I Walked Away And He Lost His Mind (Zephyra) novel Chapter 175

With a sharp rip, the buttons on my blouse were torn off, one of them clattering to the floor. A sudden chill ran down my spine as my shoulders and collarbone were exposed.

A tidal wave of panic crashed over me as I realized what he was about to do. My pupils constricted. “Mmph (Let go)…”

Steven did release my lips. His usually refined face was now streaked with blood, his lips stained a vivid red, giving him a strangely demonic look. His dark eyes, filled with a deep-seated rage, bored into me. His long, slender fingers slipped under the hem of my shirt, his touch a malicious taunt.

“The places I’ve touched… has he touched them too?”

This was pure humiliation. I was so enraged I reached for something else on his desk to hit him with.

“Steven, I’m going to fucking kill you!”

But he caught my hand, his eyes like ice. “I asked you a question!”

“No! Horace is not a filthy, perverted, disgusting pig like you!” I must have truly lost my mind, because I managed to wrench my hand free, scramble off his lap, and slap him across the face with all my might. My eyes were burning with rage.

“Steven, if you dare touch me, I swear I will have you arrested today! I mean it!”

“Even if you refuse to divorce me, even if we are married, you cannot touch me without my consent! And don't you dare tell me I have no proof. The blood on your forehead, the slap mark on your face, and the bruises on my wrist are all proof of my resistance!”

“And even if I don’t get what I want in the end, even if I still can’t divorce you, I guarantee that your losses will be a thousand times greater than mine!”

The CEO of a publicly traded company in a loveless marriage, accused of marital rape—that would be enough to fuel public outrage for a long time. It would be impossible for it not to have an impact.

Steven’s gaze fell to my wrist, where several red marks were already turning purple—a result of my desperate struggle against his iron grip.

He seemed to sober up a little, but the look in his eyes was still one of suppressed frustration and turmoil.

“What you call a huge loss would be nothing more than a scratch to me. And if news gets out that you won’t let me touch you, you’re the one who’s more likely to be humiliated.”

“Grandfather is already asking questions about us. Don’t upset him. I’m giving you three days. Put an end to this divorce nonsense and move back into the villa with me.”

“I’ll forget everything that’s happened. You can go back to being Mrs. Lancaster, back to being my little clinging vine. I’ll even spend more time with you. We can go back to the way things were.”

*Clinging vine?* So that was the ultimate fate of a woman who gave up everything for love. You lose yourself, and then you’re branded as a useless parasite who can only survive by clinging to her husband.

But if he looked down on me so much, why did he want to go back to the way things were?

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. “Steven, you used to not even let me touch you. Now, you’re not only refusing to divorce me, you want me to be your woman again. You’re trying to force me back to your side. Your behavior is so pathological, I can’t help but wonder… are you falling for me?”

When he had torn my clothes, I had felt his raw, uncontrolled arousal. He truly wanted to sleep with me—a woman he had despised and rejected on their wedding night, a woman he supposedly didn’t like in the slightest.

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