I Said “I Do”… Then Woke Up at My Divorce Chapter 04

I Said “I Do”… Then Woke Up at My Divorce Chapter 04

Every face in the room changed.

No one dared laugh in front of Grayson.

But quiet whispers spread through the crowd.

“Is that Lily?”

“Those pictures…”

“Grayson treats her like a queen. How did this happen?”

Lily stood frozen.

Her face had turned white.

She looked ready to fall.

Grayson’s expression became dark and dangerous.

He took the remote from a housekeeper and shut off the screen.

“Something has happened inside the family.”

“The event is over.”

“Show the guests out.”

The staff quickly led everyone away.

Soon, only Grayson, Vivian, and Lily remained in the ballroom.

Grayson crossed the room.

He grabbed Vivian by the collar and slammed her against the wall.

The cloth tightened against her throat.

Her back hit the hard surface.

Pain shot through her body.

“Vivian, have you lost your mind?”

“You cause trouble inside the house, and now you do this in front of all Northgate?”

“You made me look like a fool.”

Vivian struggled to breathe.

“It wasn’t me.”

Grayson gave a cold laugh.

“Then who was it?”

“There are cameras everywhere.”

Vivian looked straight into his eyes.

“Check them.”

Something moved across his face.

“Fine.”

“We’ll check.”

Lily quickly stepped forward.

Tears ran down her cheeks.

“Grayson, let it go.”

“This is my fault.”

“I should never have thought I could stay beside you.”

“I should never have asked for a place in your life.”

“She doesn’t want me here. I understand why she did it.”

Grayson released Vivian at once.

Vivian fell to the floor.

Her palms scraped against the hard surface.

Grayson did not look at her.

He turned and pulled Lily into his arms.

“Don’t say that.”

“I chose to give you this place.”

“As long as I am here, no one will take it away.”

He looked down at Vivian.

His eyes held only disgust.

“Vivian, your jealousy has made you cruel.”

“The house rules clearly are not enough.”

“You will face Ashford punishment.”

Vivian’s whole body shook.

The Ashfords had kept their own private punishment rules for generations.

Money, guards, and secret payments kept outsiders from learning what happened behind the estate walls.

A memory rose inside her mind.

During the second year of their marriage, Vivian had wanted to try bungee jumping.

Grayson was afraid of heights.

He had gone with her anyway.

When they returned, old Mr. Ashford learned what they had done.

One of the family’s oldest rules banned extreme sports.

He ordered Vivian to be punished.

The first strike from the salt-soaked whip almost made her pass out.

Before the second strike, Grayson rushed into the room.

He covered her body with his own.

He took the remaining twenty-nine lashes for her.

That night, his back was covered in deep wounds.

He remained unconscious for a full day.

Vivian sat beside him and cried.

“You knew it was against the rules.”

“Why didn’t you stop me?”

When Grayson opened his eyes, his face was pale.

He still reached up and wiped away her tears.

“Vivian, my family is hard enough for you.”

“If I cannot even do the things you want to do, how can I say I love you?”

Back then, she had believed no one could love her more than Grayson Ashford.

Now he would not even check the cameras before finding her guilty.

He was sending her to the same punishment he had once bled to protect her from.

By the tenth lash, Vivian could no longer scream.

Her back felt torn open.

The pain burned deep into her bones.

The wounds on her arms had not healed.

Now fresh wounds covered the old ones.

Her fever returned that night.

Vivian lay facedown on the bed.

Her mind rose and fell between dreams.

She saw her father fall from the roof of his building.

She saw blood spread across the ground.

Then she stood in a white hospital hallway.

A doctor removed his mask.

“I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”

The scene changed again.

She knelt before photographs of her parents at their funeral.

“Dad, Mom, I’m sorry.”

“I loved the wrong man.”

The Vivian from ten years ago had never truly lived through those moments.

But the pain in the memories felt real.

Her whole body burned.

Her lips cracked and bled.

“Water…”

“Please… water…”

Someone lifted her chin.

Cool water touched her lips.

Vivian forced her eyes open.

When she saw the person beside the bed, her whole body went still.