The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

The sound of water flowing in the bathroom of the Newton residence abruptly ceased, replaced by tranquil silence

that permeated the air.

Wearing a loose-fitting, dark grey bathrobe, Charles stepped out of the bathroom, his muscular arms half raised to

dry his hair that was dripping wet.

His exquisite blue eyes looked relaxed, his nose was fine and straight, and his lips made him look even more

charming when he smiled. With his facial features, he looked like a prince from a foreign land.

The glistening water droplets on his body added to the captivating allure he exuded, enhancing his already

charismatic presence.

Every time after a shower, Charles had the habit of enveloping himself tightly in a bathrobe, rather than simply

using a towel to cover the lower half of his body.

It was not that he had a poor figure. Rather, it was because of the indelible scars that remained from the beatings

and torture he had endured in the past.

Charles held such disdain for his own body that he avoided looking at it whenever possible. He would ensure he was

fully clothed before facing the mirror. Even then, he would only focus on his face, deliberately avoiding any glimpse

of the rest of his physique.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

It was the sound of an incoming text.

Charles lowered his gaze casually. At first, he was not the slightest bit fazed by the text, but the keywords caught his

attention.

It was from an unknown number, but the text contained Whitney’s name.

Immediately, he picked up the phone to read the text.

It read: I heard you’re going out on a date with Whitney tomorrow, but do you really know that woman? She

doesn’t deserve you. Come to Seduction Bar. I’ll show you how despicable she can be.

A frown creased Charles’ forehead as his expression darkened.

The tone of the text sounded familiar.

Jessamyn’s the only person who knows I took Whitney away from the restaurant during the day. Seduction Bar’s a

place where wealthy people have fun. Why would Whitney be there?

Realizing things were not as simple as they seemed, Charles entered the walk-in closet, quickly changed into

something appropriate, and drove to Seduction Bar.

When he reached the bar’s entrance, he spotted a slender figure standing under the neon lights.

It was Jessamyn.

A smug smile formed on her face when she noticed the man approaching from his car. “I knew you’d come, so I’ve

been waiting for you here. What do you think? Am I considerate enough?”

Charles eyed the woman coldly as he confronted her, saying, “Jessamyn, your attitude during the date that day tells

me you don’t like me and even look down on me. So why waste your time on me and bully a simple girl like

Whitney?”

When he uttered the last sentence, his gaze and tone turned icy, revealing his deep displeasure.

“Who says I bullied her?” Jessamyn rolled her eyes arrogantly. “I’m here to have fun with my friends. I just so

happened to see Whitney in there. You should be thanking me for helping you see her true colors.”

She did not deny the first part of Charles’ statement.

“Besides, I’ve only met you a few times. It’s only normal that I don’t like you, right? Then again, that doesn’t mean I

won’t like you in the future after getting to know you more.”

She crossed her arms, playing with her freshly done nails from that afternoon, a smug expression adorning her

face.

From a young age, Jessamyn had always held a sense of superiority, looking down on others. This attitude fueled

her determination not to let Charles show disinterest in her, nor would she permit him to choose what she deemed

as an inferior and foolish woman over her.

More importantly, her father had given her the order to win Charles over, for it would be a great help to the Cloud

family’s business.

Besides, Charles was undeniably good-looking. His looks alone would be a sight for sore eyes if Jessamyn were to

spend her days with him in the future.

Lost in her self-centered thoughts, Jessamyn remained oblivious to Charles’ efforts to suppress his growing

impatience.

He had no interest in engaging in an argument with someone like Jessamyn. More importantly, he feared that he

would be unable to contain the anger and rage bubbling within his heart if he allowed himself to engage further

with her.

Had he been his old self, Charles wouldn’t have bothered to treat insolent women with any semblance of

gentlemanly behavior.

“Where’s Whitney? Bring me to her.”

After issuing the stern directive, Charles walked past Jessamyn without further acknowledgment and made his way

into Seduction Bar, leaving her behind.

Seeing that, Jessamyn quickly hurried along and walked beside him. “You rarely go to places like this, huh? That’s

unexpected. I didn’t think you’d be so decent.”

