Chapter 449

The Blanchet family's restroom, situated in the atrium, was not far from the dining area.

Winnie leaned against the ornate washbasin, splashing her face with water before gazing at her reddened eyes in the mirror.

Ding- A text message from Rock popped up: "Winnie, you all right? I'm just outside."

Winnie managed a bitter smile. "Just needed a moment to myself, Rock. Why don't you go to the garden and have a smoke?"

Suddenly, her phone tumbled into the sink.

Suddenly, a stormy presence enveloped her from behind as a man firmly held her hands at her sides. It was Lawrence. He caught sight of the message and wondered if they needed to be so affectionate even in a simple text. Anger surged within him as he pushed her down, his warm breath brushing against her ear. "Is this on purpose? Flaunting your cozy moments with Rock right in front of me?!"

Winnie was visibly shaken by his sudden appearance.

She turned pale and spun around, glancing toward the restroom door, which was shut tight with Rock outside.

She wondered how he had entered the bathroom, but then she caught sight of the open window. This man had totally lost his mind, willing to climb through the bathroom window just to confront her.

His accusations and angry breathing echoed in her ears.

Her grief felt blunt, unyielding. He was beyond reason. To humiliate her and Rock all night, and that still wasn't enough for him. Now, he even went as far as to corner her in the bathroom.

"So it's fine for you to parade around with Ishara at the Blanchet events? You can show affection, and I can't? I'm a Blanchet too, and if I bring someone home; what's it to you? Do you think you have any say over me?" Winnie shot back, her eyes reddening with the sting of his words.

Rock had reluctantly assumed the role of a fake fiancé, solely to dispel Patricia's suspicions regarding Winnie's relationships with men. Otherwise, it would have been much more difficult to justify her innocence.

Besides, Winnie hadn't expected him to show up today. There was no reason for her to be wary of him anyway.

"You've got the nerve to admit it?" Lawrence's voice was laced with incredulous amusement twisted by a surge of malice, his eyes angry with rage. "Think I can't control you? Try me!"

He seized her by the waist, pressing her against the wall. His fingers pressed firmly against her cheeks as he leaned in, biting her lip forcefully. Winnie's lip split open under the attack, her crimson lipstick smudging onto his mouth. The anger in his dark eyes appeared poised to tear the vulnerable Winnie apart.

For the first time, she realized how terrifying he could be, and it startled her.

"Don't..." She was furious. Her cheeks flushed with the effort to restrain her anger, the intimacy disgusting her. "You can't do this to me! Let me go! I despise you! Trying to touch me with that disgusting mouth of yours, the same one that gorged on the shrimp Ishara peeled? You don't deserve to touch me!"

"Then who does deserve to touch you? Rock?" His voice was suddenly dark and violent as he crushed her lips beneath his own. He had been holding back, but the thought of Rock sent him over the edge like a wild beast breaking free from its restraints. In his mind, it wasn't about who could or couldn't touch her; it was about whether he wanted to or not. She was his, and that was that.

His hand pinned hers against the wall, fingers entwined-a gesture meant for the deepest of passions, yet he perverted it into an act of brutal conquest. Jealousy flooded his dark eyes, a spike of spite pricking him as he recalled, "Three years ago, at that hotel... the scandalous video leaked!"

Winnie's face went deathly pale. He was bringing up the past again, a hurdle they seemed unable to clear. But at this point, there was no need for explanations between them.

Observing her silence, Lawrence's voice turned even more cruel as he mockingly remarked, "You think I'll accept that you and him are involved in something dirty? Forget it! Anything of mine, even if I discard it, won't be claimed by another man. It's about control, and you better understand that. Answer me this: who do you belong to, entirely? Who has had you, who possesses you..."

"You beast!" Winnie trembled with rage, her plea raw like a wounded animal, her eyes brimming with tears and fury. "How can you flaunt your affair with Ishara and then expect me to stay pure for you? Do you think you're worthy?"

"So you want to sleep with Rock?" Lawrence's eyes flashed coldly; his anger visibly piqued.

"Yes." Winnie met his gaze defiantly, tears streaming, confirming his accusation.

"Let me show you who you belong to!" Lawrence's face was crimson with fury. His heavy breathing accentuated his muscular build, a terrifying display of strength that seemed ready to consume Winnie. In one swift move, his large hand pulled at her clothes, kneading from her waist upward.

"Ah... Get off me!"

His teeth brushed against her collarbone, forcing tears to well up in her eyes as she tilted her head back helplessly. The situation spiraled out of control. Like a demon, he coldly kissed her delicate, luminous skin. "Go ahead and scream, darling. Let Rock hear you from outside."

"How can you be so shameless..." Winnie's voice trembled as she was reduced to tears in his embrace.

Terrified, she could only cover her mouth, stifling her cries while her cheeks were flushed a bright red. She glared at him with such intensity, wishing she could burrow holes into his figure. "Why are you doing this to me, Lawrence?"

"You shouldn't have provoked me, teased me. Are you so concerned about Rock that you won't even make a sound?" His tone was menacing and dark.

Winnie's fearful gaze darted outside. She knew she was no match for his madness. She couldn't afford an incident with the Blanchet family, not now. She needed to remain at Trento City and uncover the truth behind her mother's death.

"Yes, I care about him. Don't you care about Ishara? How can you do this to me and still face her?" she challenged him with tearful eyes.

Lawrence only caught the first few words, which sent a pang of pain through his heart. He'd never cared about Ishara, yet she cared for Rock.

His own burgeoning emotions led to a destructive desire as he unfastened her buttons with a humiliating bite. "Since you care so much about him..."

Winnie lashed out uncontrollably, slapping him repeatedly with tears streaming down her face. Yet she failed to land a blow on his detestable face.

Her hands were quickly restrained by his strong hands.

The disparity in strength made her feel as helpless as an ant; only when he allowed it, could she attempt to fight back.

When he truly grew vicious, she had no choice but to endure his outrage and humiliation.

"Lawrence, to humiliate Rock, I may as well die for you to see." Winnie surrendered, her tears ghostly against her pallid face, fueling his uncontrollable rage as he harshly unzipped his pants.

"Do you want to drive me to my death?"

"Have you forgotten? That night you drove me away; you hurled insults and told me to crawl back to Lymington and be with Rock! You pushed us away; why make things so ugly now?"

He stiffened, his body turning frigid and eventually deflating, his head buried in the hollow of her neck. His towering frame, nearly 6'3" tall, now seemed utterly dejected. His taunting voice was a whisper against her ear, "It's your choice not to go back. And here you are, parading your affection for him under my nose, looking for trouble! You defend him so insistently - I'll remember that. Is it for him you've rejected me?"

"If Rock thinks he can hang around Trento City without consequence, he's got another thing coming. Let's see you try to marry him!" His lazy eyes flashed with a dangerous menace.

Winnie shivered.