The escalating effects of the drug made it nearly impossible for Silas Sutton to maintain control.
Taking advantage of his struggle, Celia Shelby broke free from his grip and pressed herself boldly against him.
She tilted her face up, her breath warm and fragrant.
“It’s just a little something to set the mood, Silas.
No need to be nervous.
Old Mrs.
Sutton also hopes we can tie the knot soon, so she can hold her great-grandchildren early.
Doesn’t she?”
As she spoke, she pulled down the strap of her dress on one side, revealing a fair, rounded shoulder.
The movement carried a deliberately practiced charm.
If he were an ordinary man, his blood would probably be boiling by now, leaving him completely unable to hold back.
Silas indeed felt his body reacting, but it wasn’t out of lust; it was the drug’s forced effect violently clashing with his intense inner revulsion.
He bit the tip of his tongue hard.
The coppery taste of blood and the sharp pain brought him a fleeting moment of clarity.
“Celia Shelby, right?
You fucking bitch.” Silas shook his increasingly heavy head, unable to stop himself from cursing the woman out.
Seeing him shake his head, Celia was even more certain that the potent drug was enough to help her succeed.
She was not afraid in the slightest.
Instead, she chuckled lightly, her smile and eyes dripping with seduction.
“Silas, looking the way you do right now, you shouldn’t push me away.
I can help you.
Why don’t we just…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Silas abruptly lifted his leg and delivered a vicious kick right to her stomach.
To be honest, except when it came to Sprout, he was not the type of man to show tenderness towards women.
Moreover, the fact that Sprout was going to marry someone else had already left him heartbroken and despairing.
Celia pulling this stunt right now meant she had stepped right into his line of fire.
“Ah!” Celia let out a miserable shriek and crashed to the floor.
Her shoulder strap slipped further down, exposing far more skin than she had intended.
There was a call bell on the nightstand, but he was a bit too far away from it now.
Panting heavily, Silas didn’t even spare her a glance as he turned toward the door and bellowed, “Kyle!
Bill!
“Somebody get in here!
Butler Lewis!”
The villa’s soundproofing was excellent.
He shouted twice, but there was no response, and alarm bells instantly went off in Silas’s mind.
“Don’t waste your breath,” Celia grimaced as she climbed up from the floor, a lewd smile creeping back onto her lips.
“I locked the door from the inside.
And…”
She paused, her voice dripping with smugness.
“Look at the time.
The servants downstairs saw you come into your room to rest, so naturally, they’ve all gone to bed, too.”
As she spoke, Celia closed in on him again, this time moving much faster.
She pressed her hands directly against Silas’s chest and began unbuttoning his shirt.
“Silas, you’re in so much agony.
Let me help you, okay?
First thing tomorrow morning, the entire Sutton and Shelby families will know about us.
And then…”
Celia’s seductive, bewitching words continuously brushed against his ears.
Silas felt his head growing heavier, his vision blurring.
The drug-induced hallucinations made the woman in front of him shift between Celia’s heavily made-up face and Zoe Quinn’s clean, delicate features.
However, Silas had survived in the criminal underworld for years.
What kind of dirty tricks hadn’t he seen?
Just as a flicker of lost control stirred within him, Celia’s cold hands cupped his burning cheeks.
It was exactly this touch of cold that made Silas jolt.
The brief clarity in his mind instantly ignited into sheer fury.
As the dignified CEO of Cosmos Group, to have actually fallen for this vile bitch’s trick in his own home—it would be an absolute humiliation if word ever got out.
“Get lost!” Silas roared.
He raised his hand and used every ounce of his strength to choke Celia’s neck.
Caught off guard, Celia’s face turned purple in an instant.
She clawed desperately at his arm with both hands, her high heels scraping harshly against the floor as she thrashed.
Suppressing the surging heat and lust within him, Silas reached his free hand into his pocket to pull out his phone, only to realize he had tossed it onto the bed when he came in earlier.
The bed!
