When Julian Davies’ assistant, Chloe, caused a scene with my parents again, I couldn’t hold back. I slapped her. I expected Julian to do what he always did—lock me, with my claustrophobia, in the basement crawling with bugs and rats. But this time, he didn’t punish me. He just watched me, nonchalantly. “Disobedient people deserve a harsh lesson, don’t they?” My heart pounded. I thought eight years of groveling had finally softened him. But the very next day, my intimate photos were circulating throughout the city’s elite for a measly $9.99. My parents were forced to kneel in a hall, watching my videos being auctioned off, utterly humiliated. Meanwhile, the culprit was in a private booth, wrapped in Chloe’s arms. Seeing the divorce papers in my hand, Julian scoffed. “Audrey, if you actually divorced me, I might even respect you. But playing your games doesn’t work on me. Why don’t you get down on your knees and beg Chloe for forgiveness? Then I might consider keeping you around.” Everyone around me laughed, seeing me as a pathetic fool. But countless tears had already drained all the emotion from me. This time, I was truly leaving.
My heart shattered completely when I saw the men in the private booth taking turns handing Julian cash. Those men, clutching my photos, stood together, boasting loudly, their eyes on me leering and sticky. “Audrey’s really wild in bed, isn’t she? I can practically smell it through the photos. Man, I’ve slept with all kinds of women, but this is the first time I’ve gotten off on a piece of paper.” “Tell me about it! She looks so innocent on the outside, but underneath, she’s a total slut. Who knew she knew so many positions?” “Probably because she’s a dancer. They’re the most fun to play with.” Their disgusting words buzzed in my ears. I bit down hard on my lower lip, trembling as I looked at Julian. He sat there, perfectly at ease, his arm around his new lover, Chloe. Our eyes met. “What’s wrong, Mrs. Davies? Why the sour face? Are you unhappy?” A faint smile played on his lips. He turned to the dozen men. “Hey, you rascals! Mrs. Davies is a little sensitive about public displays. Keep it down, don’t scare her off, okay?” As he spoke, he gestured, flicking the money he’d just collected onto the table in front of me. “Consider this an apology from my friends. See? This is all money you earned yourself. Much more glorious than the money you used to just ask for.” Everyone erupted in laughter. “Julian’s got his head on straight, alright! But some women, who are just gold-diggers to their core, never get it. Didn’t Audrey use every trick in the book to marry into the Davies family, just hoping to marry into wealth and live a life of luxury without lifting a finger?” “Yeah, Julian’s really unlucky, isn’t he? Stuck with a leech like her. Probably can’t shake her off for life.” If this were before, I would have endured their cruel words for Julian’s sake. But this time, I picked up a ten-dollar bill from the floor, walked over to Julian, and said, “Thank you for going to such lengths to teach me this lesson. As a token of my gratitude, I’ll give you ten bucks. Consider it the processing fee for our divorce papers.” Julian paused, then let out a sneering laugh. “Audrey, have I been too lenient with you lately? Are you getting brave enough to threaten me with divorce?” “Do you really think I let you in here to watch you play these cheap tricks?” His voice was laced with disgust, his eyes filled with deep mockery. I clenched my fingers, my heart aching with a thousand tiny pricks. Of course, I knew why he let me in. He wanted to see my dignity stripped away, to see me bow down and apologize to Chloe. He hated me. So he used every method to get revenge, to humiliate me. All because I accepted twenty million dollars from his parents years ago, when my family faced an emergency. He believed I was a manipulative woman, who used every trick to marry him, just to pay off my parents’ debts. But Julian didn’t know that I had already repaid that money. As for the stubborn love I once held for him in my youth, it was now completely buried.
Laughter rippled around me. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, watching me like a clown. They, like Julian, thought I was just playing games with the divorce. I took a deep breath, and amidst their mocking expressions, pulled the divorce papers from my bag and handed them to Julian. “Here are the divorce papers. I’ve already signed them.” Instantly, the room fell silent. Everyone looked at Julian. He casually took the papers, flipped through them a few times, and sneered, “Audrey, you’ve really gone to a lot of trouble to put on this act. You even brought props.” He lit a cigarette, letting the ash fall onto the divorce papers. His eyes half-closed, he continued coldly, “But what makes you think these manipulative tactics would work on me? Are you overestimating yourself?” The paper was burned with several holes from the ash. My emotions burned away with it, leaving only disappointment. The bond we once promised to cherish forever had finally withered, leaving only torment. The Julian who swore he’d be good to me for life had died a long time ago. I closed my eyes, weary. Just as I was about to explain, Chloe spoke up. “Audrey, as a woman, I understand your jealousy of not being loved. But isn’t threatening divorce a bit too extreme? You’re just making Julian uncomfortable.” Julian chuckled softly at her words, pulling Chloe tightly into his embrace. His tone, when he spoke to her, was starkly gentle, a complete contrast to how he spoke to me. “What do you think Audrey is? She’s not even worth my attention. But if she wants to play, I’ll play along one more time.” Julian’s tone shifted. He tossed the divorce papers into the trash, his eyes on me cold and dismissive. “You want a divorce? Fine. But you’ll leave with nothing.” He leaned back casually on the sofa, his eyes filled with certainty. Certain that a money-loving woman like me would, as always, humble myself, apologize, and cry, begging him not to divorce me. But the next second, I agreed without hesitation. Julian froze slightly, narrowing his eyes, scrutinizing me. He seemed to be trying to see how long I could keep up the act. But I was tired of fighting him. I simply said, “Draft up new divorce papers and send them to me,” and turned to leave. However, Julian gave a signal, and two or three men blocked the exit. He said in a low voice, “Who said you could leave? If you’re going to act so high and mighty, then don’t drag it out. Everything you’re wearing, I bought. If you have so much integrity, then take it all off. Once you’re naked, you can go.” I froze, staring at Julian in disbelief. He watched me mockingly, playing with his lighter. “What? Regretting it now?” “Fine. Just get down on your knees and beg my sweet little darling for forgiveness. Once she’s happy, I might be merciful and let bygones be bygones.” He leaned over and kissed Chloe’s lips, a doting, gentle coaxing. My nails dug into my palms. I stood there, eyes downcast, biting my lower lip until I tasted blood. Seeing my hesitation, the men around Julian started nudging each other, yelling at me. “Don’t you want a divorce? Then stop playing coy, just strip! We’ve already seen everything anyway.” “She’d never actually do it! She’s just being stubborn, trying to force Julian to break up with Chloe. But she clearly overestimated herself and screwed up. Now, she’s got no choice but to beg.” “Serves her right! Audrey, if you can’t let go of Julian’s money, just apologize already. You’re wasting our time.” A metallic taste filled my mouth. I clenched my fists, looked up at Julian, and said each word distinctly, “Fine. I’ll strip.”
