When Love Comes Late

William promised to make it up to her with an even grander wedding. He even put on a heartbroken act, lamenting that he hadn't remained faithful to McKenzie all these years.

Madison watched as McKenzie feigned generosity and understanding, all while suppressing her genuine emotions. William had always been a womanizer, never thinking twice about his flings and his behavior only worsened when McKenzie was away, using it as a means of self-indulgent release.

Yet now, he knelt on one knee before McKenzie, his face filled with sincerity and supplication. "In the past, there was no one to keep me in check, but now that I have my wife by my side, why would I ever look at another woman?"

McKenzie let out a mocking hum and glanced at Madison with an unreadable smile. "So, it seems my sister couldn't keep your heart in place. Is that my fault?"

William's expression darkened for a moment, but he quickly masked it with his usual composure. "Of course not. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have been separated for so long."

That very night, they engaged in passionate lovemaking in Madison's room. At the same time, she was forced to kneel on the sidelines and watch. McKenzie's gaze wavered, but his hawk-like, piercing black eyes locked onto her.

Later, a glass cup cracked in front of her with a loud bang and the shards scattered at her feet. A sharp pain sliced through her cheek as a shard of porcelain left a thin, bleeding cut.

McKenzie gasped dramatically. "Oh dear, isn't this making things difficult for poor Madison?"

Madison didn't say a word. She had expected herself to be angry, but all she felt was an overwhelming sense of disgust and revulsion.

William offered a nonchalant smile. "After being my wife for so long, you have to pay a price, don't you think?"

The entire night, they reveled in their pleasure, humiliating Madison in every possible way. William, completely naked, lifted her chin between his fingers and studied her face from above. "Tsk, tsk. The same face and yet you're so much more vicious."

Madison had numbly watched the entire ordeal unfold, but hearing the word "vicious" still sent a pang through her heart. Lowering her gaze, she turned her head away and whispered, "Don't touch me. You're filthy."

William froze for a moment before his expression twisted with anger. He let out a cold laugh. "Stop pretending. Now that Madison is back, you're useless."

After that, he ripped the damp bed sheet from the bed and tossed it onto Madison. Folding his arms across his chest, he watched her with amusement. "The Loughlins doesn't feed freeloaders. Go wash the sheets."

McKenzie giggled softly from the bed. "Isn't this too harsh on my sister, William? She's timid. Don't be too hard on her."

Madison clenched her fists, her entire body trembling. Her voice was hoarse when she finally spoke. "You want me to wash the sheets with this face? Do you really think they'll believe I'm your real wife?"

After that, Madison ignored them and turned away directly. The faces of the two people behind her turned dark. William narrowed his eyes dangerously, "Her temper is growing wilder by the day."

McKenzie seethed inside but forced a cold smile as she caught up to Madison. "Madison, just a few years as William's wife and you've grown arrogant. You won't even wash a sheet for your sister? If you don't want to, fine. But don't forget, everything you've enjoyed these past years was because of me."

Enjoyed? Madison thought back to her wedding night when William had drugged her with laxatives. How, despite knowing she was unwell, he had gone out of his way to torment her, trying to push her to the brink of death.

Watching McKenzie's condescending gaze, she couldn't help but laugh coldly. "McKenzie. If you hadn't gone abroad, Mom wouldn't have forced me into that wedding car, forcing me to marry that beast. Don't look at me like that. Yes, I admit I loved him, but I wasn't so cheap as to beg for his affection. But you, my dear sister, you tried to kill me countless times for the sake of a man!"