?Chapter 4:


    Ellie hadn’t crossed paths with Kaiden for days, likely due to their recent heated argument.


    One early morning, her phone rang. It was Baylee Curtis, her closest friend.


    “Ellie, there’s trouble. Demi sabotaged the projects you were working on. They’ve brought in a new stylist.”


    As a stylist, Ellie often worked in the same circles as Demi, a rising star from a popr girl group.


    While a female idol typically wouldn’t meddle in Ellie’s affairs, Demi’s backing from the influential Gordon family made her a different story.


    Pausing for a moment, Ellie responded calmly, “Okay, I’ll look into it.”


    “Still in bed?” Baylee jested. “How’s married life treating you? Late nights, huh?”


    Ellie sighed inwardly. Her fatigue was due to a cold and sleeping pills, notte nights.


    While still on the phone, she got out of bed, hoping to find a drink downstairs.


    “You’re overthinking it. That guy is a total bas…”


    She stopped short of finishing her sentence with “bastard.”


    Frozen on the stairs, Ellie’s eyesnded on Kaiden. He was in the living room, impably dressed in a suit.


    He looked her way, his expression cold and detached.


    Ellie was taken aback.


    He showed no reaction. Had he not heard her?


    Or did he not realize she was talking about him?


    “I need to go, Baylee. Something’se up,” she said quickly, ending the call.


    She considered exining herself but noticed Kaiden had already left, seemingly unaware of her presence.


    Relieved, Ellie thought he must not have heard her earlier remarks.


    Turning to her emails, Ellie found that the seven coborative projects she had nearly secured had withdrawn, opting for a “more suitable” stylist.


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    Ellie’s phone lit up with a news alert. “Demi Gordon shines in an $8 million haute couture gown at the g, confirming her Gordon lineage!”


    Curious, Ellie clicked the link. The dress in the photo caught her eye, and she frowned. That was her dress.


    Was Demi trying to cause trouble for her and wear her dress at the same time? In her dreams!


    Ellie quickly changed and left for the Gordon family’s vi in Glostin. Finding no answer at the door, she used the passcode to enter.


    Upstairs, a rustle came from the dressing room. Ellie ascended to investigate.


    There, inside the room, a woman in her twenties stood, draped in an opulent champagne-colored gown, its skirt adorned with diamonds. That was Ellie’s haute couture dress, Venus, from a top brand. She hadn’t even worn it yet.


    “Taking without permission is theft,” Ellie stated, visibly upset.


    “Ah! God!” Demi gasped, turning in surprise.


    Seeing Ellie, her surprise turned to anger. “How did you get in here, Ellie?”


    “It’s my dress. Remove it.”


    That dress was Ellie’s, acquired independently without a single penny received from the Gordons.


    Demi had no right to it.


    “Watch your tone, Ellie! I’m a Gordon. And you? You’re nothing but a nobody, brought in by a nanny for revenge. If you hadn’t stolen my life, I would have lived in luxury, maybe even admired as a top socialite. You’re lucky I’m not demanding more than just the dress!” Demi huffed.


    Venus, tailored for Ellie’s figure, was a mismatch for Demi. Demi, with a slightlyrger waist, couldn’t do justice to the dress, diminishing its mour once worn.


    Ellie’s sarcasticugh filled the air.


    Demi thought she would be a top socialite just because she was a Gordon?


    Absolutely delusional!


    “Ellie, let me tell you something,” Demi said arrogantly, gesturing to the wardrobe filled with dresses. “What I’m wearing, what’s in that closet, it’s all mine. You shouldn’ty a finger on any of it.”


    Ellie’s response was measured yet firm. “Let’s get one thing straight, Demi. Since the day I married Kaiden, fulfilling the Gordon-Thorpe marriage contract, I have no obligations to you. And about the dress you’re refusing to remove…”


    Her tone was light, almost dismissive.


    Demi’s eyebrows arched in a smug triumph, as if to challenge, “What will you do?”


    Then, the sound of fabric tearing shattered the air.


    Crack!


    Swoosh!


    Ellie, scissors in hand, methodically sliced through each luxurious dress.


    “Jesus! My haute couture dresses! They were limited edition… The one who made this was the former chief designer of Chanel… Ellie! Are you insane?” Demi screamed, on the brink of desperation. She wanted to stop Ellie, but it was toote.


    The dresses, some irreceable, were now just fragments.


    “Oops, my hand can’t help it,” Ellie remarked, setting aside the scissors. She approached Demi, her face devoid of emotion.


    “What… What are you doing?” Demi, still in shock from the destruction, watched Elliee closer, her instinct urging her to retreat.


