Arthur raised the belt and started hitting Denise without hesitation. Denise instantly tried to make a run for it, but Vivian had already told her men to block her way and pin her to the floor.

Whack! Whack! Whack!

The belt landed hard again and again on Denise. She bit her lip, fists clenched tight, eyes burning with defiance. One day, she'd make them pay-double!

"Denise, don't blame your dad. You've brought this on yourself," Vivian said smugly from the chair. "Look at Samantha. She just got engaged to the CEO of the Harrington family. Soon she'll be Mrs. Harrington, and we'll all benefit from that. But you? We ask you to sleep with Mr. Donovan and you beat him up instead? Your dad had to pay for his hospital bills! Seriously, are you crazy?"

Denise shot Vivian a hateful glare. "Since it sounds so easy, why don't YOU go sleep with Mr. Donovan?"

Vivian's face went stiff with anger. Just as she was about to snap back, the butler came rushing in. "Sir, Madam, Mr. Harrington is here."

Vivian's face instantly lit up. "Well well, speak of the devil!"

Samantha's cheeks flushed with excitement.

Denise couldn't care less who this CEO guy was. She only vaguely recalled hearing Samantha got engaged to some rich dude.

Arthur finally stopped hitting her and barked at her to get out of the way.

Right then, a tall man walked through the door. Black suit, white shirt, legs so long he could've walked straight off a drama set. And that face-so damn handsome it was unreal.

"Jason!" Samantha sprinted over, her voice honey-sweet.

Jason barely reacted, his expression cool. His gaze swept past them and landed on Arthur and Vivian. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery."

"Jason, come in! Sit, sit!" Arthur said eagerly. "Butler, tea, now!"

He wasn't stupid. Jason wasn't just some rich kid-he ran the entire Harrington financial empire. The youngest CEO in Seaville, a real shark in the business world. The man could shake the whole city by just moving a finger.

Then Jason looked over to where Denise stood. Their eyes met.

Oh. Hell. No.

That face. That voice. That was the guy from last night?!

Her one-night stand was... her sister's fiancé?!

What kind of twisted mess was this?!

Heh.

Denise's lips curled into a cold smile.

Alright then. Since they played dirty first, she'd stop playing nice.

Jason turned to Arthur. "Mr. Montgomery, who's she?"

Before Arthur could answer, Samantha jumped in, eager to set the tone. "She's my younger sister. Bit of a troublemaker. Dad was just teaching her a lesson."

In Seaville, everyone knew Samantha. Nobody had ever heard of Denise.

No wonder Jason had no clue who she was.

What happened next totally stunned everyone-Jason actually stepped forward and helped Denise up.

Denise didn't resist. They had just parted ways that morning, and here they were running into each other at the Montgomerys' place again. Guess fate really had plans for them.

"Ugh, that hurts," Denise winced instantly.

Jason's expression darkened. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, so you're my brother-in-law now? Jason, I'm hurting all over... Dad hit me just now. Can you take me to the hospital?" Denise leaned into Jason, eyes wide and pitiful, looking up at him.

Arthur and Vivian gave each other a look. Meanwhile, Samantha was so mad she looked like her nose was about to go crooked.

That little witch! Acting all weak in front of Jason? She really was pushing it.

Jason smirked faintly. "Sure."

Vivian quickly jumped in. "Jason, Denise is just being dramatic. Don't worry about her-I'll have someone else take her to the hospital."

As a woman, Vivian could see right through Denise's act. Yeah, this girl was clearly eyeing Samantha's man.

Samantha panicked. "Jason, don't believe her! She's totally faking it. This isn't new-my sister's always been like this. Dad barely touched her, really."

Denise had always been prettier than her since they were kids. At nineteen, her looks and figure already outshined Samantha's-and that had always been a sore spot for her.

Jason said calmly, "It's my first time visiting your place. Since we're about to become one family, let's treat each other like family." With that, he just picked Denise up and walked out.

Everyone in the Montgomery family was left speechless. Samantha stomped her foot in frustration.

