The Ex and Her Riches

Maverick gazed up at her, a flattering smile playing at his thin lips.

Gwendolyn cast a deep, meaningful glance at the man.

Indeed, he was due to be taught a lesson that night, and Gwendolyn’s anger simply would not subside until the man was crying and pleading for mercy.

She extended her hand toward him. “Belt.”

Without hesitation, Maverick swiftly unfasted the metal buckle and obediently handed the belt to her. Then, he turned around and faced away from the woman.

Gwendolyn felt a shiver course through her entire being. She folded the belt in half, her eyes glinting with resolution and intensity. Lifting the belt high into the air, she readied herself to strike the wounded back before her.

However, before she could swing the belt in her hand, her gaze involuntarily landed on the palm-sized burn on the man’s back.

The vividly crimson flesh and the gruesome wound provoked unease. It was so strikingly conspicuous that it was hard to ignore.

Besides, he’d sustained the injury by shielding her. Otherwise, it would be her face that was bearing such agony.

As Gwendolyn pondered on this, she experienced a surge of conflicting emotions. It felt as though an unseen force held her wrist, preventing her from lowering it no matter what.

She released a silent sigh and seemed to have deflated all of a sudden, for she realized, much to her vexation, that she actually started to feel sorry for him.

This feeling made Gwendolyn very unhappy.

The three years she had spent in the Wright residence were akin to enduring a living hell, devoid of any semblance of warmth. Following the divorce, she had observed some changes in Maverick and his growing sincerity. It would be disingenuous if she said she remained unmoved.

Nevertheless, Gwendolyn refused to tread upon that familiar path again.

No matter how much she attempted to sever the ties between him and herself, in the end, she would be the one to wind up hurt.

At that thought, she tightened her grip on the belt, trembling as though she had made a momentous decision.

Maverick remained motionless, not uttering a single word nor furrowing his brows.

the involuntary tensing of his muscles throughout his body, it seemed as if he was impervious to

her gaze unconsciously shifting to the center of his back, where the bloody, blurred wound pained her

was thrown into turmoil, and despite everything, she couldn’t bring herself to

She gave the man a ferocious kick on his shoulders and threw the

those words, Gwendolyn lifted the quilt and, with her back turned to Maverick, nestled

off guard, Maverick staggered slightly

fastened his belt, then rose to retrieve the shirt and

from wearing the clothes directly to avoid soiling them. Instead, he simply held them in his

him.

coat. It won’t be comfortable to sleep

teeth and replied, “I don’t

foot of her bed, his gaze fixed

of anger rushing to her head. Suddenly, she sat up abruptly, her face inflated with

“Get out!”

placed it on the dressing

grabbed another

caught it once again, and a gentle

furious, launching everything within reach from the bedside

caught each item effortlessly, never missing a beat. He then helped

smile on his face brimmed with

it

burst at any moment. She searched on the bedside table for a while but found nothing. When she looked down, she realized that she had already thrown everything away, except for

so, she extended her hand of guilt toward the table lamp. The lamp was still

in surrender, saying, “Stop! I was wrong. I’ll

the door and vanished from her sight. Only then

gazed at the assortment of items on the bedside table, she quietly got out of bed, retrieved her pillow, and took several deep breaths to

long, the next

silent, not uttering a single word.

right

to Maverick, so all she had

office, Gwendolyn first made a phone call to her eldest

the name of the potion that Maverick mentioned last night to

was essentially the same

from Shadow Bell once again and searched for images of skin damage caused by the potent S40 strong corrosive potion. Since it was