Chapter 4
Henry's eyes locked onto the wound, ice-cold and menacing. "You all got a death wish or something?"
Claire's friends instinctively shrank back in fear.
Claire stepped in front of her friends, brows drawn tight. "Henry, back off. Don't threaten them."
Henry wrapped his arm around Penny, who was still shaking like a leaf, and gave Claire a chilly sideways smirk. "So, you gonna stand up for them now?"
Claire glanced dismissively at the blood streaming down Penny's arm, her tone cool and even. "Come on, it's not like this is worth starting a war over."
Penny gritted her teeth through the pain, her voice shaking but still holding her ground. "Claire, you can look down on me all you want, but don't take me for a pushover."
As she spoke, fat tears spilled down her cheeks.
Henry's face twisted with pain as he wiped her tears.
"Penny, don't cry. I'll get back at them for you," he said, his voice fierce.
"Who asked you to butt in? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be getting bullied," Penny retorted, struggling in his arms, but Henry just hugged her even tighter.
"I know, it's my fault too. Once I've dealt with them, I'll make it up to you," he promised.
Then Henry bent down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the crown of her head, his voice husky and tempting. "Just wait until tonight. I'll show you something new I've learned. You're going to love it."
As soon as he finished, his eyes went razor-sharp, slicing straight toward Claire like cold steel.
"Claire, why do you always have to give Penny such a hard time?" he demanded, voice loaded with accusation and protectiveness.
Claire balled her fists and retorted, "Henry, if I really wanted to give her a hard time, do you think she'd still be standing here?"
The last time she'd just called Penny a homewrecker, and Henry had punished her by tying her up and leaving her hanging over the ocean. Now, she was itching to see exactly how far Henry would go this time.
"So you really aren't going to admit it, huh?" Henry's voice was icy as he stared her down.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes, a mocking smirk tugging at his lips as his long fingers flew across his phone screen.
He started listing off names in a low, chilling voice, "The Smiths, the Johnsons..."
As soon as they heard those names, Claire's friends went ghostly pale, fear written all over their faces.
After he finished, Henry dialed a number and said, "In three days, I want..."
Before he could finish, Claire yanked the phone right out of his hand.
"Henry, what are you really after? If you've got the guts, then deal with me directly," she shouted, her voice trembling with rage.
Claire glared at him, fury blazing in her eyes, but tears were already starting to gather.
Lately, she found herself less and less able to read Henry.
"So, that counts as admitting it, doesn't it?" Henry shot back.
Henry's lips curled into a taunting smirk, the cold glint in his eyes cutting even deeper.
Claire clenched her jaw, her nails biting into her palms as she looked up at him. "Henry, is there anything I could say right now that you'd actually believe?"
"How am I supposed to trust you?" Henry closed the distance between them, his long fingers seizing her chin, eyes glinting with cold rage.
"You've been lying to me since the day we got married," he snapped.
With that, he roughly shoved her aside and signaled the bodyguards at the door.
"Since she is so obsessed with glass, smash every bottle in here and cover the whole floor with shards. Get everyone in the bar to come over, Let them know the drinks are all on me tonight," Henry said coldly, his tone biting with sarcasm.
Claire went pale as if struck by lightning, her lips losing all color in an instant.
"Henry, what the hell are you doing?" she demanded, her voice shaking with both anger and fear.
Henry just gave a nonchalant chuckle. "You'll find out soon enough."
It only took minutes for sharp glass fragments to blanket the floor. The crowd swelled with gawking bystanders, and soon the room buzzed with sneers, taunts, and whispered ridicule.
"Isn't that Henry Nolans' discarded wife?" someone whispered, loud enough for the whole crowd to hear.
"Yeah, she can't even compare to a single strand of Penny's hair," another scoffed.
Claire dropped her gaze, masking the turmoil in her eyes. When she looked up again, her stare was cold and unyielding.
"Are you really going to be this ruthless?" she asked, her voice steady but trembling with anger.
Henry lounged against the armrest, lazily playing with his glass, his tone utterly indifferent.
"Are you going to strip yourself, or should I have someone do it for you?" Henry's voice was cold, almost bored, the threat barely disguised.
Before she could answer, Henry tilted his chin at the bodyguards, irritation flashing across his face. "Forget it. Strip her and toss her onto the floor."
In an instant, the bodyguards closed in, pinning Claire down while she fought back with everything she had.
Fabric tore with brutal clarity, and within seconds, she was left in just her underwear.
Suddenly, a force slammed into her back, sending Claire stumbling forward, landing hard in the middle of a sea of shattered glass.
"Ah!" Claire cried out, agony ripping through her whole body.
Pain exploded in every limb as razor-sharp glass shards stabbed deep into her flesh, blood instantly splattering across the floor and turning it red.
Her whole body trembled uncontrollably; her nails scratched out a screeching noise against the shards as she shook with pain.
The crowd watching broke out in a frenzy.
"Damn, check out that body. Quick, film it. This is definitely going viral," someone shouted.
People crowded around, shoving their phones forward, the blinding flashes making it impossible for her to open her eyes.
Claire, her eyes red and swollen, lifted her head to look at Henry nearby.
There he was, holding Penny close and whispering soothing words, every trace of the anger from before gone from his face.
Claire bit down hard on her lip until she tasted blood, a bitter, mocking laugh rising in her chest.
Finally, her consciousness began to fade, and Henry never once spared her a glance.