suffering from him, it is unclear why she is becoming irate. "I'm getting married." After Allen made his announcement, the woman sitting on his knee let out a high-pitched squeak in response. "...I understand." His declaration was met with a reply from Naomi in her monotone voice. Yet, if he does end up getting married, what will become of her? Will they end their marriage? That is a good thing, isn't it? She will finally be free. "We are unable to finalize our divorce at this critical juncture, which is unfortunate. You are still very much required at this place." Allen continued. He remained talking despite staring at Naomi's lowered self the entire time. "I see." "We got married because of the prestige and honor you have, and although I am still making use of it for the time being, I can't let the love of my life stay waiting for me forever. You and I got married because of the honor and prestige you have and not because I love you. It is inevitable that she will become worn down, and I do not want to risk losing her." "Why is he telling me all of these things?" Naomi thought. She knew that he didn't love her. "Honey, I will never get sick of looking forward to marrying you. We would have been married three years ago if it hadn't been for this poor girl." The realization dawned on Naomi at that very moment. This is the woman to whom Allen was meant to get married three years ago; nevertheless, circumstances forced Allen's hand and he ended up marrying Naomi instead. In reaction to what the other woman, Serena, had just said, Allen remained silent and did not speak a single word. He did nothing but look at Naomi while she was still kneeling. "I don't understand why you're dressing like that." Allen said quickly to Naomi, who moved around a little bit. Her knees were weak, and she still felt terribly dizzy despite getting some rest. "I didn't have time to change out of these clothes. I am sorry if I offended you in any way." Naomi whispered the words. Her mouth was making a mild coughing sound. "Is that... Blood?" Serena heaved a breath and covered her lips with her hand. It's possible that Serena's remarks acted as a trigger, because as soon as she said that, it set off another round of coughing for Naomi. This one is considerably bloodier than the one before it. "You need to go to your room. Do not allow your filthy blood to leave a stain on the carpet or scare our guest." Delani, who is Allen's mother, beckoned Naomi to leave. She showed no sign of concern at all, and neither she nor Allen appeared concerned about the situation. He did nothing but squeeze his arms tighter around Serena's waist while maintaining his fixation on Naomi. "Then... I'm going to leave right now." Naomi gently stood up so she wouldn't feel too lightheaded when she started moving about. But, Allen did not let her leave. "Have I granted you permission to leave?." Naomi drew a hesitant breath before kneeling back on the ground, however, the other servants held her by her arms. "Stand her up. She moves much too slowly." Allen grunted. Naomi's hands were held by the closest servants as they followed his command and pulled her forward. It was the second time that she had fallen, and this time both of her palms were scraped. "Get on your feet and undress."