He Pays With His Life

In the banquet hall draped with red silk, the echoes of the guests' laughter and chatter still rang in my ears. The massive LED screen flickered suddenly. The images that were meant to display Kevin Shawn and me in our wedding photos were replaced by a series of disgraceful and indecent pictures. In those photos, I lay on the bed, disheveled and exposed. Beside me was the man who was Kevin Shawn's merciless and sworn enemy in the business world, Leo Luke. The entire hall fell into an instant, suffocating silence. My blood ran cold as I stiffly turned to face the groom beside me. Kevin Shawn's face was as cold as ice, yet there was no trace of panic in his eyes—only an unfathomable depth of somber darkness. He reached out and gripped my wrist tightly. The force was so strong it felt as if he wanted to crush my bones. "Continue." He coldly addressed the Master of Ceremonies, his voice completely devoid of emotion. The wedding somehow stumbled awkwardly through the entire ceremony. He never looked at me again, yet held that cold hand on mine for the entire afternoon. The guests' eyes bore into me with a mix of sympathy, contempt, and cruel delight. I was like a marionette, pulled along by him to enact this absurd ritual. By the time the wedding banquet ended, the sky had grown completely dark. The driver was taking us back to the villa, and the atmosphere inside the car was suffocatingly tense. Kevin Shawn leaned back against the seat with his eyes closed, exuding a chilling aura that kept others at bay. I opened my mouth to explain but couldn't utter a single word. I have no idea where those photos came from. Leo Luke and I have never crossed any boundaries. The villa's front door was pushed open, and the entrance lights shone with a piercing brightness. Kevin Shawn was the first to step inside, immediately yanking his hand free from mine. "Get upstairs." His voice was hoarse, thick with undisguised contempt. My legs felt unsteady as I climbed to the second floor and pushed open the master bedroom door. The scene before me hit like a thunderbolt. My stepsister, Yvonne Scott, lay naked on our wedding bed. She saw me and, far from panicking, wore a defiant smile. Kevin Shawn followed behind me and closed the door with a push. "Do you see it now?" He walked to the bed, slipped his arm around Yvonne's waist, and fixed me with a cold, hard stare. "Cindy Lincoln, a b*tch like you doesn’t deserve to marry me.” It was like a poisoned dagger, piercing sharply into my heart. My whole body trembled as tears fell uncontrollably. "Kevin Shawn, it's not what you think—those photos are fake!" "Fake?" Kevin Shawn sneered coldly and reached for the photo frame on the bedside table. It was a picture of us from when we were dating, one he once cherished like a treasure. He suddenly smashed the frame onto the floor; shards of glass scattered everywhere. "Cindy, the photos of you and Leo Luke together have spread throughout the entire banquet hall. How dare you still deny it?" Yvonne Scott nestled in Kevin Shawn's arms, gently stroking his chest. "Cindy, stop deceiving Kevin. If you've done wrong, then admit it." "Shut up!" I yelled at Yvonne Scott; the triumph in her eyes was almost spilling out. Kevin Shawn abruptly stood, grabbed my neck, and slammed me against the wall. "Cindy, remember your place." "You are nothing but Kevin Shawn's nominal wife, a woman who couldn't even keep her chastity." His grip grew tighter and tighter; I struggled to breathe as darkness closed in before my eyes. At last, he released me with force, and I fell to the floor, coughing violently. "From this day forward, don't ever show your face before me again." Having said that, he turned and walked to the bed, pulling Yvonne Scott tightly into his embrace. I lay face down on the cold floor, watching their intimate silhouettes, my heart feeling as if it were being torn apart. That night, I sat on the cold guest room floor for the entire night. The moonlight outside filtered through the curtains, cold and piercing. Early the next morning, the servant brought in breakfast. As I stepped into the dining room, Kevin Shawn was gently peeling a boiled egg for Yvonne Scott. That gentle look—one I had never known. "Cindy, come and eat quickly." Yvonne looked at me with a smile, her tone sweet but every word cutting deep. Kevin raised his eyes, his gaze immediately turning cold again. "Who allowed you to come in?" My steps faltered, and I stood awkwardly frozen in place. "Kevin, I need to talk to you." "There's nothing to discuss." He cut me off, placing the peeled egg into Yvonne Scott's mouth. "You are no longer allowed to enter our family's restaurant." I clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging deep into my palms. From that day forward, Kevin Shawn's revenge truly began. He began appearing publicly with Yvonne Scott at various events. At the banquet, he held her hand and introduced her to everyone as the woman he loved most. And I, as his legal wife, could only stand aside, enduring the strange looks from everyone. He no longer returns to our master bedroom, nor does he speak a single word to me. The silent treatment weaves around me like an invisible net, trapping me completely. Every day, I drift through the villa like a ghost. Watching Yvonne Scott wear my clothes, use my makeup, even sleep in my marital bed. I try to reach out to Kevin Shawn, but he coldly rejects me every time. "Kevin, those photos are fabricated; I have proof." I placed the appraisal report in front of him; it was a rushed job I had commissioned through someone. Kevin Shawn glanced at it and casually tossed the report onto the ground. "Forged evidence, and you still dare to deceive me?" "I did not forge it!" I was so anxious that tears streamed down my face as I tried to bend down to pick up the report. But Kevin stamped on the report with his foot, crushing it mercilessly. "Cindy Lincoln, stop wasting your efforts." Yvonne Scott came over at just the right moment and linked arms with Kevin Shawn. "Kevin, please don't be angry. Cindy just made a mistake." Kevin sneered, "It’s not a mistake. She is just a b*tch." That night, I noticed my body was feeling unwell. After a hospital checkup, the doctor told me I was pregnant. Holding the prenatal examination report, my heart swelled with both joy and sorrow. Joy because I was carrying a child of my own. Sorrow because the father of this child hated me with a vengeance.