Mia Kane backed away, but with her hands bound, she had very little room to struggle.

She was seething with anger and panic.

"Chase Lockwood, if you dare touch me, I’ll kill you!"

Chase Lockwood sneered at her words.

"Are you scared? Afraid that Adrian Preston will be disgusted by you if I do something to you?"

"No, he wouldn’t be disgusted with me!"

"Oh, really? Being sullied before marriage is one thing, but being sullied *during* it is another matter entirely. A man might not care about what a woman did before they were married, but he certainly will after."

’Take me, for example,’ he thought. ’So what if Vivian Lynch was married before? As long as she belongs completely and utterly to me after we get married, that’s all that matters. All men are like that. No one is an exception, and he refused to believe Adrian Preston was any different.’

"Chase Lockwood! Don’t you dare, or I swear I’ll make your life a living hell. I’ll tell Vivian Lynch..."

"I’ll just say you seduced me."

"You... How could you have become like this?"

Mia Kane was utterly shocked. Chase Lockwood had once been such a good person, but now he was sinister and terrifying, even stubbornly fixated on his own twisted logic.

"You pushed me to this."

He stared at her with bloodshot eyes, like an Asura from Hell.

"Mia Kane, I’ve never taken a fall like this before! Do you hear me? I’ve never taken a fall like this!"

He repeated himself, his voice thick with resentment.

’She made me a laughingstock.’

’Especially in that moment she said she didn’t care about me—my heart actually ached as if pierced by a needle.’

’Only he was allowed to abandon her, to be disgusted by her, to save her.’

’What right did she have to reject me?’

’Who the hell did she think she was? She wasn’t even fit to carry my shoes.’

A man accustomed to his high station and absolute control had suddenly tumbled down the steps, cracking his head open. How could he possibly bear it?

Now, all he wanted was to destroy Mia Kane, to ruin her so completely that nothing was left.

He began to brutally rip at her clothes.

"I should have done this a long time ago. The latest I should have done it was after you came back from being assaulted by those thugs—I should have taken you then. I put up with you again and again, and what did I get for it?"

"Mia Kane, I supported you for three years. You already owed me this. Now, I’m just collecting a little interest."

With that, Chase Lockwood leaned down, kissing her neck and even biting it twice.

’That animal!’

Mia Kane had never felt such despair.

’Chase Lockwood was actually trying to assault her.’

"Let me go! Help..."

Her voice was hoarse and she had no more tears to cry, but that didn’t make Chase Lockwood stop.

He continued to tear at her clothes.

RRRIP! The fabric tore apart.

Seeing her tears, Chase Lockwood suddenly froze, his eyes betraying a complex, repressed emotion.

He furrowed his brow, as if trying to hold himself back, but his expression eventually smoothed out as he looked down at her grimly.

’She was his to begin with.’

Once he had justified it to himself, he prepared to continue undressing her.

Just then, a tremendous RUMBLE came from downstairs, like an earthquake.

At that same moment, a servant rushed upstairs and knocked frantically on the door.

"Sir... Sir, it’s bad..."

His fun interrupted, Chase Lockwood’s brow twisted into a deep scowl.

He had no choice but to get up. He shot Mia Kane a deep look before turning to leave.

He locked the door behind him, afraid she might escape.

"What is it?"

"Young... Young Master Preston is here."

"Adrian Preston? So soon?"

Chase Lockwood’s heart sank. He glanced at the tightly shut door, then headed downstairs.

The security guards and servants had tried to stop him, but Adrian Preston had simply smashed the iron gate open with his car. He was the one who had made that noise just now.

He went downstairs and saw Adrian Preston, whose expression was chillingly grim.

"So, you’re here?"

He smirked, raising an eyebrow with a flippant air. "What a pity. You’re too late."

"What did you do to her?"

Furious, Adrian Preston lunged forward and grabbed him by the collar.

"Take a guess. A man and a woman, all alone in a room together. What do you think I could have done to her?"

"I’ll kill you."

Adrian’s fists landed solidly, and he beat Chase Lockwood until he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

The servants were terrified and swarmed forward to intervene. They couldn’t just stand by and watch him beat Chase Lockwood to death.

Thinking quickly, one of them shouted.

"Young Master Preston, you should go check on Miss Kane!"

Adrian Preston’s heart lurched at the words.

’Mia Kane... Mia Kane...’

Repeating her name in his mind, he rushed toward the second floor.

He kicked open countless doors, searching room by room until he finally found the master bedroom.

He couldn’t kick this one open. It was locked.

Furious, he kicked it hard several times until the lock finally gave way.

He burst into the room and saw a small figure teetering on the edge of the balcony railing, ready to fall.

The ground floor had a high ceiling, so while this was a tall building, the drop to the ground was more than four meters.

A fall from that height would surely cause broken bones, if not death. If she were to damage a critical nerve, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He wanted to call her name, but no sound came out. He didn’t dare speak loudly, afraid he would startle her. All he could do was move closer.

"Mia Kane... don’t jump. Please, don’t jump, okay?"

Mia Kane was a nervous wreck. She had tried to open the door, but it was locked tight, so she had to find another way.

There was an external air conditioning unit outside the balcony, along with some pipes.

She wanted to climb over, jump onto the unit, and then slide down the pipes.

But her coordination wasn’t the best. Once she was over the railing, a look down made her head spin, and she nearly missed her footing.

She was so nervous that she hadn’t even noticed someone had entered the room.

When she suddenly noticed a figure approaching, she assumed it was Chase Lockwood and, steeling her resolve, took a leap.

But the moment she jumped, she knew something was wrong.

It had looked close, but the distance was actually much farther than she thought.

’It’s over. I’m not going to make it.’

Before she could even get a clear look, a figure vaulted over the railing and grabbed her hand.

The massive pulling force nearly dislocated her arm.

"Hold on! Don’t let go!"

Adrian Preston was dangling over the edge, one hand gripping the railing for dear life while the other held fast to her.

"Adrian Preston?"

She was overjoyed when she saw who it was, tears welling in her eyes.

Thankfully, Adrian Preston was athletic; an ordinary person would never have been able to haul someone up with just one arm.

They finally made it safely back onto the balcony.

As Mia Kane’s feet touched the ground, she felt a sense of unreality.

Before she could even process what had happened, Adrian Preston rushed forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.

He held her so tightly, his large hand cradling the back of her head and pressing her face deep into his chest.

She could clearly hear his heart pounding against his ribs like a drum. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

’Was he nervous? Afraid?’

"It’s okay. You’re okay now."

His voice grew gentle, as if he were soothing a child.

Thinking about everything she had just been through, Mia Kane was overcome with a sense of grievance, and silent tears began to stream down her face.

This time, she wept without a sound, shedding only hot, searing tears.

When Adrian Preston felt the dampness, he immediately loosened his embrace. One glance took in the hickey on her neck and her torn clothes, and his heart clenched. He wanted nothing more than to kill Chase Lockwood.

But comforting Mia Kane was the priority right now.

"I’m here now. I won’t let anyone hurt you again."

He took off his own jacket and draped it over her shoulders, covering her exposed skin.

"Let’s go."

He swept her up into his arms. Mia Kane didn’t struggle, nestling into his embrace.

Adrian Preston carried her downstairs, ignoring everyone as he took her out the main gate of the Lockwood Family home.

But Chase Lockwood’s voice stopped them.

"Adrian Preston, you need to remember this! Every day you’re with her, I’ll be right there with you. She carries my mark on her now!"