The Bigshot Married Himself to the Heiress
Chapter 44 - 044: Getting Beaten Up

Chapter 44: Chapter 044: Getting Beaten Up

"You’re afraid of pain now?"

Adrian Desmond sneered coldly, but he didn’t strike her. He thought for a moment, then tossed aside the iron rod and picked up a wooden baseball bat. Just as he was about to bring it down on her, he looked at her small frame. Considering his own strength, one blow like that, and she might lose half her life.

Adrian tossed away the baseball bat, searched the room, and found a jacket. He rolled it up and began to strike Sienna Johnson ruthlessly.

"Shaw Charles was right. I’ve been too lenient with you; that’s why you’ve grown so audacious."

In Abyanabad, a country that practiced polygamy, women’s status was low, and men hitting their wives was a common occurrence. Where Sienna Johnson came from, this would be considered domestic violence, and the man could be sued!

Sienna hadn’t expected Adrian to actually hit a woman. Disappointment and sorrow washed over her. She had misjudged him. This man was definitely not her soulmate.

"Say it! Say you’ll never dare to run away again! Say you’ll never lie to me again!"

"Adrian Desmond! I hate you!"

He froze for a moment, twisting the jacket in his hand. "It seems you still haven’t learned your lesson!"

"You’re asking for it!" Adrian snarled, striking her a few more times. He stopped when he realized Sienna had only cried out once and convulsed slightly before going still. "Mai..." He quickly dropped the jacket and rushed to support Sienna, finding her forehead covered in sweat. She had fainted.

Adrian cradled Sienna’s head, his hand going to her face. It was ice-cold, her complexion bluish-white, devoid of any color. His voice trembled as he gently patted her cheek. "Mai, Mai... Wake up..."

"I won’t hit you anymore. Don’t be afraid." Adrian hadn’t truly intended to punish her severely; otherwise, Sienna would have lost half her life by now.

He had only struck her a few times with the jacket. In his view, that barely counted as a beating. Yet, she had ended up like this. If her face hadn’t been as pale as a sheet, he would have thought she was faking it.

"Mai, wake up! Mai..." Sienna showed no response.

Adrian quickly swept Sienna into his arms, placed her on the bed, and covered her with a blanket. "Someone, get in here!" he yelled.

The onlookers outside the room hadn’t gone far, eager to follow the latest developments. Hearing Adrian’s shout, Xavier Young was the first to rush in. "Sixth Master, what’s wrong?" Seeing Sienna lying on the bed, deathly pale, and what appeared to be blood on the floor, Xavier was inwardly overjoyed.

"Go! Get Dr. Hyder for me immediately!"

Xavier Young stood his ground. "Sixth Master, this woman is full of tricks. She must be faking it. Don’t let her deceive you."

Adrian glared at Xavier Young, his eyes looking as though they could devour him. "Xavier Young," he sneered, "are you trying to rebel? You dare to disobey my orders now?"

Walter Klein spoke up, "Sixth Master, I’ll go at once!"

Adrian personally fetched a basin of hot water and began to wipe Sienna down. But it was too late. Soon after, Sienna developed a fever. Her whole body was terrifyingly hot, and she started to babble incoherently.

"Mai..." Adrian hadn’t expected her reaction to be so severe. If he had known she would end up like this, he absolutely wouldn’t have hit her.

By the time Dr. Hyder arrived, Sienna’s fever was alarmingly high.

Adrian pulled Dr. Hyder to the bedside, his voice tight with anxiety. "Doctor, look at her. She’s unconscious, and she has a high fever."

"I only hit her a few times, and she ended up like this..."

Dr. Hyder looked at Adrian, shook his head, and sighed. "She’s such a delicate woman. How could you strike her? How could she possibly withstand even one of your punches?"

He wouldn’t have dared use his fists on her; he had only struck her a few times with the jacket. If just that had made her like this, using his fists would likely have killed her.

After examining Sienna, Dr. Hyder said to Adrian, "There’s nothing critically wrong. She’s just very weak and suffered a shock. I’ve given her medication for the fever. Once it breaks, she just needs to rest and recuperate well."

Seeing Adrian’s exhaustion, Dr. Hyder said, "Sixth Master, you’ve been through a lot as well and must be tired. Go and get some rest. I’ll watch over her."

Adrian shook his head, asking worriedly, "Dr. Hyder, the fever... it won’t damage her brain, will it?"

When he was younger, he had personally seen a child develop a high fever. After the fever subsided, the child had become an imbecile. He didn’t want a foolish Mai; he wanted the Mai he knew now—even if this Mai was cunning, deceitful, lied to him, and constantly tried to leave him.

"An adult doesn’t get brain damage that easily from a fever," Dr. Hyder reassured him. "From what I can see, her constitution is fundamentally sound. Perhaps she’s been under excessive stress and fright recently, hasn’t rested well, and caught a chill from the night sea breeze..." When Dr. Hyder had examined Sienna earlier, apart from the knife wound on her arm, he had found no other external injuries. This prompted him to ask, "Sixth Master, did you really hit her?"

Adrian didn’t know what to say, finally mumbling, "I... I hit her a few times with my jacket, and then she fainted."

Dr. Hyder, who was nearly fifty, sighed upon hearing this. "Sixth Master," he said, "you mustn’t follow the example of those men in Abyanabad who hit women.

"Look at her, such a beautiful girl. You should be cherishing and pampering her; how could you bear to strike her? Since you clearly care for her, you must watch over her properly from now on. There’s an old saying in Abyanabad: ’A wife shouldn’t be too beautiful; a man with a very beautiful wife is destined to suffer.’"

Adrian said blankly, "I... I don’t think I’m suffering."

Dr. Hyder chuckled. "You’re running yourself ragged for her, isn’t that suffering? You’re so worried about her, isn’t that suffering too?"

Adrian shook his head.

Dr. Hyder’s smile faded, and he sighed. "You care for her so much, but she needs to know it. Otherwise, if she doesn’t understand your affection for her, why would she willingly stay? I’m an experienced man; I know that if lovers can’t open their hearts to each other, even if they force themselves to stay together, their life together will be meaningless."

Adrian nodded hesitantly.

「...」

Sienna opened her eyes. Above her was the same canopy embroidered with the image of the Virgin Mary and Child. Her body still felt sore and weak, and a dull ache throbbed in her lower abdomen. Everything else was just as it had been the first time she woke up in this bed.

She frowned, trying to recall what had happened. It felt like an unreal dream.

She stared blankly out the window, her mind a void.

The sound of the door opening startled her. Kiki pushed it open and came in. Seeing Sienna awake, she was overjoyed. "Mai, you’re awake! That’s wonderful..."

Kiki was holding a bowl of medicine with a strong, pungent aroma. Sienna struggled to sit up. "I’m not dead yet?" she asked. Recalling Adrian’s ferocity when he had hit her, Sienna had thought he would surely beat her to death!

"Sixth Master couldn’t bring himself to truly harm you," Kiki said.

"How can you speak up for him?" Sienna asked, surprised.

Kiki then told her, "Mai, you’ve been unconscious for four days. For these four days, Sixth Master has stayed by your side, not eating or drinking... I think Sixth Master genuinely likes you. When you’re better, don’t quarrel with him anymore."

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