He Stands at the End of My Past

Willow stood frozen in place. Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, and her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Yet, she stubbornly kept her chin up.

"What did you just say, Willie?" Caspian stared at her in disbelief.

Willow yanked her hand out of his and choked out, "Mr. Henderson, what will it take for you to leave me alone? Your wife wants to rip my clothes off in public. Are you satisfied now?"

Juliet's friends' jaws dropped. They were about to retaliate when a violent crash echoed through the room.

Caspian had grabbed a wine bottle and hurled it at the ground, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.

He shifted his ice-cold gaze to Juliet and seethed, "Juliet, did I or did I not warn you to stay the hell away from Willie? Why don't you ever listen?"

Juliet pushed herself up from the floor. Her eyes were blazing red as she glared at him. "I didn't even know she worked here, Caspian!"

Willow let out a shaky laugh. With teary eyes, she sneered, "Right. I accidentally took a job here, and I accidentally walked into this room. Let's just call this a misunderstanding, Mr. Henderson. I'll leave, alright?"

"Drop the act!" Juliet's friends snapped and shoved her.

Willow screamed as she fell backward, her arm landing right on the scattered glass. In an instant, blood gushed out.

Caspian's gaze hardened as he stared at her wound. "Do you all have a death wish?"

The women shrank back in terror.

Juliet stepped between them with a frown. "Stop scaring them, Caspian."

Caspian held Willow, who was trembling in his arms, and gave Juliet a cold look. "Why? Are you going to stand up for them?"

Juliet took a look at Willow's bleeding arm. "It's just a cut. You don't have to make such a big deal out of it," she said apathetically.

Willow bit through the pain and forced out, "Ms. Bennett, you can look down on me all you want, but don't you dare treat me like an easy target!"

Tears cascaded down her face right after she said that.

Caspian looked heartbroken as he wiped away her tears. "Don't cry, Willie. I'll get back at them for you!"

"I don't need your help! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be getting picked on!"

Willow thrashed wildly, yet he only tightened his hold on her.

"I know, I know. I'm at fault too. I'll make it up to you after I deal with them." He lowered his head and pressed a light kiss on the top of her hair. "I'll show you something new I learned later tonight. I'm sure you'll like it!"

With that, he shot daggers at Juliet. "Why do you always have to pick on Willie, Jules?"

Juliet clenched her fists when she heard his accusation. "Caspian, if I really wanted to pick on her, do you think she'd still be alive right now?"

Last time, she had only called Willow a homewrecker, and she had ended up hanging above the ocean. She wondered how far he would go this time.

"So, you'd rather lie to my face than tell the truth, huh?" There was a cold glint in his eyes as a mirthless smile curled at his lips. His long fingers slid across his phone screen, and he started naming her friends' families. "The Lawson family. The Sandler family…"

Juliet's friends blanched as he continued.

Right after listing their families, he made a call. "In three days, I want—"

Before he could finish, Juliet snatched his phone out of his hand. "What are you trying to do, Caspian? If you've got a problem, take it out on me!"

She stared him down. She was furious, yet her vision was already clouded with unshed tears. The more she looked at this man, the less she understood him.

"So, you admit it, after all?" he said with a mocking curve of his lips, his gaze growing colder.

Juliet gritted her teeth, dug her nails into her palms, and looked up at him. "Caspian, you won't believe me no matter what I say, will you?"

"How am I supposed to believe you?" Caspian lunged forward, gripping her chin. Anger swirled in his eyes. "You've been lying to me since the day we got married!"

Right after saying that, he shoved her away and gestured to the bodyguards at the door. "My wife loves glass. So smash every bottle here and cover the floor with it. Then, bring everyone in the bar here and tell them drinks are on me tonight."

Juliet felt the blood drain from her face. "What are you trying to do, Caspian?"

"You're about to find out," he responded with a lazy smile.

Within minutes, the floor was littered with sharp glass shards. A huge crowd gathered outside the room to watch the scene unfold. Soon, the room was buzzing with ridicule and amusement.

"Isn't that the abandoned wife from the Henderson family?"

"Yeah, she's not even worth a strand of Willow's hair now."

Juliet lowered her gaze, hiding the storm in her eyes. When she looked up again, her gaze was cold as frost. "Are you sure you want to go this far?"

Caspian leaned against the couch's armrest, swirling a wine glass between his fingers. "Are you going to take your clothes off, or should I have someone do it for you?"

Before she could respond, he jerked his chin at the guards. "Forget it. You guys, strip her and throw her on the floor."

As soon as his words fell, several guards swarmed her, pinning her down as she thrashed wildly. Rip after rip, the sound of fabric tearing filled the room, and in seconds, Juliet was left in nothing but her underwear.

Then, someone shoved her from behind, sending her stumbling and falling onto the bed of broken glass.

Juliet's scream tore through the room. Pain spread through her limbs as glass shards pierced deep into her skin. Blood pooled beneath her almost instantly.

Her whole body trembled uncontrollably from the pain, her nails scraping across the glass, creating a shrill, grating sound.

The crowd erupted with excitement. "Damn, her body's insane! Quick, record it! This will go viral for sure."

The onlookers raised their phones, and the flashing lights were so bright that Juliet couldn't even open her eyes. She lifted her head and looked at Caspian with teary eyes, only to find him holding Willow and whispering in her ear. His expression was so tender—it was as if he had never been angry at all.

The metallic tang of blood filled Juliet's mouth as she bit down on her lip, a hollow, bitter chuckle twisting in her chest.

In the end, her vision blurred, and she lost consciousness. Yet Caspian never spared her a glance.