Right now, that was the place he wanted to avoid most.
He could only bite his lip and shove Celia toward the door while maintaining his death grip on her throat, his free hand swiftly finding the lock.
CLICK.
The door opened.
“Somebody get over here!
All of you, get your asses over here!” Silas roared into the hallway.
This time, his voice finally traveled far.
As soon as his shout faded, hurried footsteps echoed from down the hall.
Old Lewis, the butler, was the first to arrive.
Butler Lewis was stunned by the sight before him.
“Y-Young Master, what is…”
Immediately after, Kyle and Bill rushed up.
Both men had been brothers-in-arms by Silas’s side for years; one look at the situation and they understood exactly what was going on.
“Boss!” Kyle stepped forward, wanting to help.
Silas threw the nearly asphyxiated Celia away like a piece of trash.
She collapsed to the floor, clutching her throat and coughing violently.
Her nightgown was in complete disarray, leaving her in a thoroughly wretched state.
“Beat this woman to a pulp and throw her out.” Silas pointed at Celia, every word dripping with icy murderous intent.
“From now on, whoever dares to let her into this villa again, I’ll take their fucking life!”
“Yes, sir!” Kyle and Bill didn’t hesitate.
They stepped up, hauled Celia to her feet, and handed her over to the security guards who were swarming in.
“I am the eldest daughter of the Shelby family!
I am Old Mrs.
Sutton’s invited guest!
How dare you lowly servants lay a hand on me—”
“Filthy bitch, get out!” Unable to suppress his fury, Silas held onto the doorframe and leaned out just to deliver another vicious kick to her.
The raw hostility in his voice made everyone present shudder.
Celia was forcibly dragged away.
Her shrieks and the agonizing screams of her being beaten echoed down the hallway, gradually fading into the distance.
Butler Lewis stepped forward, trembling.
“Young Master, are…
are you alright?
Do you need me to call a doctor?”
Silas’s breathing was ragged.
He leaned against the doorframe, trying his best to endure it.
Even though it was already autumn, large beads of sweat were seeping from his forehead.
The drug’s effects were peaking.
He felt as though his entire body was on fire, and his physical reaction left him both humiliated and furious.
Worse still, his chaotic mind kept conjuring up Sprout’s face—the way she smiled, the way she cried, the way she looked so panicked at the club tonight…
“Boss?” Bill keenly noticed his abnormal state and asked in a low voice, “Do you…
need a woman?
I’ll go arrange for one right away.”
Silas snapped his head up, his gaze sharp as a knife.
“Don’t you dare!”
Bill took a step back in fright.
“I’m sorry, I just saw that you…”
“I’m fine.” Silas clenched his jaw, forcing the words out through gritted teeth.
“All of you, get out.
If anyone leaks a single word about what happened tonight, I’ll cut their tongue out!”
No one dared to say another word.
They swiftly withdrew.
SLAM.
Silas shut the door and leaned against it, panting heavily.
The fire inside him burned brighter and hotter, his rationality teetering on the edge of lust.
He tore off his tie and ripped his shirt open, but it brought no relief.
He remembered his phone on the bed and thought of calling Bill, but he immediately dismissed the idea.
He couldn’t let anyone see him in this pathetic state, especially not now.
And he definitely couldn’t seek out another woman.
Despite surviving in the underworld for years, he had always respected himself and never messed around with random women.
Having been touched by that vile bitch Celia today, he felt dirty.
Just the mere thought of being with someone else felt like a betrayal to Sprout.
Even though Sprout already had a fiancé, and even though she only saw him as her godbrother, in Silas’s heart, she would always be the girl he needed to protect.
He gritted his teeth so hard they ached, stumbled into the bathroom, turned on the cold water faucet, and lay straight down into the bathtub.
The icy stream of water washed over his boiling body, bringing a brief moment of clarity.
Silas tilted his head back, letting the water pour over him, but his mind couldn’t help flashing back to a scene from three years ago—