Chapter 6 Humiliation

Finally, the peace in the study was restored. Marcus, irritated by Millie's behaviour and words, massaged the space between his brows.

She not only tricked him into marrying her, but she also implied that he was a woman-hungry beast who would settle for anyone who offered herself to him.

Marcus put down the document he was holding, picked up the magazine Millie had dropped on the table, and sat back in his chair.

He flipped to the page containing the bag Millie had just mentioned and gazed at the three hundred-thousand-dollar price tag. Then, he looked at the one Rhea had been eyeing, the one that cost one hundred fifty thousand dollars. Millie's antics were so embarrassingly juvenile.

She wanted him to buy her a bag? Ridiculous.

He had not even got even with her yet, but she was already trying to get him to buy her a bag. He snorted and threw the magazine into the trash can.

Marcus closed his eyes, recalling the unexpectedly sweet and pleasant scent that surrounded him when Millie stopped next to him.

When he noticed that his mind had wandered to the woman, Marcus shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning down in a scowl. This must be a ploy to get his attention, devised by that wicked woman. He would not put it past her. After all, she even drugged her own family to marry him.

Unfortunately, he failed to get Millie out of his mind, and the more he thought about her and the predicament she had brought to him, the more disorganized his thoughts grew. In the end, Marcus got to his feet and went to the second floor.

In the bedroom, Millie had just gotten out of the shower and was sitting in front of the dressing table. Her nightgown was dragged down a bit, exposing one of her pristine white shoulders. Currently, she was adjusting the strap of her bra.

Millie inhaled deeply. The strap was so restrictive, and it left a red vertical mark on her shoulder.

Suddenly, the door to the bedroom was yanked open in a rather violent manner, startling her.

"Hey, w-why did you come in... without knocking?" Millie stammered, her face flushing.

Marcus froze for a second, his mind clouded by the titillating scene in front of him. He regained his composure immediately, though, and his temper began to flare again. The woman was definitely up to something.

"This is my room; I don't need your permission to enter it," Marcus stated snappishly.

For a while, Millie was at a loss for words.

As soon as she had straightened her nightgown, Marcus walked up to her with imposing steps and a grim expression on his face. When he stopped in front of her, his authoritative presence immediately enveloped her.

Millie's heart began pounding wildly in her chest. She took a step back, and her grip on the bottle of hand cream tightened.

"What are you doing?"

"What did you mean by what you said in the study?" Marcus asked sternly.

Millie's eyes widened, shocked by the question and anxious as Marcus's towering frame closed in on her. He would not hurt her over something so trivial, would he?

"What I said in the study?"

What she said earlier was not hard to understand. Was Marcus doing this to defend Rhea?

"You said that men are creatures who only think with their lower bodies. Are you so sure about that?" Marcus's voice dipped alluringly.

Millie wrinkled her brows when she realized he must feel humiliated by her words.

"It's an offhand comment... What are you doing?"

Suddenly, Marcus's face took on a peculiar expression. His alluring lips went closer to Millie's dazzling white neck, and as they did, she felt a tingling sensation all throughout her body.

As Marcus got closer, Millie caught a whiff of the minty scent coming from his body.

When his lips were only a few inches away from her skin, Millie grew more frantic. She moved to get away from him, but Marcus grabbed her hands, effectively immobilizing her.

"Get away from me!" Millie was genuinely panicking now.

"You're wrong. Even if you're a woman, men won't jump on you. If anything, they'll only avoid you if they see your face," Marcus ridiculed.

His lips curled in intense disgust as he pulled away from Millie, and he snorted condescendingly.

That was it?

As it turned out, he only did that to humiliate her. A crease appeared on Millie's forehead as she willed her racing heartbeat to slow down.

She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes inwardly. She ran her fingers through her hair before opening the bottle of hand cream. As she rubbed the cream in her hands, she pretended that his words did not affect her.

Marcus was still watching her.

"That nasty scar on your face won't go away no matter how well you treat your hands, stupid woman."

Millie's fury, which had been ebbing, returned.

"So what if I like taking care of my hands? It makes me happy. What's wrong with that?"

"That's merely a temporary fix. It doesn't eliminate the issue entirely, which is your face."

"I like doing it."

Marcus was taken aback by her response.

Millie bit her lower lip. She absolutely could not let a man she barely knew hurt her in any way.

After saying that, Millie went to the bed, pulled up the comforter, and lay down.

Marcus's hands clenched into fists. The woman was not only shameless and vicious, but she also had a sharp tongue.

Millie was worried about getting hand cream on the bedding, so she did not tuck them under the comforter and let them dry in the air. Her hands looked much paler and gentler under the bright light.

Something flickered in Marcus's eyes. He had never seen such pale and dainty hands.

By the time Marcus emerged from the shower, robed and with wet hair, Millie was already fast asleep.

Only then did he realize that she was on his bed, leaving him with nowhere to sleep. He could not possibly share a bed with the hideous-looking woman.

Despite his frustration, he made his way over to Millie, and he was surprised to see how peaceful and sweet she looked as she slept. It was such a calming sight.

The parts of her face not hidden by the mask were flawless. Her long eyelashes resembled the fluttering wings of a butterfly, and her forehead was smooth and gleaming.

Marcus was about to pick up the sleeping Millie, but he stopped when he also realized how fragile she looked.

His mind rushed back to what happened in the living room when Millie was about to take her mask off. Did her face under that mask truly match the ugliness of her malicious heart? Every part of her that she chose to display was beautiful.

Unable to stop his curiosity, Marcus's hand slowly reached for Millie's mask.

For some reason, the closer his hand got, the more wildly it trembled. When exactly he had become so indecisive, he had no idea.

His hand was on Millie's mask now, poised to remove it in one swift motion.