Still, to maintain appearances, Luciana had her assistant help Katie as they hurried away, their departure marked by a sense of humiliation.
Once inside the elevator, Katie sternly told Abel, âMy dad hired you to keep me safe, not to overreact without any real threat.
Do you understand?â
Abel, looking down, expressed his regret, âIâm truly sorry.
Iâm not good with these social situations and Iâve caused you embarrassment.
â
He started hitting himself across the face, not holding back, to the point of bleeding from his lip.
Luciana was shocked to see this.
Her suspicions about Abelâs relationship with Katie were evident, given the surrounding gossip.
Plus, every time she saw Katie, Abel was always close behind.
With just a man and a woman together almost all the time, there was no telling whether they had been intimate before.
But watching Abel punish himself like that cleared any doubts Luciana had.
She grabbed Katieâs arm, saying, âStop him.
He simply lacks sensitivity and understanding of how to behave.
â
With a frown, Katie declared, âAbel, youâre fined three months salary.
Donât mess up like this again.
â
Abel acknowledged Katieâs words, retreated to a corner, and silently cleaned the blood from his face.
After seeing Luciana off, Katie and Abel went to her own car.
The moment Katie sat down, Abel followed suit.
Katieâs once gentle and poised manner vanished entirely, replaced by eyes filled with fury and contempt as she ordered, âGet down on your knees!â
Abel kneeled obediently.
Katie, without any mercy, pressed her heel into Abelâs hand.
She kept pressing u ntil his skin tore, leaving his hand bloody and injured.
Despite the pain, Abel stayed on his knees, his head down, silent.
This showed he could endure the pain without complaint.
Katie was still furious.
She had never been this embarrassed before.
Those accusations, despite the truth of them, felt like physical blows, pushing her close to rage.
âYou idiot! Youâve nearly wrecked my plan!â Katie yelled, trying to kick Abel in the head, but he grabbed her foot instead.
Katie, furious, demanded, âLet go of me, you despicable creature!â
Abel released her foot, still kneeling.
âMiss, please take it easy, especially with the baby in your belly.
Iâll do it for you,â he said.
Then, Abel looked around, picked a golf club from the trunk of the car, and hit himself in the head without a second thought.
âClang!â A dull sound echoed, followed by blood streaming down Abelâs face.
Unfazed, Abel struck the other side of his head, causing some blood to splatter onto Katie.