"Tyrone, what you're doing... it's not right..."
Alicia's skin burned along her back, her clothes already tossed carelessly to the floor, though she couldn't remember when.
She didn't want to cling to Tyrone, but with nothing else to hold onto, she could only lean against the door. The wood felt ice-cold against her bare skin, sending a chill through her that made every muscle tense. Instinctively, she pressed herself back toward Tyrone, searching for warmth.
He smirked, only relenting when Alicia finally broke down in tears. With a sigh, Tyrone scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom to soothe her.
"I'm sorry, okay? It was my fault..." His apology came quickly, almost as if he'd practiced it.
Alicia turned her face away, tears streaming down her cheeks, refusing to meet his eyes.
Tyrone chuckled softly, knowing he'd crossed a line tonight. "I'll take you shopping tomorrow," he offered, trying to coax her out of her silence.
She didn't respond.
He tried to settle her on the marble countertop, but the stone was icy cold. The moment she felt it, Alicia whimpered, grabbing hold of him and refusing to let go, her sobs muffled against his chest.
With a resigned sigh, Tyrone held her close with one arm while reaching out with the other to turn on the shower.
The bathtub was already filled. Tyrone quickly rinsed Alicia off, checked the water temperature, then gently lowered her into the warm bath.
Alicia was still furious. She sank down, submerging herself as much as she could, determined to ignore him.
She knew exactly why Tyrone had treated her that way just nowâhe'd wanted to embarrass her, to force her into making sounds loud enough for Vincent to hear. It was a cruel game, meant to humiliate her.
Hot tears welled in her eyes. Not wanting him to see her hurt, she ducked her head below the surface.
She hated this.
It made her feel like she was nothing more than a playthingâa sugar baby passed around, a toy for others' amusement.
When she'd signed the contract to marry Tyrone, she'd already braced herself for this kind of humiliation. The money and the chance to study abroad were things she'd bargained for with her dignity.
But now that it was real, the indignity still stung.
How melodramatic, she thought bitterly.
"Alicia..." Tyrone's tone shifted, realizing he'd gone too far. He stepped into the tub, pulling her up and cradling her in his arms. "I'll take you out for ice cream tomorrow, alright?"
She lay against his chest, breathing deeply, but tensed at the mention of ice cream.
Was she just overthinking again?
Or... did Tyrone like ice cream too?
Growing up in the orphanage, Alicia had never tasted desserts. It wasn't until she was adopted by that couple from Grandcrest City that she'd had her first taste of ice cream. That one simple bowl had dazzled her, marking one of the most precious memories of her childhood.
"Alicia, do you like it?" her adoptive mother had asked, smiling as she watched Alicia eat. "If you do, I'll take you to get some more, whenever you want."
Back then, Alicia had truly believed she finally had a homeâa mother. She'd believed that warmth would last forever.
But a year later, she was abandoned again.
That fleeting warmth didn't even last twelve months.
After the adoption, she'd moved to Grandcrest City with her new parents. The following spring, her adoptive mother became pregnant.
Pregnancy changed her mother. She became irritable, anxious, hypersensitive, constantly afraid her unborn child would be hurt.
Alicia understood. Her mother had always wanted a child of her own; she'd only adopted Alicia because she thought she couldn't have one.
So Alicia tried to be even more obedient, desperate to prove she was worthy of love. She threw herself into chores, worked in the garden, did everything she could to be usefulâterrified her parents would send her away.
But three months into the pregnancy, her adoptive father had an affair.
Her mother unraveled, descending into fits of rage. Gossip spread through the village, and soon her mother believed every vicious rumorâthat Alicia was cursed, bad luck, the reason her marriage was falling apart, the reason her unborn child was in danger.
Rich Radiant and Over Him (Alicia and Vincent)
ï¤Chapter 109 Transmigration: I Have Storage Space in the Apocalypse ï¤Chapter 760 - 756: Encountering a Man with Evil Intentions She began to hit Alicia, to withhold food, to force her to kneel in the yard for hours, sometimes even leaving her out in the rainâanything to drive her away.