Don't Mind Loneliness, It's Better Than Loving You

Juliana lay on the floor like a broken doll.

Bradley, now fully dressed, stood tall in front of her in his polished black shoes. Her trembling body recoiled as he tossed a check at her feet. "Quit the act. If you had real pride, you wouldn't take this money."

The check read ten thousand dollars.

Hugging herself tightly, Juliana let out a soft, bitter laugh. "Mr. Mccarty, how generous of you."

Bradley paused, a mocking smile creeping onto his lips. His voice dripped with disdain. "Done pretending?"

"You're right, Mr. Mccarty. There's no difference between once and a few more times."

Bradley stepped closer, yanking her into his arms.

Juliana bit her lip, suppressing the urge to push him away, enduring the humiliation.

His eyes remained icy.

He couldn't deny that this woman's body still fascinated him.

She constantly stirred his desires.

Juliana understood men too well.

His fingers brushed her cheek before he harshly pushed her away.

"I'm giving the money to you like I'd toss change to a beggar. Never show your face in front of me again. Get out."

His words were sharp as blades, each one piercing her heart. Her entire being felt shattered by his cruelty.

"If you hate me so much, why did you marry me?"

"What do you think I would marry the person who killed Kianna?" Bradley sneered.

Of course, it was for revenge.

A check for a hundred thousand dollars fluttered down in front of her.

With the check, her dignity crumbled alongside.

Tears welled up in Juliana's eyes as she clenched the check in her hand. She hugged herself tightly, the echo of Bradley's scornful laughter ringing in her ears as she buried her head in her knees, large teardrops rolling down her face.

She wanted to throw the check back in his face, to tell him to get lost, but her sister-in-law Jessie Logan's and Ayden's desperate cries still echoed in her mind.

Three years ago, on the way to her wedding, Bradley's fiancee, Kianna, had a car accident, plunging off a cliff.

Bradley believed that she had caused it and threw her into prison.

After three years, Juliana was released, only to find that her once-prosperous brother and his family were now living in misery, all because of her.

Her brother had tried everything to save her, but just when he thought he had succeeded, he was arrested for financial discrepancies in his reports.

Her nephew had borrowed a hundred thousand dollars in loans.

"They said if I gave them the money, they'd release my dad, but I gave it to them, and they disappeared."

Ayden was still the same obedient child she remembered.

He had secretly borrowed the money, trying to save his father.

If it weren't for her, her brother, once a promising manager in a big company, wouldn't have ended up like this.

It was all because of her.

In Bradley's eyes, she was already guilty of murder, so selling her body for money wouldn't make a difference.

Her tear-filled vision blurred as she clenched the check tightly.

She didn't know how long she had cried, but eventually, her tears dried up. Slowly, she dragged herself to her feet and limped into the bathroom.

The water from the shower-head fell on her body, and she scrubbed herself fiercely, her pale skin turning bright red.

Bradley was right.

Dirty.

She felt so dirty.