- In-Laws (Unsettling Scene Ahead)

XANDER laughs sarcastically.

"Now you can't wait to divorce me? Is it because of that Zane guy?" He exclaimed in annoyance.

Hannah gasped, “I already told you he is just a friend.” She remarked with conviction.

He pressed his knee harder on her back. She winces.

"Forget about the divorce. From now on you can’t leave this house." He yells.

Her body stiffened upon hearing his words. "Xander!" She cried out, she felt his hands under her skirt. "What are you doing?"

He did not answer and the next sound she heard was her skirt and shirt ripped out of her body, stripping her to her underwear. She shivers in fear and shame.

He stood up and rummaged through his cabinet. She took advantage of it and slowly got out of bed to run out. The way he spoke scared her. She has no idea why he is acting the way he does. One moment he'd shout divorce, the next he wouldn't let her get away from him.

"What's wrong with you?" She thought as she discreetly walked to the door. She smiled as she turned the knob. She opened the door, one of her hands was holding the knob while the other was leaning for support on the door frame. Before she could get out, Xander forcefully shut the door and it collided with her hand.

Stunned. She felt her heart skipped a beat. Soon she shouted in pain at the top of her lungs. The pain was unbearable. She gasped when she saw that two of her fingers had dislocated.

Her knees weaken and slowly sits on the floor and starts sobbing. Her hand was throbbing and instead of helping her, he held her by the shoulder and dragged her back to bed.

She continued sobbing. He looked at her hand then scoffed, "That's what you get for being a bad wife." He exclaimed.

He then showed her what he had taken from his drawer. Four pieces of necktie, seeing it she tried to stand but he held her shoulders and pinned her on the bed. Helpless, all she could do was watch him as he tied her limbs on his bed.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, “Xander, I don't understand you." She yelled while looking at him. "What do you want from me? You ask me for divorce, now that I'm giving it to you. You're acting like that." She added as her vision blurred.

He smirked, "You will stay here and think of all the things you did yesterday and today," he said dominantly.

When he finished tying her up, he went to the restroom to get the first aid kit and started rubbing pain reliever medicine on her injured hand. "Your hand is injured, and you're tied up. Don't do anything stupid." He warned.

Suddenly, he forced her broken finger back into place. She heard her bone snapped and felt her bones move. The shock made her almost lose consciousness. She yelled in pain, she arched her back and clung to her bonds tightly.

He sneered at her, "Don't be overdramatic, Hannah," he said mockingly.

He then stood up and went to his walk-in closet where he searched for a change of clothes as the one he was wearing was creased due to the commotion.

She lifted her head trying to follow his movements, "Where are you going?" She cried out.

"Untie me," She pleads.

He grins devilishly, "No! You will stay there. Till I return from work." He roared at her.

She gasped, "Bridget might be looking for me." She pointed out.

He marched back to her and stared at her intently. She tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes. She knew he was making fun of her. Even with her eyes closed she knew he was looking at her in contempt.

She's well aware that Xander only sleeps with her when he is intoxicated. In his exact words, he told her, "I can only use you when I'm drunk because you disgust me." Words that always haunt her dreams.

He stared at her with scrutiny. He never saw her naked while he was sober and the lights weren't dim and every time all he could see was her back.

The way she was tied up with legs akimbo in the bed was inviting. He got into bed and removed her underwear, stripping her naked.

Hannah continued to close her eyes and didn't think much of it. When suddenly she felt his lips intertwined with hers. His kiss was so gentle, that she opened her eyes immediately, thinking someone else was in the room.

She gasped in disbelief. She felt like she was dreaming. Xander continued kissing her and nibbling her neck. She can't help but moan at his movements.

When he heard her sound, his gaze darkened, then started penetrating her roughly. Her soft moaning turns to a cry for help. He covers her mouth to muffle her voice.

Her eyes are wide open as he roughly thrust her. Tears rolled down her face with her blurry vision she could no longer see him clearly.

She could feel his cock inside her and instead of pleasure, she could feel a stabbing pain in her insides. Nothing worth enjoying for her. She started shouting and begging him to stop, but he didn't. She didn't even remember when he left.

