Chapter 6
As he spoke, Eric placed his hand on Lily's slender shoulder, gripping so hard it made her flinch in pain.
Lily felt like her heart was being churned by a dull knife, the pain so sharp she could barely breathe.
She never imagined Jason would end up renting a place from Eric's family. Jason knew exactly how much she hated Eric, how badly she wanted to tear him apart, rip him to pieces.
Before Lily could even say a word, Eric's smug grin twisted into a scowl. Without warning, he drove a vicious kick straight into her stomach.
Lily let out a scream of pain as she was sent flying backward. Her knees crashed onto the rough concrete. The blinding pain made cold sweat pour down her face, leaving her pale as a ghost.
As Lily glanced down at her wound, she caught, out of the corner of her eye, a familiar black Bentley parked nearby. The passenger window was halfway down, and there was Sophie—her pretty face wearing a self-satisfied grin.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The fire at the pastry shop, Eric's sudden appearance, and his torment—all of it was Sophie's doing. She was out to ruin Lily, to push Lily over the edge.
Sophie watched Lily, who was hunched over in agony, her lips curling into an undisguised, malicious grin of satisfaction.
Eric tilted his head toward Sophie in the car, and after catching a signal from her eyes, he immediately ordered his men to swarm Lily. "Alright, boys. Teach this bitch a lesson.
"If you can't pay for my shop, then you'll suffer for it!"
Countless hard sticks and fists came crashing down on Lily, like a torrential downpour, each blow landing with savage force.
She instinctively curled up, hugging herself tightly and shielding her head and torso with her arms.
She could clearly hear the dull thuds of sticks smashing against her bones and feel the searing pain as her flesh was torn open.
Within a few minutes, her arms were swollen and bruised, maybe even fractured. Her exposed back and shoulders were slashed with bloody marks.
"Stop!" Just as Lily's vision started to blur, a familiar, furious voice rang out like a thunderclap.
Jason showed up right then. He stared at Lily, bloodied and cowering on the ground. The veins on his forehead stood out, and his eyes burned red with rage, radiating a terrifying, murderous intent.
With a furious roar, Jason sent Eric's men scrambling. His presence alone made them hesitate and stop in their tracks.
Jason rushed to Lily's side like a madman, his hands trembling as he gently tried to help her up, his voice quivering with panic and rage. "Lily! Are you alright? Are you hurt badly? Does it hurt?"
Lily slowly lifted her head, her gaze hollow and devoid of any spark as she stared at Jason, whose face twisted with worry and heartbreak.
Even though Jason was right there, speaking to her, she couldn't process a single word. Her throat worked painfully; the agony and hatred bottled up inside her felt like a volcano on the verge of exploding, ready to burn her to ashes.
Jason's eyes were bloodshot as he whipped his head toward Eric, who was standing there with that cocky attitude. His voice was squeezed out through clenched teeth. "Eric! Are you fucking crazy? What the hell did you do to her?"
Faced with Jason's angry outburst, Eric shrugged, tilting his head to the side with a lazy smirk, totally unfazed. "Jason, perfect timing. Your wife torched a bunch of our shops.
"I told her to say sorry, and we'd call it even, but nope—she's got some nerve."
He pointed at the wrecked stores nearby. "If she apologizes like a good girl, I won't even ask for compensation. Pretty generous, huh?"