    Rrrrip!


    Ellie seized the hem of Venus and ripped it apart, reducing the exquisite gown to mere rags.


    Hands open in a helpless gesture, she said, “I did ask you to take it off.”


    Demi, fuming with anger, fought to maintain herposure in Ellie’s presence.


    She couldn’t afford to appear weak before Ellie.


    She couldn’t lose face!


    “Ellie, are you doing this to reciprocate the wedding gift I prepared for you?” Demi’s smile wasced with malice. “Given Kaiden’s… shorings, I thought you’d appreciate the extras. Did you?”


    Ellie’s gaze towards Demi turned frostier.


    Demi, swelling with pride, taunted further, “Or maybe you’re envious? Erick is with me now.”


    Erick, the most eligible bachelor in Critport, was once linked to Ellie.


    Now, Demi relished the thought of having him under her spell.


    Ellie’s response was simple, yetden with meaning. “Congrattions.”


    Her silent thought: Good riddance to bad rubbish.


    “And if you meddle in my career again… you’ll regret it.”


    Dayster, Ellie, needing a new outfit for a fashion summit, stepped into a mall.


    Suddenly, several male voices rang out.


    “Look! Isn’t that Ellie over there?”


    “Indeed, it’s her. Her social status might be questionable, but her beauty is undeniable.”


    A young man, speaking to Erick, admitted his past desire for Ellie. “Back then, she was your fiancée. Now, she’s fair game, right?”


    Erick, the center of attention among his wealthy peers, looked at Ellie. Raising his voice, he egged on the young man, “Go ahead! She’s not mine anymore. Feel free.”


    “Sure, Erick.”


    The leering looks from the young men filled Ellie with revulsion.


    Another chimed in eagerly, “Mind if I go next? She’s stunning!”


    They treated Ellie as if she were an object, a mere toy for their amusement.


    Ellie knew this could happen after the Gordons exposed her past, but experiencing it firsthand was demeaning. Her dignity felt trampled, crushed, shattered.


    Anyone less resilient might have crumbled under such verbal abuse.


    Ellie, masking her fury, walked past them, pretending not to hear.


    She refused to stoop to their level.


    Soon after, Erick blocked her path, his gaze brazenly traveling over her. “Ellie, as you’ve heard, just a nod from me and you’re nothing but a toy to them. You should be begging me to…”


    Smack!


    Without warning, Ellie’s hand struck Erick’s face.


    “You hit me?” Erick, hand to his cheek, stared in shock.


    “Mr. Thorpe, that wasn’t to hurt you. It was to snap you out of your delusion,” Ellie retorted, rubbing her sore hand. “Do you really think I’d be desperate enough to beg you? Where do you get the audacity?” A mocking smile crossed her lips as she thought of Kaiden. “My husband is far better than you. Isn’t that right, dear nephew?” Using Kaiden to unsettle Erick seemed fitting.


    “Ellie, you’re insane!” Erick fumed. “Kaiden is a cripple! And he’s impotent!”


    Rumors about Kaiden’s supposed disability and inability in the bedroom were widespread, as he was seldom seen with women. The Gordons’ decision to marry Ellie to Kaiden was rooted in their belief that he would disdain Ellie’s background and remain indifferent to her.


    Erick was convinced that Ellie,cking a powerful family of her own, was merely a ything and would eventually return to him. But now, Ellie boldly dered Kaiden superior to Erick.


    “In my eyes, my husband is unmatched,” Ellie asserted, though not entirely truthful.


    Come on, Kaiden’s disability was just a facade.


    These fools had been deceived by his ruse all these years!


    Ellie smoothed her hair, her poise and beauty a striking contrast to the chaos.


    “And as for his impotency,” she continued with an air of confidence, “having shared his bed, I’d know best. Or are you speaking from experience, Mr. Thorpe?”


    “What the hell? Holy shit!” Erick’s shock was palpable.


    This was not the demure Ellie he knew.


    Her boldness was uncharacteristic, yet undeniably authentic.


    Erick, speechless, suddenly looked past Ellie.


    “Kaiden, why are you here?” he asked, his tone turning cold.


    Ellie’s heart raced as she turned around.


    Several feet away, Kaiden sat in his wheelchair, an imposing figure despite his condition.


    His bodyguard, Bruce Harper, stood by.


    Kaiden’s expression was unreadable as he red at Ellie, his icy gaze conveying a chilling message: “You must have a death wish, huh?” This unexpected encounter with Kaiden, after days of absence, left Ellie shell-shocked, unsure what to do.


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