Chapter 3

3.

With a loud crash, Pierce kicked his chair across the room.

The casino fell dead silent, nobody daring to utter a single breath.

Before I could even process his anger, a sharp slap cracked across my face.

The violent impact threw me backward, my lower back slamming hard against the sharp corner of the table.

Pierce glared down at me like I was dirt beneath his shoes. "Cora Hayes, do you still think you're a high-and-mighty heiress?"

"Let me make one thing clear: your father is dead. You obey my every word, or I will destroy you."

A burning pain radiated across my cheek, and I stared up at him in utter disbelief.

I had spent ten years believing I knew the core of this man.

In my memories, he had always been patient, warm, and endlessly gentle.

Now, he looked like a monstrous stranger.

Bianca stepped forward with a faux-concerned expression and helped me up.

"Pierce, Cora is still your niece after all. Don't be so harsh on her."

"Once she clears her head in a couple of days, we can just have Mr. Kensington come pick her up."

Bianca was supposed to be my closest friend, an orphan whom my father had funded through private school and college at my request.

She used to stay by my side every day, giving me advice on how to win Pierce's heart.

Now that I had lost everything, her mask had completely peeled away.

My body trembled uncontrollably, and even my tears dried up under the scorching shame.

Pierce pulled Bianca roughly against his chest, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Cora Hayes, the only woman who will ever become my wife is Bianca."

"Stop having pathetic delusions about walking down the aisle with me!"

His announcement triggered a fresh wave of mockery across the room.

"Good lord, Cora Hayes actually lusts after her own adoptive uncle?"

"How shameless. What a desperate, pathetic little tramp."

"She always acted so pure and untouchable, but she's disgusting on the inside."

The venomous insults pierced my ears from every direction.

All my life, people had fawned over me, scrambling to cater to my every whim.

I had never endured such public disgrace.

Pierce knew my pride better than anyone, which was why he chose to crush it so brutally in front of the crowd.

I clenched my fists tighter, fresh blood dripping onto the carpet.

Pierce glanced down at the blood on my hands without a shred of pity, then turned and walked out with Bianca in his arms.