“Smack!” The p was really hard.


    Nicole’s mouth started bleeding, and her head spun.


    The p weakened her already frail body, robbing her of any strength to resist.


    Derek’s filthy hands reached to tear at her clothes, causing her to feel sick, but she had nothing in her stomach to vomit.


    “You’ll get what’sing to you!” Nicole dered, her gaze icy and determined.


    “You are so stubborn!” Derek sneered, leaning in to press her down once more.


    With a fierce look in her eyes, Nicole gathered all her strength and bit down hard on Derek’s ear.


    “Ah! You bitch, let go!” Derek attempted to pull away, but Nicole’s grip on his ear was relentless.


    During the struggle, Nicole tore off a piece of Derek’s ear, leaving him with a bizarre and somewhat humorous disfigurement.


    “Damn it!” Derek recoiled, clutching his injured ear.


    The pain was intense.N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    Enraged, he seized Nicole by the neck, yelling, “Give me back my ear!”


    That piece was still attached to the ear cartge, and it could have been reattached if handled properly.


    However, Nicole quickly tilted her head and spat that piece down the slope.


    Derek could only watch in frustration as it tumbled into the water, vanishing from view.


    At this, Derek’s fury boiled over, and he delivered two harsh ps to Nicole, one after another.


    Yet, these ps did little to calm his rage.


    Clutching Nicole’s neck tightly, his eyes bloodshot, Derek screamed wildly, “You bitch, I’ll kill you!”


    Nicole’s eyes rolled back as she struggled to breathe, feeling her chest tighten.


    Just when she thought she might draw herst breath, a loud “bang” echoed.


    Derek, who had been pressing down on her, suddenly rolled down the slope.


    The rain poured heavily, and the wind howled like thunder.


    Nicole noticed a man with short hair standing in the rain.


    He squinted through the downpour and said dismissively, “You can’t even deal with a piece of trash, and you think you can challenge me?”


    Jarrod’s tone was cold and scornful.


    In his eyes, Nicole was like a tiny ant now.


    No matter how hard she fought, it seemed pointless.


    At the sight of him, a wave of relief swept over Nicole.


    Now, at least, Derek couldn’t hurt her anymore.


    Maybe in the past, Jarrod could have, but she believed he wouldn’t do that now.


    For reasons unknown, he wouldn’t.


    But Nicole wasn’t interested in exploring Jarrod’s motives.


    She refused to believe anything he said.


    His past actions were beyond redemption.


    The thought that this demon could live so untroubled gnawed at Nicole.


    She mourned for her deceased father and felt even sorrier for her mother, who remained oblivious to the truth.


    And poor Austin had turned into a pawn in this mess.


    Austin could’ve enjoyed a carefree childhood, but instead, he had to be on guard because of Jarrod’s unpredictable behavior.