Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Shouldn’t I Punish You?
Alaric Blackwood was silent for a moment before tearing the agreement to shreds again.
Watching him crumple the shredded paper into a ball and toss it into the trash, Sophie Shaw was fuming. "Mr. Blackwood, can’t you cooperate just a little?"
"I asked you where you were last night."
"With Anne at a hot spring resort, soaking in the hot springs."
"Is that so?"
Alaric Blackwood gritted his back teeth, his mind filled with the image of Yuri carrying Sophie into a hotel room. His jawline tensed, looking like he was about to shatter his teeth.
He looked like he was about to bite someone.
"Are you sure the person who got a room with you at the hot spring resort was Anne?"
"Alaric Blackwood, what are you trying to say?"
"Nothing."
The man’s gaze turned cold. He turned and walked to the coffee table, picked up a gift box, opened it, and took out the bracelet inside.
He returned to her side in a few steps. Without another word, he grabbed her left wrist and, ignoring her struggles, forcibly fastened the bracelet onto it.
"A gift."
"I don’t want it."
Sophie said, trying to take the bracelet off.
Alaric Blackwood gripped her arm tightly, yanked her out of the chair, and in one swift motion, pinned her against the wall.
"You are not to take off the bracelet."
"I said I don’t want it."
The woman’s rigid tone made Alaric Blackwood’s eyes turn red with anger.
"Everything was fine, and now suddenly it’s a marriage-of-convenience agreement and refusing gifts. What’s going on, did you cheat on me? You found another man and want to keep your distance?"
Sophie’s delicate brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? Isn’t it obvious? I’m asking if you slept with another man!"
SLAP!
She had slapped him across the face.
The man poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue and laughed in anger. "Not talking?"
"Fine!"
"I’ll inspect you myself!"
He trapped Sophie between his body and the wall, roughly tore off her coat, and began forcefully stripping her clothes, one piece after another.
Even though she resisted with all her might, she was still facing a man who was injured, yet the vast disparity in strength between a man and a woman left Sophie feeling utterly powerless.
Soon, she was stripped bare. She crossed her arms over her chest, staring at Alaric Blackwood with reddened eyes.
The man stepped back slightly, visually scanning her from head to toe. Then he grabbed her by the waist, turned her around, and made her face the wall.
The woman’s back was fair and smooth. There were no marks anywhere on her body from being intimate with a man.
Alaric Blackwood’s breathing was ragged. He hugged her from behind, rested his chin in the crook of her shoulder, and questioned her by her ear, "Did you see Yuri last night?"
"I did."
"You drank together?"
"How did you know?"
"He carried you?"
"I... I drank too much..."
"Drinking alone with a man late at night, and even letting him carry you back to the room... My wife is being so naughty. Tell me, shouldn’t I punish you?"
Sophie was pressed against the cold wall, the man’s searing chest against her back. The contrast of hot and cold was intensely uncomfortable.
Her heart was pounding. It slowly dawned on her that Alaric Blackwood knew exactly where she had been last night...
She tried to break free from Alaric Blackwood, but he captured both her wrists and pinned them behind her back.
An overwhelming torrent of kisses assaulted her, dense and unending...
It was as if he wanted to brand every inch of her body with a mark that belonged only to him.
...
She had returned, full of righteous anger with the marriage-of-convenience agreement, wanting Alaric Blackwood to sign it again. In the end, the man had subdued her with just a few words.
Under his fierce assault, she had fallen for him all over again...
A voice in her head was hypnotizing her, telling her that Shayla Zane was just the past.
’I am Alaric Blackwood’s wife, his legal, certified wife...’
’After we got married, Alaric Blackwood hasn’t done anything to wrong me.’
’Maybe I can put the agreement aside for now...’
She kept hypnotizing herself, gradually talking herself into feeling better.
"Hiss—"
A sudden pain snapped her wandering thoughts back to reality.
Alaric Blackwood had bitten her shoulder, hard, almost breaking the skin.
"Are you a dog?"
The man chuckled behind her ear. "Just a little punishment."
"Next time, it’ll be your butt that gets hurt."
---
A long while later, Sophie came downstairs, fully dressed.
Noticing she had changed into a different outfit, not the one she was wearing when she returned, Lawson shrugged, thinking nothing of it.
The lunch on the table had gone cold, so Lawson took the dishes to the kitchen to reheat them.
A few minutes later, Alaric Blackwood came downstairs.
The man had also changed his clothes. His hands were in his pockets, and the upward curve of his lips showed he was in a good mood.
He glanced at Sophie eating at the dining table, walked straight over, and pulled out the chair beside her to sit down.
"Wifey."
Sophie ignored him, burying her head in her food.
He lifted an arm, draping it over the back of her chair. He leaned his handsome face close, resting his chin on her shoulder. Seemingly full and with nothing better to do, he started teasing and flirting, gently blowing a breath of air against her ear.
"Stop it."
The man completely ignored Lawson, who was cleaning up in the kitchen. His thin lips pressed against the woman’s earlobe as he whispered, "You’re not to take the bracelet off. If you dare, I’ll continue your punishment tonight."
Sophie pressed her lips together, the corners of her mouth twitching, on the verge of a smile. She lowered her voice and said with feigned seriousness, "Sit properly and eat your food."
Alaric Blackwood retracted his arm, sat up straight, and picked up his chopsticks to eat with her.
Afterward, he walked Sophie to the entryway, helped her put on her coat, and slowly and methodically adjusted her collar. He even tied a silk scarf for her, covering the hickey on her neck.
"I’m going to work."
Alaric Blackwood nodded, opened the door, and saw her out.
On the drive to the office, Sophie couldn’t stop her mind from racing.
’How did I just let myself get placated so easily?’
’The key thing is, Alaric Blackwood didn’t even try to placate me!’
’I placated myself...’
’Sophie, what is wrong with you?’
’Are you getting all love-struck and stupid?’
’He didn’t even try to win you over, so why did you give in? How can you be so spineless?’
’Aren’t you afraid of being fooled by a man a second time?’
’If you fall into this trap again, you’ll never be able to climb out.’
...
She muttered to herself the entire way.
When she arrived at the company, she ran into the new legal consultant in the elevator.
He was a very young man. He took the initiative and greeted her politely, "Good morning, President Shaw."
"And you are?"
"Zack Rhodes."
"Rhodes, about President Lynch’s investment in our company..."
"The contract is already drafted. I’ll send it to your office shortly, President Shaw. If everything looks good to you, we can contact President Lynch to sign the investment contract this afternoon."
Sophie was surprised by the new consultant’s efficiency. "Nice work."
"Oh, right, President Shaw. Before the lunch break, I received a call from the landlord of this office building. They said they want to discuss gifting the building with you."
Sophie froze completely. "Discuss what?"
Zack Rhodes pointed a finger at the floor beneath their feet. "Discuss gifting this building."
"Gifting it to whom?"
"To you!"
The elevator doors opened with a DING.
Sophie strode out and took a deep breath of fresh air. She looked at Zack Rhodes, who had followed her out, and confirmed again, "The landlord of this building wants to gift it to me?"
"Yes. The caller was a woman. I checked with Assistant Sutton, and you’re free at three this afternoon, so I’ve already scheduled a meeting with her for then."
Normally, this was something Assistant Sutton would have reported to Sophie after clocking in, but since Zack Rhodes ran into her in the elevator, he mentioned it in passing.
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