The atmosphere stiffened. Julian’s face darkened. Before anyone could react, I had already taken off my coat. Underneath, I was wearing only a slip dress. As my trembling hands tugged at the straps to slide it down, the lewd, excited stares of the men around me glued themselves to my body. It made me sick to my stomach. Everyone was eagerly watching the show, but Julian’s gaze grew colder and colder. Soon, I was down to just my bra and underwear. My fingers clutched the straps tightly, and I stopped for a long moment, making no further move. Julian watched, then finally let out a laugh, as if to say, *I knew it*. “What? Not stripping anymore? If I’m not mistaken, even the lingerie you’re wearing, I paid for it.” My heart felt heavy and bitter. I couldn’t believe he was truly pushing me this far. But when a person is at rock bottom, they often develop a “nothing left to lose” mentality. I gently closed my eyes, as if making a decision, and unfastened one of my bra straps. As the strap slid down, a glass flew through the air, hitting my shoulder with a sharp thud! I let out a soft cry. A red welt quickly appeared on my fair skin, and the drink from the glass spilled onto my bra. Julian’s eyes, dark as ink, fixed on me. He spoke coldly. “Audrey, you are truly shameless.” “What? Did I help you discover a new side of yourself, and now you’re so desperate, you can’t wait to seduce men?” Maybe it was my imagination, but even though Julian didn’t look angry, I heard a hint of suppressed fury in his voice. But he should have known that I had lost all shame eight years ago. In all our years of marriage, he had brought different women home every month, just to humiliate me. He did everything imaginable right in front of me, the sounds of their passion echoing in my ears 1086 times. But I still routinely prepared the bed for him, and cleaned up the glaring mess left behind. Because I felt I owed him, felt that reaching this point was my fault. So I foolishly tried to compensate and win back that brief love with my repeated appeasements and concessions. And now, for Chloe, he had sold my intimate photos. I had no face left to lose. I fought back tears, my voice hoarse. “Are you satisfied now? Can we get divorced?” I stared at Julian stubbornly, but he didn’t answer. “Audrey, I’m out of patience for your act. Your clumsy performance is truly sickening.” I felt a weariness in my heart. Julian still didn’t believe me. I sighed, forced to emphasize again, “Julian, I’m not lying to you. I really want to divorce you.” But Julian looked at me as if he’d heard the funniest joke, a sinister, malicious smile playing on his lips. “Do you really dare to divorce me?” “Once you leave with nothing, your father, who’s buried under a mountain of debt, will have his fingers chopped off. And can you afford the medical bills for your mother, who’s barely clinging to life with medication?” “Or perhaps our seemingly filial Audrey is planning to let them both die, so she can live it up on their life insurance?” My heart trembled. The twenty million dollars borrowed from the Davies family was actually only a third of what was needed to pay off our debts. So I chose to invest it to grow the money. And just yesterday, I had paid off all of the Miller family’s debts, and even had thirty million more to return to the Davies family. But Julian never paid attention to any of this. He stubbornly clung to the belief that I had taken the Davies family’s money. I had intended to tell him this good news, but now, I saw no point. Seeing my silence, Julian assumed I was feeling guilty. This only fueled his interest. “Oh, right. I think I’ve been too far-sighted with my considerations. What you should be worrying about right now is how you’ll get them out of here alive without my help.” Them? I froze, still trying to process what Julian meant, when the bodyguard pulled back the room’s curtains. With just one glance, through the glass, I saw a small auction happening in the center of the downstairs floor. And my white-haired parents were being shamefully held down in their seats by a group of bodyguards, forced to watch my private videos displayed as auction items on the stage! The shameful videos played on a loop, over and over again. I saw my parents’ faces, streaming with tears. In that moment, I felt like I was walking on thin ice, my every breath trembling.
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