"How is that possible? This ce is crawling with your people," Debra said, taking a couple of steps forward.


    She caught a glimpse of a ck car about 100 meters away. It was Marion, and she felt reassured.


    ording to the tradition, Drake put a masquerade mask on Debra and wore a half mask on his face.


    Debra braced herself as they entered the g. She had been to one such event before, so she wasn''t as shocked this time.


    Drake said, "Hold onto my arm tightly, or I can''t guarantee your safety."


    His words put Debra on high alert.


    Inside the venue, everything seemed normal at first, but she noticed that all the guests were men. There were no women, and the men were eyeing her lustfully.


    This made her ufortable, and she tightened her grip on Drake''s arm.


    Across town at the Eaton Mansion, Juan watched as Gand struggled to do a handstand against the wall.


    Gand''s face was flushed red as he groaned, "Are we done yet?"


    "Not yet."


    "How much longer?"


    "Three more hours."


    Gand copsed onto the floor like a deted balloon. "I can''t do this anymore. My dad asked you to teach me finance, not PE. My arms are going to be thicker than my legs at this rate." He rubbed his sore arms and dered, "I quit."


    "In that case, I''ll just have to whip you," Juan said, standing up and revealing a whip in his hand.


    Gand panicked. He knew Juan wasn''t bluffing. He had felt the sting of the whip the day before, and he couldn''t take anothershing


    "Wait, this is my house. Put that thing down," Gand stammered, but her warnings fell on deaf ears.


    As Juan raised his hand, Gand quickly surrendered. "I''m sorry. I was wrong, okay?"


    Juan ordered, "Now go read your books."


    "Alright, sure," Gand agreed, holding a pillow in front of him for protection.


    He sat down on the sofa and grumbled, "Who uses a whip to make someone study? This isn''t ancient times. Don''t I have human rights?"


    Juan remained silent.


    Gand added, "I got whipped yesterday, and it still hurts. My back is all bruised up."


    "Does it hurt? I think it''s fine," Juan said dismissively.


    "Easy for you to say. You''re not the one getting whipped," Gand retorted.


    Juan stood up and started to unbutton his shirt.


    Gand freaked out. "What are doing? Rut


    t your clothes back ont


    Don''t pull this stuff with me.


    I''m


    He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes fell on the dense scars on Juan''s back-all marks left by a whip.


    Gand was astounded, unable to imagine the pain of being whipped like that.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Juan put his clothes back on and buttoned his shirt. "If I can endure it, so can you."


    "Did that old witch do this to you?" Gand asked, referring to Melody.