"Dad, Mom! Look at Denise! She just met Jason and she's already trying to seduce him," she cried, nearly in tears.

Arthur sighed. "Alright, alright. Jason's probably just being polite. Denise's just some teenage girl. Jason's not into little girls. Don't get so jealous. You and Jason are engaged, remember? Show some maturity. The Harringtons won't like it if you act all jealous and petty."

Vivian stepped in, too. "Honey, listen to your father. I've been through this, I know what's up. There's no way I'm letting Denise pull the same stunt her mom did back in the day-seducing your dad like that. I won't let history repeat itself. You've got the ring, Jason's your fiancé, and men don't like it when women fight and act all jealous."

"...I get it, Mom," Samantha mumbled. She was fuming inside, but she held it in.

Outside, Jason finally put Denise down.

"Had enough of your little show?" he asked.

Denise gave him a wide-eyed grin. "What show? I don't get what you mean."

Jason shoved his hands into his pockets. "Denise, I haven't even gotten around to confronting you, and now you're pulling me into your drama?"

"Oh? But what if I tell my sister what happened last night between you and me?" Denise tilted her head, smiling playfully at him.

From this moment on, she was going to get close to this man, seduce him even-just to get back at Arthur and the rest of them.

"Denise, don't be so full of yourself. You really think you can threaten me? Take a look at this," Jason said, pulling a memory card out of his pocket.

Denise's face turned pale the moment she saw it. "W-Why do you still have it?!"

Wasn't that card the one she had tossed out already?

"You thought I didn't back it up? Seriously? If you dare run your mouth to Samantha about us, this video's going viral in seconds."

What a sly bastard.

Denise clenched her teeth. "Then I'll just tell everyone in Seaville that the guy in that video is you!"

Jason sneered. "And you think they'll actually buy it?"

"You..." Denise started to feel the pressure now-this guy wasn't easy to deal with.

"So, what now? Ready to back off? Still trying to mess with me? Please, you're way out of your league," Jason said smugly, clearly enjoying watching her squirm.

Suddenly, Denise burst into tears.

Jason froze. Wait, what? Why the sudden waterworks?

"Hey, aren't you a little too old to be crying like this?" Jason asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"I'm only nineteen, still a freshman! Crying isn't against the law," she huffed through tears.

Jason: "..."

Nineteen? He was literally ten years older than her. Great, now he felt ancient... and she's still a student?

But then Denise sobbed even harder. "Everyone's bullying me... My own dad wants to sell me off to some random guy, my stepmom's always coming at me, even my sister picks on me-and now you too! You're all terrible to me..."

Jason frowned. Her dad was trying to pawn her off to another man? Could that have been related to last night?

She could totally be acting... still, even Jason couldn't help but feel a little bad seeing her like this.

"Alright, alright. I'll take you to the hospital, okay?" he said helplessly.

"Yay! Thanks, Jason!" Denise perked up instantly.

Knew it-fake crying. This girl was a handful, but she was way more lively than her sister. Honestly... kinda more likeable.

At the hospital, the doctor checked her over-nothing major, just bruises and scratches. Cleaned up and bandaged, she was fine.

Jason couldn't help but furrow his brows seeing the injuries on her back. Arthur and Vivian had totally downplayed it. This wasn't discipline-this was abuse.

The bruises looked brutal. For some reason, Jason suddenly felt unsettled. What kind of life was she even living at that house?

Stepping out into the hallway, he grabbed his phone and called Ben. "Run a full check on the Montgomerys' second daughter-Denise. Now."

Back inside, Denise lay on her stomach in bed, the doctor having finished treating her.

"Keep the area dry for a week," the doctor reminded her.

"Thanks for earlier, Jason. If you hadn't shown up, Arthur might've really beaten me to death."

"Oh, so that's how you're thanking me?" Jason raised a brow and pulled out the IOU slip.

Denise froze, clearly caught off guard.

"Denise, you better explain yourself. Is that really all I'm worth to you?" Jason asked, holding the paper up dramatically.