Love and Devotion No Longer His to Claim by Dream Fish

His gaze was filled with mockery, as though he saw her as nothing more than an escort.

"Fine..." Dexter's smirk grew wider, but the look in his eyes beccolder. “Since you're so eager, I'd hate to

disappoint you."

He moved in to kiss her lips. After all, the only thing Angela had going for her was her face. Dexter thought she

had crossed a line and deserved punishment that day.

"Get away from me!" Angela shouted, somehow mustering enough strength to push Dexter away.

Then, she slapped him hard across the face.

The sound of the slap echoed in the room. Dexter's face turned sharply to the side from the force of the slap. A

glaring red handprint quickly appeared on his grim face.

"You've already disappointedenough, Dexter Bamford. Don't makesick," Angela spat, her gaze fixed on

him as she held back tears.

The humiliation she had endured in recent days was nothing compared to that single comment Dexter had made

just a second ago.

Angela found herself laughable. She had loved him for so many years, only to have him teach her the

importance of knowing when to cut her losses when something was no longer worth it.

“Get out!” She glared at him with her jaw clenched. She pointed toward the door, her gaze

Chapter 9

icy.

Dexter's expression becincredibly grim. With a cold laugh, he grabbed her wrist and threw her onto the bed,

pinning her down and kissing her forcefully.

She was crazy, and he was just as mad.

Dexter couldn't stand this audacious side of Angela. He was thoroughly angered, and his fury was so intense that

it almost burned away all of his rationality.

So, he let it burn.

Angela felt as if she had been run over by a truck. She had no idea how she had endured the previous night. She

lay exhausted on the bed; she had already been awake for stbut was unwilling to get up.

Dexter had left during the night. Before he had left, she had given him one last “gift”.

Her phone suddenly chimed. Angela finally forced herself to sit up and opened an art app, Heartistry. A few days

ago, she had registered an account on the platform and uploaded sof her previous illustrations and designs.

She had mentioned that she was open to commissions.

She was surprised to find that her work had already garnered thousands of views. Today, someone had even sent

her a friend request. The person asked if she could create an illustration based on a prompt and inquired about

her rates.

Angela hesitated, realizing that she hadn't even looked into the pricing norms in this field.

After considering it for a moment, she replied, "I can draw it for you. I'll need a 50-dollar deposit, and | charge

200 dollars for the completed illustration.”

She set a low price. It was one similar to her rates back when she had been in art school, which the client would

likely find acceptable.

Sure enough, the client quickly replied, “Okay" Then, they sent her the prompt-ripples on a green lake. Angela

sketched a quick concept, finding that it wasn't too challenging.

She thought that not having a job at the moment was fine. At least she could rely on her design skills to support

herself. No matter how powerful and capable Dexter was, he wouldn't be able to discover her alias on this app.

She could use this opportunity to build her fortune, and things would gradually improve.

Angela forced herself to get up. After washing up, she planned to go to the store to buy sart supplies.

Chapter 9

But when she looked in the mirror, she noticed the obvious love marks on her neck, chest, and shoulders. Last

night's madness replayed in her mind, and a displeased grimace formed on her face. So, she decided to place a

delivery order for her supplies instead.

She spent the entire afternoon painting. She had no idea that someone had been lingering downstairs where she

was staying for hours.

The sun was blazing, and the temperature was high.

“Mr. Bamford, please get into the car. You're going to get heatstroke.” Another one of Dexter's drivers, Henry

Urban, couldn't help but suggest cautiously.

Was it necessary to get this mad over a few teasing remarks? In fact, Dexter was so mad that he had stormed

over here directly from the office.

Henry shook his head at Dexter upon recalling what had happened earlier.

Dexter had arranged to meet with the CEO of Treble Group, who was more than ten years older than him in age.

When they had met, his eyes had been immediately drawn to the bite mark on Dexter's jaw, and he had burst

out laughing.

“Mr. Bamford, | didn't expect you and your wife to be so close," he had joked.

The CEO of Treble Group was a loud and boisterous man. He had even encouraged his subordinates to appreciate

the obvious mark on Dexter's face.

Unsurprisingly, Dexter had been enraged. He had stormed out of the conference room huffily without so much as

a word to his guests.

"Shut up!" Dexter snapped, his sharp gaze cutting toward Henry.

Henry shivered and dared not utter another word.

A moment later, Dexter got into the car. However, his anger wouldn't subside. All he could think of was the

laughter he had endured and the look of disgust in Angela's eyes when he had left last night.

He had to admit that she had changed. Now, he had no intention of letting her have it easy anymore. If she

wanted to keep playing hard to get, she could do so forever.

“Takeback!" Dexter commanded coolly.

It took Angela three days to complete her first commission, which she sent to the client. The client was thrilled

with the result and immediately sent her the rest of the payment. Angela was overjoyed and treated herself to a

meal while editing a video. She had recorded.

Chapter 9

her entire painting process on her phone. She sped it up and had it edited down to ten minutes.

To her surprise, Heartistry had a high amount of traffic. Within an hour, her video received thousands of likes.

"Wow! There's an expert among the newbies. Where did this skilled artist cfrom?"

“She seems to be a young lady. Her hands are so beautiful, and she isn't wearing a ring! She's single!"

“Oh my, when will | ever be as skilled as her? Life is so unfair!”

The comments lifted Angela's spirits, and she engaged with her followers.

Her video quickly topped Heartistry's trending list. Art enthusiasts flocked to her profile, leaving comments and

sending messages.

Angela was thrilled. After posting the video, she received two more commissions.

Within a week, between her art fees and platform earnings, she had made over 4,700 dollars. Though it was a

modest income, it strengthened her confidence immensely.

The money wasn't close to what she needed to reclaim Marie's house, but for the first tsince asking Dexter

for a divorce, she felt a sense of purpose in her life.

She wasn't just Dexter Bamford's trophy wife. She was Angela Graham, the designer, and she could support

herself.

Gazing at the balance in her account, Angela felt elated. She decided to reward herself with a nice meal.

As the sun set, a crowd of elderly folks were line-dancing in the open space outside the motel. Angela bought

herself sfood and sat in a shaded spot to watch their energetic dancing.

Suddenly, a pair of black leather shoes appeared in front of her.

Today's Bonus Offer

word

word

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLHI0RAO&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWL1i10f1ifl0&1

mmMwWLIiI0fiflO&1