Quinn immediately stood up and walked to the other side of the couch. Chase froze.
He stared at her in disbelief. “What’s that supposed to mean? Why are you avoiding me?”
Quinn suppressed the wave of disgust rising in her stomach. Her expression remained cold.
“We’re getting divorced. We should keep some distance.”
Chase let out a mocking laugh.
“Oh? So now you’re playing shy?” he said. “What happened to when you were the one trying to seduce me?”
Quinn frowned, genuinely confused. “When exactly did I try to seduce you?”
Chase scoffed. “What, you’re denying it now? Everything you’ve been doing lately, trying to get my attention. What else would you call that if not flirting with me?”
Quinn let out a tired breath, clearly exasperated. “Then let me make this perfectly clear. I have never had that intention.”
“Alright, alright, sure you didn’t.” Chase stood up and started walking toward her. “Quinn…”
Quinn immediately got to her feet as well and stepped backward. “What are you doing? Why are you getting so close?”
Chase reached out and grabbed her arm. “Quinn, do we really have to get divorced? Just this once, I’m asking you. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”
Quinn jerked her arm free with force. “Let go of me! If you want to talk, then talk. Don’t put your hands on me!”
“We’re not even divorced yet!” Chase snapped angrily. “Why shouldn’t I be allowed to touch you? You slept with another man and I’m still willing to overlook it. What more do you want from me?”
“Chase, you’re disgusting!”
Quinn’s eyes were already turning red.
In reality, she had been rescued that night. Maddox had never touched her.
But if he had, if she had truly been violated by Maddox and then heard Chase say something like this, she could not even imagine how deeply those words would have cut.
Even now, she could barely stand it.
“I’m disgusting?” Chase barked. “Fine. Today I’ll be as disgusting as you think I am!” He reached for her again. “I already said we can move forward and live a normal life together. What else do you want?”
“I’m not living with you anymore!” Quinn turned and started heading toward the door. “Since you clearly have no intention of discussing the divorce seriously, there’s nothing left for us to talk about!”
“Stop right there!”
Suddenly Chase lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
Her soft body pressed against his chest.
Chase had assumed he would feel nothing.
But to his surprise, that was not the case at all.
“I told you, I don’t mind what happened,” he said, his voice softening as his thoughts began to wander in a different direction. “Quinn, from now on we can live properly as husband and wife. A real married couple. Wouldn’t that be better?”
A wave of nausea surged through Quinn’s stomach. She struggled violently and broke free from his arms.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!”
“Why can’t I touch you? You’re my wife!”
After being shoved away several times, Chase finally lost his temper. He grabbed her arm again, yanked her back, and threw her onto the couch.
The difference in physical strength between a man and a woman became painfully obvious in that moment.
Quinn felt sick. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
As Chase moved closer, the fear deep inside her rose to its peak.
Even if they had been intimate before, she would never have allowed him to touch her under these circumstances.
But the truth was, they never had been.
Now that she had seen Chase’s true nature, even exchanging a single word with him made her feel revolted, let alone anything more.
Chase dropped to one knee beside the couch and clamped a hand around her throat, forcing her to stop struggling.
“You already let another man have his way with you,” he sneered. “And I’m still willing to take you back. Shouldn’t you be grateful?”
Quinn grabbed at his wrist with both hands, struggling for air.
“You bastard…”
Chase leaned his body over hers. “What did Maddox promise you? Then again, I guess it makes sense. You’re pretty, you’ve got a great figure, maybe you were even still a virgin. Lucky guy.” He smirked coldly. “Tonight I might as well see what you’re like myself.”
Quinn kicked at him with all her strength, but he easily pinned her legs down.
In the face of a man’s overwhelming strength, a woman’s resistance seemed almost insignificant.
Quinn’s whole body was shaking. She struggled wildly, screaming without restraint.
Chase was gripping her tightly, but Quinn fought like someone who had nothing left to lose. She ignored the pain in her throat as she clawed at him, pushing and scratching.
In the chaos, Chase suddenly felt a sharp sting across his face. She must have scratched him.
His expression darkened. He raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face.
“Cut it out and behave!” he shouted. “I married you, and now you’re damaged goods. I’m willing to overlook it and you’re still acting like you’re too good for me? You’ve already been with another man. What exactly are you pretending to be so pure for?”
Quinn kept struggling desperately, refusing to stop. Chase was stronger, but he could not actually beat her senseless.
For a moment, he found himself unable to get close to her at all.
“So what, you think once we’re divorced you’ll land someone better?” he said bitterly. “You actually think Maddox would take you seriously? Come on. Guys like him don’t settle down. They just mess around.”
He let out a harsh laugh. “You’re better off staying with me. At least you’d still be Mrs. Sterling. Quinn, have you lost your mind? My face is bleeding!”
He staggered back, furious. “And you’re still hitting me? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Chase was truly furious now. His hand yanked roughly at the collar of her black sweater. The fabric tore open, exposing a large stretch of her pale skin.
Originally, Chase had only been following Rosalie’s suggestion. If he slept with Quinn, their marriage would become a done deal and she would stop insisting on divorce.
He believed his heart belonged to Rosalie anyway, so he had never wanted to touch Quinn in the first place.
Even now, the idea of having sex with her felt like something he was forced into.
But at this moment, watching Quinn struggle beneath him, seeing her porcelain skin exposed before his eyes, a sudden surge of desire ignited inside him.
“Quinn, just relax,” he murmured as he leaned over her again. “We’re married. Let me take good care of you, alright?”
Quinn could not hear anything he was saying anymore.
It felt as though she had fallen into a suffocating nightmare with no way out. Her body moved on instinct alone, struggling and resisting.
Then suddenly, a phone began to ring.
Chase paused for a brief moment. The next second he pressed down on her even harder.
“Stop fighting,” he warned. “Otherwise you’re just going to make this worse for yourself. Be good and”
Quinn pushed against him with all her strength, using both her hands and her legs. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. Her voice had already turned hoarse.
The ringing phone was like an alarm bell exploding in her mind.
In an instant, she snapped back to awareness and screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Help! Somebody help!”
Chase panicked and tried to cover her mouth. “Are you insane? What are you yelling for?”
The house had fairly decent soundproofing, but one of the windows had not been fully closed. If someone outside heard her shouting, things could spiral out of control.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, someone started knocking on the door.
No.It is not knocking.Someone is pounding on it.
Chase froze for a split second. Quinn seized the opportunity and shoved him hard.
Caught off guard, Chase tumbled off the couch and hit the floor.
Quinn could not hold back any longer. Covering her mouth, she ran toward the front door.
Her clothes were disheveled and she looked like a complete mess. If she ran outside like that, Chase would have a hard time explaining the situation.
He reacted quickly and rushed after her.
But he moved too fast. His knee slammed hard into the sharp corner of the coffee table with a loud thud.
Pain shot through his leg and he let out a sharp cry, clutching his knee.
By the time he recovered, Quinn had already reached the entryway and opened the door.
Two tall men in black suits were standing outside.
One of them spoke first. “We heard someone shouting for help from outside. Do you need assistance?”
“Yes!” Quinn was trembling all over. She clutched the torn collar of her sweater tightly as her voice shook. “Please… please call the police for me.”
“No!”
Chase limped over from behind, still gritting his teeth from the pain. When he saw the two men, anger instantly flared across his face.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.