Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Kneeling in Repentance—Sister-in-law, I Was Wrong
Watching Rhys Hawthorne approach, Victoria Monroe panicked and stepped away. What was he thinking? Could it be that he wanted to kiss her?
But Rhys always gave off an otherworldly and sophisticated feeling, even today when he kissed her bare back, Victoria saw no hint of desire from him in the mirror, just a sense of pity.
So Victoria didn’t refuse or agree, afraid she had misunderstood his intentions. She looked at Rhys confusedly, "Hmm?"
Rhys absorbed her thoughts, knowing that such matters should follow their natural course.
Just like when she used to see Julian Fordham years ago, she would want to rush over and hug him.
If you hesitate for a moment, it shows you are weighing your gains and losses.
Indeed, he was still a bit too impatient.
Rhys changed his tone and said, "I want to watch the sunrise with you tomorrow morning."
Victoria’s tense body immediately relaxed. She thought, how could Rhys possibly want to kiss her?
"Alright."
"It’s getting late. Do you want to return to the yacht to rest tonight or stay in town? We have plenty of time, so staying a day or two is fine."
Victoria instinctively felt unsafe outside. "I want to go back first."
"Alright."
As night fell, the temperature in the small town dropped. The sea breeze brought a chill. Victoria thought about walking back to the yacht, which was a ten-minute walk away, but she didn’t say it out loud and just subconsciously rubbed her arms.
At the same time, Rhys took off his coat and draped it over her.
The warmth of his body enveloped her from all sides, and the unique sandalwood scent that belonged to him lingered at the tip of Victoria’s nose, making her feel as if he was holding her in his arms.
Julian Fordham’s presence made her feel disgusted, but Rhys made her feel at ease.
She didn’t reject his kindness and adjusted the coat around her.
Rhys raised his eyebrows slightly. At least Victoria wasn’t repulsed by him, which was already quite good.
The two of them strolled under the lights, something Rhys Hawthorne could never have imagined before.
Assistant Woods followed at a not-too-close distance, quietly taking pictures to document the moment.
He finally understood why those fans were so obsessed with shipping couples, just like he was now. It was simply otherworldly.
They matched so well, they were a perfect fit!
"Rhys, thank you for accompanying me today to relax."
Victoria wasn’t foolish. Rhys wouldn’t have the luxury of accompanying her on a leisurely walk in a foreign land.
He just wanted to cure her in this way, to stop her from dwelling in the past and look forward to the future.
Under the light, the man’s face softened, but in the next moment, his handsome face turned cold as his gaze fell to the entrance of an alley.
Rhys instantly pulled her into his arms, and a cautious voice came from above her head, "Victoria, be careful."
A woman suddenly rushed toward where Victoria had been standing, startling her.
She instinctively wrapped her arms around Rhys’s waist and stepped back, while Assistant Woods also stopped being carefree and immediately drew his gun.
It’s dangerous abroad, where there are no gun restrictions like back home.
The woman, her voice hoarse, cried, "Help me, please save me."
Victoria thought the voice sounded familiar. The woman in front of her was wearing a slip dress, her exposed body bruised and bloodied, her hair a tangled mess.
When she lifted her head, the tears had already smudged her makeup.
Their eyes met, and both were stunned.
Neither of them expected to encounter someone familiar in this foreign land.
It was Autumn Fordham!
If they hadn’t grown up together, Victoria would never have believed that the woman before her was the sister that Julian Fordham had doted on for many years.
The woman’s face was swollen as if she had been beaten not long ago.
The marks on her body included love bites and indications of torture.
Thinking back to the secret heard in the bridal suite last time and knowing that Julian Fordham had discovered his roots without any ties to the Fordham Family...
After all, she was the sister he had raised by hand. Victoria hadn’t expected him to be so ruthless.
Now, it seemed that she had underestimated his cruelty.
Autumn Fordham’s terrified eyes lit up upon seeing Victoria, "Sister-in-law, save me!"
A tall, burly foreign man emerged from the alley, vicious-looking. Although Victoria couldn’t understand his language, his expression clearly showed he was cursing Autumn.
Upon seeing that person, Autumn Fordham knelt, clinging to Victoria’s feet, "Sister-in-law, help me!"
"Autumn Fordham, let go. Your sister-in-law is Rachel Hayes." She frowned, trying to kick Autumn away.
The Fordham Family felt like a plague to her, making her sick even at a glance.
She was in this state today all thanks to them, so how could she have the face to ask for help?
The man’s gaze fell on Victoria now, clearly taking a liking to her, a mischievous light in his eyes.
With just a white shirt on Rhys, he appeared clean and refined, seeming indifferent to the almost two-meter-tall man who made Rhys look like a pretty boy.
He spoke flirtatiously, reaching out to grab Victoria.
The bear-like brown-black hand hadn’t even touched Victoria when a "bang" sound rang out.
Rhys didn’t even lift a hand; he wrapped one arm around Victoria’s waist, his expression indifferent, especially his eyes, which were icy cold as if looking at a dead man.
Assistant Woods swiftly fired the gun, and besides him, there were also hidden bodyguards that Victoria hadn’t noticed.
Rhys cradled Victoria, taking a few steps back, his voice filled with concern, "Are you okay?"
Victoria Monroe watched the man’s blood splatter from his arm, a scene she had never witnessed before.
Thinking of the bullet hole in Rhys Hawthorne’s chest, it was clear that this kind of thing was routine for him.
But in the blink of an eye, before Victoria could even feel fear, the man had already been subdued, so quickly it left people dumbfounded.
Rhys gave Assistant Woods a look, and Woods understood immediately, dragging the man away like a dead pig.
