Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 111: Another Hero Saves the Damsel

Cameron Fairchild seemed to take her words to heart. "Yeah, but then how am I supposed to keep my rep? Sis-in-law, stay out of this. I promise I won’t hurt her. Just go wait outside."

"No." Raina saw the camera and knew what they were planning. "You can’t do this."

"I promise... There really won’t be a next time." Annabelle Spencer was completely cowed this time.

"So damn loud." Cameron Fairchild frowned impatiently.

A man standing nearby saw this, grabbed a towel from the table, and stuffed it into Annabelle Spencer’s mouth.

Raina knew it all came down to Ethan Lancaster. "This blowing up won’t do anyone any good."

"Don’t worry, sis-in-law. It won’t blow up. I’ll just keep the footage for my private collection." Cameron Fairchild glanced at Annabelle Spencer beside him and ruffled her hair. "As long as she behaves, I won’t let this recording fall into anyone else’s hands."

Someone came to escort Raina out. She tried to rush forward but was seized by the arms on either side.

Annabelle Spencer stared intently at Ethan Lancaster. A small part of her had been banking on her connection to Raina, believing that no matter how depraved these men were, they wouldn’t cause her any actual physical harm. But now, as she watched Raina get dragged away, that final sliver of hope was snuffed out. Tears streamed down her face. She tried to scream for help, but no sound came out.

These men had been steeped in depravity since they were children. There wasn’t a scene they hadn’t witnessed, nor a twisted game they hadn’t played.

In this world, sometimes it all came down to who was more vicious.

Raina was no match for the two hulking men; they were practically lifting her off her feet as they dragged her out. All she could do was scream back toward the room, "Ethan Lancaster, stop them! Make them stop!"

The man remained unmoved. A lighter flicked open, and the flame that leaped up cast Ethan Lancaster’s face in an icy blue light.

"Ethan Lancaster, please don’t do this. We can talk this out. Don’t be so ruthless..."

He finally stood, took a few steps, and sat down next to Cameron Fairchild.

"Why do you keep touching her face?"

Cameron Fairchild withdrew his hand. "When did I touch her face?"

"You did it and you won’t even admit it. Don’t tell me you’re interested in her now."

Annabelle Spencer’s face was white as a sheet. At Ethan’s words, Cameron Fairchild laughed and brushed the stray hair from her face. "How did I not notice before? This girl’s not half bad."

Ethan Lancaster just smiled and said nothing. Cameron Fairchild leaned close to Annabelle Spencer’s ear, yanked the towel from her mouth, and raised his voice to ask, "How about you pick one? Me, or them?"

"Cameron Fairchild, the camera is already here, you have to keep your word!" Raina struggled, but she couldn’t push away the two men flanking her.

"You said you’d let me go," Annabelle Spencer whispered. Cameron Fairchild met her gaze, utterly failing to see how despicable he looked in her eyes. "I am letting you go. I never said I was going to lock you in here for a lifetime."

"Then... let me go."

"But letting you walk out of here completely unscathed... that’s impossible now."

Raina could only turn to reason with Ethan Lancaster. "It was my friend’s fault. I’ll apologize for her..."

"Raina, do you really think some things can be settled with just an apology?"

"Then what do you want? What is it you really want?"

A smile played on Cameron Fairchild’s lips as he shot a look to the men beside him. Raina knew something was wrong. She lunged forward, but was immediately pulled back.

Annabelle Spencer was pinned by her shoulders, unable to struggle, as someone casually yanked her jacket off. She was wearing a loose sweater underneath, and in the tussle, half of her shoulder was exposed. Raina saw several angry red scratches on her pale back. "Stop! Don’t do this! Ethan Lancaster, make them stop!"

Annabelle Spencer’s cries were shrill and desperate. Raina screamed until her throat was raw, but Ethan Lancaster remained completely unmoved.

He turned a blind eye to her, so her best friend became as worthless as dirt, free for anyone to abuse and trample.

"I’m begging you, please don’t..."

Suddenly, the door to the room was pushed open. Raina didn’t look back, but she heard footsteps approach. The newcomer walked to her side and glanced down at her.

"Fourth Master, enjoying yourself? But isn’t this going a bit too far?"

Raina swallowed the lump in her throat, her gaze shifting to fall on Miles Hawthorne’s profile.

Of course, Cameron Fairchild had to be the one to run interference. "Mr. Hawthorne, I don’t recall Aristor Hall having any specific rules against having a little fun, do you?"

"But what you’re doing now, I’m afraid, is against the law."

Cameron Fairchild spread his hands with an amused laugh. "What law is that? I get scared easily, so don’t try to frighten me. We’re just teasing her a bit, aren’t we?"

Miles Hawthorne glanced at Annabelle Spencer, who looked scared out of her mind. "If it’s all in good fun, then surely you’ve had enough by now?"

"What’s this? You run a business, Mr. Hawthorne. Since when do you get involved in this sort of thing?"

"I have to. If anything happened here, I’d be the one held responsible."

Raina could only pin her hopes on Miles Hawthorne. Cameron Fairchild seemed to have lost interest. "Fine. For you, Mr. Hawthorne, I’ll let it slide this once."

Hearing this, the tension in Raina’s expression visibly eased.

She wrenched her arms free and hurried toward the sofa. She pushed away the men gathered around Annabelle Spencer. Annabelle was trembling, barely able to speak. Raina grabbed the discarded jacket and draped it over her friend’s shoulders. "It’s okay now. Let’s go home."

"Raina..."

"I’m here."

Raina tried to help her up, but Annabelle’s legs had gone soft, completely devoid of strength.

Miles Hawthorne knew they couldn’t linger. Cameron Fairchild could change his mind at any moment, and that would be a real problem. He strode over, grabbed Annabelle Spencer’s arm, and hauled her to her feet. "Let’s go."

Raina supported Annabelle on the other side. From the sofa, she heard Cameron Fairchild laugh and say to Ethan Lancaster, "See? What did I tell you? The moment your Mrs. Lancaster sheds a single tear, Mr. Hawthorne can’t stand it. And here he is... barging in like this, even though he knows it’s against his own rules." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Miles Hawthorne shot him a cold glare but didn’t deign to reply.

Raina’s expression was just as grim. She lowered her gaze and started for the door.

"Raina," the man on the sofa suddenly spoke up. "Are you really going to walk out of here with him, in front of everyone?"

Raina looked at Ethan Lancaster, who was still seated on the sofa. "I’m not leaving with him. I’m taking my friend home."

"Look at you three, with him on one side and you on the other. How is that not ’leaving with him’?" Cameron Fairchild sneered.

Tears still glistened in the corners of Raina’s eyes, but clearly, Ethan Lancaster either didn’t see them or didn’t care. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stood by and done nothing just now.

Miles Hawthorne took a couple of steps forward, leading Annabelle Spencer, and Raina moved to follow.

Ethan Lancaster’s thin lips barely moved. "And what if I wanted you to stay? Would you?"

His words carried immense weight, striking Raina’s heart like a hammer blow.