Later that day, Hannah woke up still tied to Xander's bed.

She opens her eyes only to see her mother-in-law standing in front of her with phone in hand taking pictures of her naked body.

She wanted to scream, but her mouth was dry, and her voice came out raspy, "What are you doing?" She inquired.

Lani smirked, "Not so feisty now are we Hannah? I will upload these photos of you over the internet." She remarks.

Hannah laughs.

"What's funny? Aren't you ashamed that people will see you naked? Won't that be degrading, or you are such a low-class prostitute that you don't even care?" Lani says mockingly.

Hannah sneered, "You don't get it, do you? I'm a nobody. Upload my photos all you want, no one will bat an eye on me, but once they learn I'm Xander Miller's wife, I think it will hurt your son's career more than me." She declared with certainty.

Her words made sense and Lani's face contorted in rage as he didn't think it through. Luckily for her, she hasn't uploaded any of the images she took.

Lani stumped her foot in annoyance that, even with a tied-up Hannah, she was still defeated.

Soon an idea entered her mind. She went to Xander's bathroom and when she returned she was holding a clipper.

Hannah's eyes widened instantly, "Get away from me!" She yelled.

"Oh, look, are you scared now," Lani says hauntingly.

Hannah starts tugging on her bonds, but Xander ties her up too well. She starts squirming and arching her back, but it's useless when Katarina suddenly arrives.

"Mom, what's happening? I heard yelling." She says, then smiles ear to ear when she sees Hannah on the bed.

"Good, you're here. Come on and help me with her." Lani demanded.

Katarina grinned, "With pleasure Mother." She said in a malevolent tone. "How kinky is my brother," she commented as she stared at Hannah, then slowly moved to the bed, sat on Hannah's stomach, and started slapping her while Lani began cutting her hair with the clippers.

Hannah shouts but Katarina covers her mouth.

They only stopped when they heard the sound of Xander's car.

"Xander's here. What are we going to do now?" Katarina asked anxiously.

"Why are you scared? Do you think your brother will care? Even if we kill this bitch he won't do anything to us. The only thing he will comment on is how we left the room dirty with this useless woman's blood." Lani remarks while spatting at Hannah's face.

Hannah's face was swollen from Katarina's slaps. She couldn't fully open her eyes.

Shortly, the two hurriedly left the room.

When Xander entered his room, it was pitch dark, but he could see Hannah's silhouette on the bed still tied up.

"I hope you learned your lesson," he says as he turns on the light.

Hannah was so exhausted, starving, and thirsty that she could not form any words or sound to get his attention. In her mind, she kept on asking herself, "Would he actually care? Or will he just say it serves me right for disrespecting her mother?"

Without looking at her, he walked to his walk-in closet where he changed his clothes. When he finally caught a glimpse of her, his eyes widened in horror.

"Hannah!?" He calls out to her.

- Sly Fox

"WHAT happened?" Xander asks in shock.

He could see her hair on the floor. The clipper was stuck on the corner of her head. It's clear someone tried to cut her hair with his beard trimmers, but her hair was too thick.

Her face was swollen, her lips bloodied, and her chest filled with scratches. Hannah did not speak and only closed her eyes.

Xander did not push her as it is obvious who did it. He removed her bonds and saw the marks they left on her body. The moment he untied her, she slowly got up.

"Where are you going?" Xander asks curiously.

"I need to prepare dinner for you," she replied while trying to remove the stuck clipper on her hair.

He shook his head. "You'll scare Bridget. Have you seen yourself in the mirror?" He replied concernedly, but the choice of words sounded mockery to her.

She smiled bitterly, then sat on the bed. Naked. Tired. Hungry and thirsty.

He witnessed how she stared blankly at the floor.

"Stay here. I'll ask the servants to bring you food and a change of clothes." He mumbles as he enters the bathroom.

She could only nod in agreement.

Once more, Xander took out the first aid kit, cleaned her wounds, and applied topical pain relief. Shortly, he starts cutting the hair stuck in the clippers and fixing her hair.

In the end, the only haircut passable was a pixie cut. "There, that's the best cut I could come up with," he uttered proudly.

