Chapter 650

The old woman stormed upstairs and began pounding on the bedroom door.
“Harrison, you open this door right now! Who taught you to raise a hand to your wife?!”
“Ana is so much younger than you! If you’re not going to spoil her, the least you can do is not beat her! Have you no heart?!”
Harrison’s cold voice came from within.
“She may be young, but she’s not a child. As her husband, it’s my responsibility to teach her what she can and cannot do. Grandma, stay out of this.”
Anastasia’s wails intensified, sounding utterly pitiful.
But no matter what the old woman said, Harrison was determined to see this through.
When the door finally opened, Anastasia was draped over the sofa, her eyes swollen from crying, still hiccuping with sobs.
The elder Mrs. Lancaster rushed in. “Oh, my dear Ana, where did he hit you? Tell Grandma, and I’ll teach him a lesson!”
Through her tear-blurred vision, Anastasia peeked up. Harrison stood a short distance away, his posture rigid, his expression like stone. He met her gaze with a look that said, *Go on, tell her. But if I don’t like what I hear, we’re not done here.* ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ.net
Anastasia immediately shrank back, biting back the stinging pain in her rear as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “He didn’t hit me
Who would have thought that she, a grown, married woman, would one day experience the childhood discipline she had always missed out on? She’d never been spanked like this in her life.
Seeing her looking so miserable yet too scared to talk, the old woman was at a loss.
Anastasia sniffled, adding meekly, “It was all my fault. I deserved it
Harrison didn’t comment on her response. His voice was still cold as he said, “Grandma, please give us a moment. I’m going to comfort her.”
Comfort her?
The old woman looked at her grandson skeptically. He didn’t look like he was in any mood to offer comfort.
But seeing that the tension between them seemed to have eased, she felt a small sense of relief and left the room.
Once the door closed, leaving them alone again, Anastasia tensed up. She grabbed a nearby blanket, intending to hide her head under it.
Harrison strode over, tossed the blanket aside, and looked down at her. “Do you really understand what you did wrong?”
“I do she mumbled into the sofa cushion, her voice hoarse and full of grievance. “Hubby, you’re so cruel.”
She had cried so loudly that everyone in the house must have heard. She’d never live down the humiliation.
“When it comes to cruelty, am I a match for you?” Harrison knelt beside the sofa and gently pulled her face out of the cushions.
He cupped her cheek, his thumb
softly wiping away a stray tear. His
touch was gentle, but his words were ice. “You were willing to gamble with your own lifes Compared to that, what am I?”
“That has nothing to do with being cruel she protested weakly.
“You’re right. You’re not cruel. You just acted without a single thought for me.”
“You didn’t think that I could have helped you. You didn’t think about what would happen to me if something went wrong. Did you?”
Anastasia opened her mouth to
argue, but he cut her off. “You were going to say you had it all planned out, that you were never in dang weren’t you? you?
“But
something to go wrong. And you
somere’s always a chance for maever oniee considered what would
do if that ‘what if’ happened.
“Ana,” he said, his voice dropping, “I’ve told you before. I can’t lose you.”
His tone was calm, yet tinged with a weariness she had never heard before.