Armond’s face loosened into a dull expression, save for the slight twitching of his lips that showed how entertained he was by my suffering.
A sharp stench filled the air around us. I emptied almost everything in me, yet I could still taste the sourness of rotten plums in my mouth. It took a moment before I regained my focus on him. I yelled in disbelief, “Armond, you psychopath! You’re insane!”
That’s right. Armond thought to himself.
Armond’s eyes bore indifferently into mine. “Hmm? Have you finally decided to surrender the contract to me?”
“Do you even know what you’re doing?” I felt my emotions churning as I stared down at the repulsive man before me, who sought after the contract by any means necessary.
Armond relaxed deeper into the sofa, sprawling his arms into a comfortable position. He shot a contemptuous stare at me and hissed, “Do you think Anthony would hand over the contract if I made you join them?”
“You’re insane!” My face paled to a greyish disdain. Feeling my blood run cold, I stepped backward, wanting to put some distance between myself this monster of a man.
He howled obnoxiously at the sight of me trembling. His laughter wriggled into my ears like worms as he mocked, “You’re too meek to beat me in this game of chase, Sienna. I assure you won’t lose anything by giving me the contract, so why don’t you hand it over, hmm?”
Damn it. Regret seeped into me as if I had been drenched with a bucket of cold water. I shouldn’t have entered the room and walked so willingly into the lion’s den.
Gathering whatever courage I had left, I forced myself to meet his gaze. “I’d hand over the contract to anyone without question, just not you, Armond. What you’re after is the Murphy family’s recognition, aren’t you? Well, I won’t give you that satisfaction. Look at how you destroyed the Murphy family business. That was why you sought after the trading rights to Moranta’s ports; you wanted to undo the damages you’ve done to the Murphys.
“You’re probably nervous because Mr. Murphy’s already planning to remove you from your current powerful position, am I right? Well, a vile man like you will never succeed in life, no matter how capable you are or how many despicable tactics you resort to. I won’t give the contract to you. I’ll put you behind bars myself and allow the Murphys’ next heir to restore their family’s initial glory. As for you, you’re better off rotting in a jail cell where you belong.”
Armond gazed coldly at me, his dark eyes gradually shrouded by devilish redness. Then, his lips curved into a vicious smile as he hissed at me, “Rotting in a jail cell? Haha! Sienna, no doubt Anthony has fallen head over heels in love with you! I’m really impressed with your courage. So far, nobody dares to talk to me like that!”
I moved backward as he approached me inch by inch, never shifting his blazing eyes away from me. Bang! The sound was followed by a slight pain on my back, indicating that I had retreated to a corner of the cage. As a wave of fear surged within me, my legs started to tremble. I gulped and was about to force myself to utter some words. However, in just a split second, he ripped my clothes into pieces and bellowed, “The rest of you, get out now!”
Everyone in the room stumbled out in an instant. As he trapped me in between his arms, I stammered in panic, “A-Armond, what do you intend to do to me? You can’t touch me! A-Anthony won’t let you off easily!”
He snickered, “Do you think that I’m afraid of him? He’s just a nobody to me! Sienna, you must have forgotten that this is my turf. Do you think he has the right to stop me from doing anything? After all, he’s still busy investigating me in A City at the moment. Do you think he can reach here at once to come to your rescue?”
As he leaned closer to me, I was repulsed by his disgusting countenance. My entire body was shivering in utter anxiety, and I was seconds away from an emotional breakdown. I intended to raise my arms and push him away, yet he was far too strong.
The insidious man looked at me from head to toe with his ferocious eyes. After a while, he slowly took off his black suit and unbuttoned his shirt. My eyes widened as my voice quivered. “What are you doing?”
He twitched his lips and asked mockingly, “You know what I want to do now, don’t you?”
Shaking my head frantically, I tried to talk him into changing his mind by yelling, “Armond, you can’t do this! Nora is still in this villa as well. You can’t do that! You can’t!”
His lips lifted into a sly smile. “Didn’t you have a bet with her earlier? Well, this is a golden opportunity for you to test it out now. You can experience it for yourself, and you’ll find out the truth. Besides, maybe you’ll get to know whether Anthony or I have better skills too!”
“Back off!” I grimaced and growled at him. How I wish I could rip him into pieces at once, but there was nothing I could do!
He stared at me and said sarcastically, “Why’re you looking at me like that? How do you know that I’m not as well-built as Anthony? You can place your hand on my body and feel it for yourself. Come on now, don’t be shy…”
Crouching beside me, he grabbed my hands to press on his body forcefully. I tried hard to pull my hands away, yet to no avail.
I was aghast at his forcefulness, but there was nothing I could do to stop him.
My pupils constricted in profound anxiety right then. Following that, I shook my head apprehensively and yelled at him, “Armond, stop it!”
However, he smiled wryly and continued to mock me, “Are you sure you’re not keen on comparing me with Anthony? Don’t you, women, like to compare?”
Taking a deep breath, I rose abruptly and pushed him away, thinking of dashing out. However, he grabbed hold of my body effortlessly. No matter how hard I kicked and slapped him, he never loosened his tight grip on me.
Embracing my body from the back, he clung to me tightly. I shrieked hysterically, “Armond Murphy, you pervert! Let go of me! Or I swear to God, you will meet your end soon!”