Hannah stared at herself and kept on brushing what was left of her hair. “I can’t be here anymore. I don’t want to be here. Let’s go our separate ways.” She exclaimed.

“I said no more talk about divorce again,” he muttered.

“Why? Isn’t that what you want? Why bring it up, then change your mind? The news had died down long ago, and I think…” She paused then heaved profoundly, “NO... I know Bridget would be better off without the Millers.”

He smirked then held her shoulder. “I’m tired Hannah.” He clamored. “Stop talking nonsense and tell that boyfriend of yours to back away.” He accused.

She frowned. "What?" She uttered. She is tired of explaining who Zane is.

Xander took her silence as accepting defeat.

"As I said, stay here. I don't want anyone seeing you like that. They might say I'm abusing you." He clamored.

She scoffed, "Of course, all he thinks of is himself and what others would think about him." She mumbled under her breath.

His audacity shook her and left a pit in her stomach.

In the kitchen, Xander ordered the maid to prepare dinner and advised Mrs. Copperfield to take care of Bridget.

"Is young Mrs. Miller okay, young master?" She asks in concern.

He ignored her question and soon left.

The old woman felt pity for Hannah as it was not a secret that the Miller family was hard to please and easy to offend. Mrs. Copperfield could only lower her head and take good care of Bridget in Hannah's absence.

CONCURRENTLY, Katarina is in Lani's room. She's pacing back and forth while she's biting her nails. She was scared of what Xander might do to her.

Lani sighed in annoyance, "Would you stop panicking?" She mumbled as she sat comfortably in front of her vanity mirror, fixing her hair and removing Hannah's dark hair that clung to her.

Katarina's hands were sweating. She swallowed slowly and then uttered, "I think we overdid it." She could still remember the fear on Hannah's face when her mother moved the clipper near her. At that moment, she felt impulsive and helped her mother, but soon she felt a wave of guilt.

Lani mocked, "Overdid? That sly fox had it coming. Have you seen how she was tied up on the bed? She probably tried to seduce Xander, but your brother is not that stupid, and he tied her up there as punishment. How shameless." She remarks in disgust.

Lani then held her hand and assured her, "Everything we did to that bitch, she deserves it. Have you forgotten that if not for her, you would have had a grand celebration for your 18th birthday?" She says.

The remorse Katarina felt earlier dissipated instantly.

She could vividly remember how Hannah's arrival in the Miller mansion changed everything. She's been planning her 18th birthday since she was a child. All of a sudden, Xander forbids her from celebrating extravagantly. With the scandal he is in and the unplanned wedding, he doesn't want to be on the news as it might affect the fragile state of the company. Being Xander's sister, everything she does reflects on her brother.

Her hands clench in a fist. She couldn't forget the humiliation she had been put through. She had already given out her invitation and bragged to everyone that her birthday would be the biggest celebration the city had ever seen, that it would be put in the newspapers and various online sites and would go down in history. None of that happened, and she shamefully called off the event a month before her birthday. She was mocked by other rich kids who usually wouldn't go out of her way.

It was the most embarrassing thing that happened to her. As she remembers it now, she felt that she could have hurt Hannah more.

A knock on the door jerked her back to her senses.

Without any hesitation, she opened the door and saw Xander's cold gaze.

The fear she had earlier was now gone, and she stared at her brother's head held high. "What do you want, brother? Did your good-for-nothing wife ask you to avenge her?" She commented as she crossed her arms.

Xander ignored her remarks and entered the room.

Lani gestured for Katarina to leave them alone and she did.

"Mother." He muttered perfunctory.

Lani narrowed her gaze, "What? Are you going to take her side?" She stated in annoyance.

He shook his head, "That's not important. What's important is Denise has returned, and I can't leave Hannah looking like that. What do you think people will say?" he exclaimed.

Lani's eyes widened in glee. "Denise is back? That means..."

"Yes!" He confirmed hastily.

She stood up and marched to her son, "You should have told me that. If I knew, I wouldn't have let Katarina hit her in the face." She commented while patting his back as she smiled merrily.

Her words surprised him but he brushed them off.

"Finally, the rightful wife has returned. We could get rid of the sly fox." She added as she hummed in happiness.