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.

of his muscles throughout his body, it seemed as if he

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

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

on his shoulders and threw the leather belt back at him. “Hurry up and

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

Maverick staggered slightly from the unexpected

his belt, then rose to retrieve the shirt and

directly to avoid soiling them. Instead, he simply held

her back facing him. She hadn’t even changed her attire; how could

still wearing your coat. It won’t

and replied, “I don’t care.

at the foot of her bed, his gaze fixed on her the entire

anger rushing to her head. Suddenly, she sat up abruptly, her face inflated with irritation. Seizing the

“Get out!”

caught it steadily and placed it on the dressing table for

then grabbed another pillow and

and a gentle smile hung on

everything within reach from the bedside table—tissue

beat. He then helped her place them

smile on his

eyes, it felt

on the bedside table for a while but found nothing. When she looked down, she realized that

hand of guilt toward the table lamp. The lamp was still plugged in, yet instead of disconnecting the power first, she forcefully

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

vanished from her sight. Only then did she place the table lamp back in its original

the bedside table, she quietly got out of bed, retrieved her pillow, and took several deep breaths to calm herself before heading to the bathroom to

the next

not uttering a single word. Regardless of what Maverick said, she completely disregarded

right after finishing her breakfast in

Maverick, so

the office, Gwendolyn first made a

name of the potion that Maverick

essentially the same as

for images of skin damage caused by the potent S40 strong corrosive potion. Since it was a laboratory chemical, it couldn’t be found through regular