One Night Surprise - Season 3 Episode 17

“A man and a woman alone together at this late hour. Do you think you can give a clear explanation for what you two did?”

Alexander had an apathetic gaze. His overbearing demeanor seemed to lower the temperature in the house and make it feel like an icehouse.

Courtney frowned as she stood firmly on the ground with the support of the table. “Calm down. Elijah and I really are just friends. I don’t know what misunderstanding you have. He just returned from America and helped me resolve a dispute at my father’s funeral. When he gave me a ride home, I invited him up for a cup of hot tea and a chat. What’s wrong with that? If you don’t believe me, then it would be useless for me to give any explanation, wouldn’t it?”

She did not think that he was such a petty person. For him to be this angry after simply seeing Elijah seemed like a deliberate provocation.

“Just friends. Can you look at me and say that one more time?”

“We’re really just friends.”

Clenching his fists with an already sour expression on his face, he pulled out the information on his phone and slammed it down on the table. The collision of the back cover of the phone against the marble countertop produced a loud crash that echoed clearly inside the house.

As Courtney looked at the content in the photo, her expression slowly changed.

“Did you do a background check on me?”

All her information in America, including her marriage history, was being presented before her. There was even a family picture with Elijah in it.

“If I hadn’t checked, I wouldn’t have known that you had such a deep love you were still holding onto till this day.” He had lost his sense of rationality as he ridiculed, “To you, being friends with a man means you can sleep around with him and even have children with him. You are so loyal to your friends.”

“Alexander Duncan, what are you saying?” Her face grew pale. She did not dare to believe the foul words she had just heard.

“Can’t you understand what I’m saying? Wasn’t that man the ex-husband you always talked about? No wonder you never told me anything. I thought you were hurt because of your failed marriage, but it turns out I was the one who got fooled by you two!”

His loud voice reverberated inside the house.

“That’s not the case at all!” she stressed. “Can’t you hear me out? Even though Elijah and I got married, nothing happened between us. We’re just…”

“Just what?”

“I only did it to get a green card so Tina and I could settle in America,” she pressed. Despite being angry, she tried to explain clearly to stop his misunderstanding from getting any bigger.

He let out a scornful laugh and had a look of disdain in his eyes. “You went to that extent for a green card. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“You don’t believe me?” Seeing the expression on his face, her limbs started to go cold.

He took a deep breath as though he was trying to control his rage. “Didn’t you write a draft before you lied to my face? Don’t you think there are too many loopholes here? You’re just friends with Elijah, and you only did it for the green card. Who is Tina’s father then? How many men have you married already?”

A chill entered her bones and slowly seeped into every part of her body.

She shut her eyes. The anger she had tried hard to suppress was now boiling in her chest.

Who is Tina’s father? How dare you ask me that question?

A raging storm was taking place inside of her. Alexander never found out, and it only made her more miserable. The frustrations that had built up all these years were let out in seconds as she loosened her clenched fist and raised her hand.

That slap was supposed to land on his face, but his reaction was much quicker. He grasped her wrist with one hand, gripping her so hard that she yelped in pain. It almost felt as though her wrist was about to shatter.

“Are you that angry and ashamed just because this fact was exposed?” He scoffed. “Here I thought you were quite capable, but it looks like you don’t know how to talk your way out of your lies anymore.”

“Alexander, you b*stard!” The harder she struggled to free her hand, the tighter his grip became.

“Aren’t you able to do anything for your own benefits—even give birth to a child?” He pulled her in. “I’ll help you increase Citron Apparel’s market share. Have my child too. How about that?”

“Get out of my house!”

Furious, she used her other hand to hit his chest frantically.

But it all seemed like a hopeless battle.

Alexander was provoked by her aversion and resistance. Gripping her wrist unsympathetically, he dragged her out of the kitchen like a mop and threw her onto the couch in the living room.

“Let me go, Alexander. You b*stard!”

She yelled out all the curse words she could think of at him.

All she did, however, was make him even more infuriated. Sitting on her waist to pin her down on the couch, he used one hand to pull her hands up above her head and put some strength in the other to rip off her blouse. Her buttons popped off and fell all over the ground.

During her struggle, she kicked over a standing lamp next to the couch, causing the lamp to shatter. The incandescent light above her head made a few short flickering sounds before the whole living room turned into darkness.

Alexander hesitated for a moment then felt a sudden pain coming from his lower body.

“Ah…” he groaned and fell on the couch. “Courtney, you…”

In a panicked state, she used all her strength to push him off and stumbled her way into the bedroom. She locked the room door and sat paralyzed behind it.

After a while, she heard him tap against the door.

“Come out, Courtney.”

A cold shiver rushed down her spine. With all her might, she screamed at the door, “Get out of my house! I don’t ever want to see you again!”

It became quiet outside.

She was not sure whether he had left yet or not. As the rage inside of her had nowhere to go, she started to shake all over. Unable to control her emotions, she reached for the phone next to her bed.

“911? I-I want to make a report.” She paused, then continued, “I’m at Four Seasons Garden, on the… on the 22nd floor. Someone is trying to rape me.”

Outside, Alexander had already left. When he saw Courtney run frantically into her bedroom to escape from him, he felt remorseful for showing this horrendous side of him to the woman he loved.

But he did not regret losing control of himself. He had never loved a woman as much as he loved her before, but she was keeping him in the dark with poorly made-up lies that failed to convince him.

A while later, the police blocked his Range Rover at a traffic light intersection.

“Mr. Duncan, someone alleged that you tried to rape them. Please come with us.”

The police took photos inside the room for evidence while a female officer was spending some time trying to appease Courtney in the bathroom.

“Miss Hunter, I need to ask you something. Are you and Mr. Duncan in a romantic relationship?”

With her brows furrowed together, Courtney gave a nod.

“This…” The female officer was in a tight spot. “This might not be easy to resolve. We will do our best to help you work this out, but you have to prepare yourself mentally.”

“There’s no need to work things out. I won’t see him again,” Courtney replied clearly.