Charles chose not to dignify Jessamyn’s presence with a response. With an icy gaze, he continued on his path,

unaffected by her words or actions.

A couple of minutes later, Jessamyn led him to a room.

When Charles lifted his head, he saw the words printed on the door—surveillance room.

“Didn’t you say you’d take me to Whitney? Why did you bring me here?”

Jessamyn smiled. “She’s having fun with the big shots in the private room now. We’ll be ruining their fun if I take you

to the private room. Anyway, I just wanted to show you how despicable of a woman she is. There’s a surveillance

camera in the private room. You can just watch the footage.”

Charles did not make any comments.

At that, Jessamyn opened the door and raised her brow smugly. “I’ve informed the person in charge of the

surveillance room, anyway. This way, Mr. Newton.”

Charles retracted his gaze and slowly entered the room.

The person in charge had already projected the real-time footage from Whitney’s private room onto the high-

definition computer for Charles.

On the screen were six men sitting on a couch with Whitney seemingly singing on the small stage in front of them.

The scene lasted for two minutes.

So far, everything seemed rather normal.

“This is what you meant by despicable? She’s only singing a few songs. She’s making a living with her capabilities.

Which part about it is despicable?” the man argued.

Jessamyn rejoiced inwardly. Judging by his tone, he doesn’t seem to care about Whitney that much. Well, it makes

sense. After all, no successful man would like their future wife to come to a place like that to perform for other

men. Looks like Charles will still get engaged with me.

Jessamyn glanced at the screen and said unperturbedly, “Why are you so impatient? Singing and dancing won’t be

enough to satisfy a woman like her. Who knows? There might be more exciting scenes.”

The look on Charles’ face was grim, and the emotion in his eyes was inscrutable.

While the two were talking, Whitney put down the microphone as if she had finished singing the song.

In the next second, a disgusting middle-aged man held up a wine glass and staggered over to Whitney, wanting to

get close and wrap his arms around her waist.

Fortunately, Whitney noticed his intentions and scooted to the side, causing the man to fall flat on his face.

Although the footage had no audio, it was clear that the men were urging Whitney to have some alcohol. However,

she refused them over and over again, including the disgusting man who tried to get handsy with her. In the end,

he lost his temper and slapped her hard in the face.

Charles’ gaze burned with rage as he fixed his eyes on the footage.

Whitney might be tall, but she was on the skinnier end. The impact of the unexpected slap sent her crashing to the

ground.

Following that, the men on the couch got up and strode toward her.

The middle-aged man who hit her even took out a stack of cash from his wallet and threw it at Whitney.

The frown on Charles’ forehead deepened further as he observed the situation. Even without being able to hear the

audio, he could discern from the men’s body language and gestures that they were hurling insults at her.

In the following moment, the men in the footage closed in around her, plunging the private room into utter chaos.

When Charles got up to leave, however, Jessamyn stopped him.

“Don’t leave, Mr. Newton. This is absolutely consensual. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to this bar.”

“Can’t you see she’s resisting? This isn’t consensual at all!”

Jessamyn only smiled in response to the comment. “Maybe they’re just playing out a scenario? There’s no need to

spoil their fun.”

Finally, he gave up on the intention of leaving, and his gaze remained fixed on Whitney amidst the chaos.

She wouldn’t have come here to get involved in such work if she wasn’t willing…

Charles did not understand her, and neither did he have the patience to do so.

He was not the type who would help the weak.

There was no emotion in his gaze, and his expression had become calm again as he continued watching the

footage.

In just a few minutes, the private room was in a mess.

Even though Whitney was skinny and weak, she firmly refused the drunk men and fought to free herself using all

the ways she could think of—biting, kicking, and even using smashed wine bottles as weapons.

One could tell she was trembling with fear through the screen, yet she was doing all she could to protect her

dignity.

Charles narrowed his eyes, subconsciously clenching his fist.

Meanwhile, Whitney was forced to a corner, her white shirt stained with blood. Despite being weaker than the men,

she did her best to resist them, and the sight of that elicited a strange feeling in Charles’ heart.