Autumn Fordham didn’t bother pondering how Victoria and Rhys ended up together; she only felt she finally saw hope.
"Sister-in-law, I know I was wrong, you’re the best to me."
Autumn Fordham’s face was covered in tears, full of regret as she said, "I shouldn’t have ignored your advice. I believed so much in Caleb Spencer, who knew he would run off with all my money, trapping me in a foreign land, and getting me tricked into such places..."
"You don’t know what I’ve been through this month, I couldn’t eat enough, got beaten and scolded every day. Sister-in-law, you’re the good one, please help me, take me back home, would you?"
Victoria looked down at her, not a hint of pity in her eyes, "Autumn Fordham, you didn’t say that when you were calling Rachel Hayes sister-in-law."
Mentioning Rachel Hayes, Autumn Fordham’s expression worsened, "At that time I was blinded, deceived by her into helping her against you. When I went abroad, I asked her to transfer me ten thousand dollars to return home but she refused. If it weren’t for her and Caleb Spencer, I wouldn’t be in this situation now."
Autumn Fordham cried, drenched in tears, "My brother doesn’t want me anymore, and my mother is controlled by him, unable to leave the country. Now only you can help me, sister-in-law, I beg you..."
She started to kowtow to Victoria, who watched her pitiful appearance.
It’s exactly as the saying goes, those who are pitiful have some hateful trait.
Victoria’s expression was calm and indifferent, "Autumn Fordham, if I save you, then who will save my grandmother, my deceased child?"
If it weren’t for the stress from them, her grandmother wouldn’t have had a heart attack.
She stepped forward, carrying a strong sense of pressure, "Have you forgotten how you called Rachel Hayes sister-in-law back then? Have you forgotten how you laughed at me for not being able to have children? After you and your mother did such things, why do you think I would forgive you?"
Confronted by Victoria’s questions, Autumn Fordham tried to play the emotional card, "We grew up in the same courtyard, I always saw you as my real sister. For the sake of our years of friendship, help me this one last time. From now on you’ll be my only sister-in-law, I will go back and clear up that it was me who announced Rachel Hayes, and I’ll tell everyone you’re the real Mrs. Fordham."
Autumn Fordham had no idea of the changes over the past month, Victoria found her words laughable.
"Autumn Fordham, it’s too late."
"How can it be too late? Sister-in-law, you and my brother..."
Victoria lowered her eyes, cruelly revealing the truth to her, "Julian Fordham and I are already divorced. He caused the death of our child, killed my grandmother. To be honest with you, seeing the Fordham family disgusts me. Autumn Fordham, not pushing you while you’re down is my last kindness. From now on, take care of yourself."
With that, she turned and left; everyone has their own fate.
She didn’t know what her fate would be, but Autumn Fordham’s fate was not hers to manage.
Autumn Fordham was deeply struck by these words; no one knew the entanglement between Julian Fordham and Victoria Monroe.
They could never be truly separated.
And now Victoria told her they were divorced, her brother loved Victoria so much, how devastated would he be?
This was all her doing.
Because Victoria didn’t give her Caleb Spencer’s contact information at the time and even advised her against associating with him.
Egged on by Rachel Hayes, she wanted to teach Victoria a lesson, showing that even after marrying into the Fordham family she should behave obediently.
She really never imagined it would cause them to divorce.
Tears dripped one by one onto the century-old bluestone path, her hands pressed to the ground, mumbling, "How could this happen, how could it be this way?"
No wonder Julian Fordham ignored her; her mother caused the death of their child, she caused their separation.
Victoria heard Autumn Fordham’s desperate wailing behind her: "Sister-in-law, I didn’t want this, I never thought it’d end in divorce, I was just out of my mind, I..."
Victoria no longer cared about her thoughts, staying away from the troublemaker, continuing her own life.
Once Victoria was on the ship, Rhys stood on the deck giving a low command, "Arrange to send Autumn Fordham back home."
Assistant Woods didn’t quite understand, "Why? She hurt the madam, letting her fend for herself would be better, no?"
Rhys’s gaze was icy, "True suffering isn’t physical, it’s psychological. I want them to truly feel Victoria’s pain!"
"Understood."
"And that bastard?"
"In the small dark room."
Rhys raised his hand, and Assistant Woods respectfully handed him the claw knife.
Victoria couldn’t understand, but Rhys did; that local man had spoken insults about her.
Apart from the injury on his arm, the man hadn’t been hurt too badly; Assistant Woods knew Rhys wanted to handle it personally.
The door opened, and he saw the well-dressed man.
Rhys’s nearly six-foot-three stature still made the other man appear smaller in comparison. The man cursed, claiming to be a local boss, demanding to be released.
The man saw him leisurely take off his Buddha beads, handing them to Woods, speaking in an indifferent voice, "Close the door."
The next moment, he turned around, eyes sharp as knives. The distant lights reflected in his dark pupils; the man saw the gaze of The Hell-born Reaper.
A chill ran down his spine, as though being watched by a fierce predator, he faltered as he spoke.
In an instant, the figure pounced like lightning, attacking him, and instinctively he fought back. With a "squelch" sound, blood splattered.
"Ah!" he wailed and cursed.
The man did not spare him; another knife strike, followed by an icy verdict: "Two."
The man didn’t understand until the final strike finished, leaving his body to collapse.
He had been slashed over twenty times, each cut avoiding vital areas.
Only then did he realize, for every word he used to insult that woman, he was struck that many times.
In the pitch-black night, blood trickled drop by drop down the edge of the sharp claw knife.
The man’s white shirt stained red. Without turning back, his voice was chilling as ice, "Throw him into the sea to feed the sharks."