Chapter 8
I didn’t care where Justin went. When I exited the car, I took a taxi back to the restaurant to get my bag.
My divorce certificate from the lawyer was in there. I absolutely couldn’t lose it.”
Lilian was still there, though her three blind dates had long since left. The table, however, was still buzzing with lively chatter.}
She’d changed into a more exquisite dress and was nestled in a booth, drinking with friends.}
The golden light illuminated her face and her eyelashes fluttered, making her look utterly innocent.”
“Lilian, which one of those guys did you like the most?” someone asked, gossiping.)
“They were all pretty good,” she replied with a sweet smile, a hint of shyness in her eyes.
“I thought you liked Justin,” another person leaned in teasingly. “Tsk, a man like that, if it were me, I’d be willing to wait for him my whole life.”
“Who wouldn’t?” another woman immediately chimed in.
“I heard the Sutherlands really like Lilian. Even Grandma Elizabeth, who rarely shows her face, has met Lilian several times and gifted her jewellery, right?”
“You know what? Even the Jamesons dote on her now. Her dad assigned her a special secretary; recently, some people said she’s about to enter the company’s core management.”
“She’s practically more like the legitimate wife than Francesca.”}
“Shhh, keep it down.”
eral women covered their mouths, giggling uncontrollably.
Several
Lilian blinked, feigning annoyance. “Stop talking about me.”
“Why? What’s wrong with talking about you?” a friend asked, wrapping her arm around her should
adored by men, envied by women.“>
I stood at the corner of the stairs, my back pressed against the wall, listening quietly.”
“You were born to be chased and
“But seriously,” the woman suddenly lowered her voice, her tone shifting, “I really thought you and Justin were a done deal. Weren’t you quite interested in him?”
Lilian chuckled softly, her tone dismissive. “I’m not a garbage collector.”
“What do you mean?“>
“He’s Francesca’s man. I wouldn’t touch him.“>
She picked up her wine glass and took a delicate sip. Her smile was so faint, it was almost cold.
“I don’t want someone she’s already used.”
I heard it.
I heard every single word.
However, I didn’t feel anger.
I just found it funny.
Justin, did you hear that?
She cried in front of you, acting so fragile, her voice trembling. “Justin, you’re the best man I’ve ever known.”
And now here she was, sipping wine and tossing you into the trash with a flick of her tongue.
She said she couldn’t stand you, that you’re a “used man.“}]
But what about you?
I smiled mockingly, intending to leave, but then I heard them continue.
“Hey, did you guys hear? My cousin told me Justin went back to the Sutherlands‘ residence to ask for family punishment just to get a divorce from Francesca!”
“No way!” someone gasped.
“Seriously! My cousin was there. He said Justin knelt for a full hour. His father personally used the whip and his back was covered in blood, his clothes sticking to his flesh.”}
“Tsk, that’s too cruel, isn’t it?“}
“You know what that means, right? It means Justin really loves Lilian. Who else would risk disfigurement just to get a divorce?“\
“What about Francesca? Does she know he did that for her?“>
“Even if she does, what can she do? She should’ve had the sense to leave long ago,” someone snorted.§
The whole table burst into laughter.
The cold air from the hallway windows swept like snow, deepening my bones.”
It felt like someone had wrapped a hand around my throat. I could barely breathe. Justin had actually gone through family punishment just to divorce me.” In the Sutherlands, asking for punishment wasn’t some empty ritual. It wasn’t about kneeling, begging, or playing the victim to win sympathy.
It was an ancient law written into their family code: if a Sutherland Family member wanted to break off a marriage, they had to kneel in the hall, receive corporal punishment from their parents and do it in front of the late family’s portraits to prove the decision was justified. Breaking off a family–arranged marriage came at a price.
You had to bleed. Your skin had to be torn open. The pain had to reach your very bones.”
I remember seeing one of Justin’s cousins go through it three years ago.“]
He’d wanted to elope with a girl from another city and defied the engagement arranged by the family.}
I personally witnessed him being whipped, lash after lash, tearing his skin open, his clothes soaked in blood. Later, his wounds became infected and he was bedridden for over a month before he could get up.