“Do you know since when I’ve fallen for you? It’s love at first sight! It’s amazing, isn’t it? The very moment I met you, I told myself that I must win your heart by all means. Initially, I thought of sending you all the way to Venria, and would only appear to be your knight in shining armor when you’re in trouble. I’m sure you would’ve been touched by my gesture and fall for me easily then. Nonetheless, I’ve underestimated your love for Anthony. I’ve never expected that even after being apart for such a long time, you are still deeply in love with him!”
Unable to move at all, I panted and responded in difficulty, “Let me go! Don’t you know how humiliating it is when you said that you’ve fallen for me?”
He sneered as he became more violent due to exasperation. “Humiliating? In that case, I’ll make sure that you’ll be humiliated for the rest of your life!”
The next moment, he tore my skirt apart with brutal force. I was stupefied and yelled helplessly, “Armond, you’d better think twice. I would never forgive you if you dare to touch me! I’d rather die, and by then, Anthony would surely avenge me by ruining the Murphys!”
Armond burst into laughter that instant. “The Murphys? They are nothing to me, so don’t waste your time threatening me with the Murphys. Besides, Anthony will never be able to trace your whereabouts. Did you see this cage here? I’ve prepared it just for you, my sweet little canary! Give up now, Sienna! There’s no use struggling because you’re mine!”
“Never!” I roared at him and bit hard on the back of his hand. He shouted in pain and loosened his tight grip. Gazing at me with a glint of ferocity in his eyes, he scoffed, “I’m sure Anthony is on the way to rescue you now, but he’s too impetuous. Impulsiveness and anxiety would always lead to something disastrous. Who knows if he would be a victim of a car accident or a plane crash? Sienna, if any misfortune occurs to him on his way, won’t you feel guilty? After all, he came here because of you…”
“Armond Murphy, you’re a freakin’ lunatic!” Instantaneously, I was panic-stricken at the sight of his nonchalance. On the brink of tears, I could feel the throbbing pain of my heart. No! I can’t let anything happen to Anthony! I won’t!
“Don’t hurt him! You just want the contract, don’t you? I promise to give you that as long as you don’t threaten him!” I mustered my courage to grip his hand and look at his grim face. “Armond, I know you only wanted the contract, so I will give it to you. Just please don’t hurt Anthony, okay?” I pleaded.
Right that instant, there was a sudden change in his expression. He laughed scornfully at me, “My, my, Sienna, you can only blame yourself for messing things up. Initially, it never crossed my mind to hurt you or even using you to threaten Anthony. However, you’ve spoiled my mood, and now, I’ve changed my mind.”
After that, he rose and opened the door of the cage. He stepped out and then picked up the phone on the floor to hand it to me. Squinting his eyes, he said grimly, “Call Anthony now and ask him to pass the contract to Linda. Do you get it?”
I cooled myself down, took the phone from him, and called Anthony. He answered my call almost immediately.
Upon hearing his voice, my heart flinched because of the complex emotions. Suppressing my uneasiness, I asked, “Anthony, where are you now? How are you? Is everything going on well?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry, Don’t be afraid!” His deep, calming voice seemed to soothe my anxiety.
Nothing is more important than his safety! I would do anything, just so that he’s safe and sound…
Meanwhile, Armond was staring at me with a grim look on his face. He was waiting for me to bring up the topic on the contract. Pursing my lips, I asked Anthony tactfully, “Anthony, do you still remember where I put the sandalwood box from Grandma?”
On the other end of the line, Anthony seemed to be stunned for a moment before replying, “It’s at home. Weren’t you always aware of that?”
I knitted my brows as I started to ponder. After that incident, he never talked about the contract. Hence, I didn’t know where it was all this while! “Alright, I’m not at home right now, but I’ll get someone to go and get it later. You take care over there! Come back only after getting your matters resolved, alright?”
He replied gently, “Alright. I’m almost done with it anyway. Anyway, are you okay with being alone for now?”
Ignoring how Armond was staring at me, I pursed my lips and replied, “Yeah, I’m fine. I just kind of miss you, but it’s alright… I’ll wait for you at home. Do come back soon!”
Before I could finish my words, Armond stretched out his arm to snatch the phone away from me. Fortunately, I managed to dodge, so Anthony did not sense anything awry. He paused momentarily before replying, “Alright. I miss you too!”
Glancing at Armond, who was looking intently at me, like a beast ready to pounce on its prey, I told Anthony, “Take care of yourself. I’ll see you soon.”
He replied gently, “Alright, you too!”
After hanging up the phone, Armond snatched it from me instantly and smashed it onto the floor. I was dumbfounded to see the phone shatter into pieces right in front of my eyes.
Nevertheless, I remained silent and tried to keep a cool head. He turned and glared at me with eyes that were blazing with anger. The next moment, he dragged me from the floor and flung me onto the sofa.
Before I could react, he had pinned me down and started to run his hands all over my body, despite my struggles.
As he continued to run his disgusting hands all over my body, I almost broke down. I growled at him, “Armond, I’ve asked about the thing that you want. It’s at the villa. You can ask your men to go and get it any time. So why are you still doing this to me, you b*stard?”
I tried to push him away by force and threw punches at him, yet he was not affected at all. It was as if he was a robot without any sense of pain.
Seeing that he had totally lost his mind, I was panicked that the worst would befall me at any time. I could not understand why he was treating me so roughly and domineeringly all of a sudden.
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.
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