Chapter 10 In Defense Of My Husband

• The realization dawned on her, prompted by Damien's words. Since their arrival at the Lenoir Residence, not a single servant had approached them.
• Under the dim moonlight, she studied Damien's chiseled features and felt a pang of pity.
• His cousin, Tristan, had not only bullied him for his disability but had also molested his wife right in front of him.
• His aunt and uncle had only ever mocked him, never treating him with the respect he deserved.
• And his grandfather…
• Cherise had initially believed that Damien's grandfather cared for him. After all, why else would he be concerned about Damien's marital status?
• However, after witnessing the cold treatment Damien received at the Lenoir Residence, she was convinced that Old Mr. Lenoir didn't care for Damien at all.
• The thought saddened her.
• Damien had lost his closest family members at a young age, and the remaining relatives had only mistreated him. It must have been a heart-wrenching experience for him…
• Instinctively, Cherise reached out and gently held his cold hand.
• His hand trembled slightly, jolting her back to reality.
• As she quickly withdrew her hand, her voice was firm as she declared, "I may not have been there in the past, but from now on, I will always stand by your side."
• Damien appeared taken aback for a moment.
• He turned to Cherise, looking at her through the ribbon over his eyes.
• Cherise thought he hadn't heard her properly.
• So, she repeated earnestly, "Even though we've only been married for a day, I'm not like them. I will remain loyal to you.
• Even if you're cursed, I'm not afraid. I'll always stand by your side."
• Damien chuckled quietly. "Come here."
• Obediently, Cherise moved towards him, only to be suddenly pulled into his embrace.
• His breaths gently brushed against her neck, causing her to feel ticklish.
• He held her with one hand and used his other to gently tuck her hair behind her ears. "Are you sure you're not afraid?"
• Under the hazy moonlight, Damien slid a hand under her clothes, gently caressing Cherise's breasts.
• She couldn't help but let out a soft moan, quickly realizing they were still in the backyard of Grandpa's house.
• She blushed deeply, struggling to escape his grasp and leave the place.
• The black silk over Damien's eyes made him seem forbidding under the moonlight. He looked enticing yet dangerous.
• "Let me go, we need to hurry..." Cherise hadn't even finished her sentence when Damien silenced her with a kiss.
• The softness of her breasts stirred Damien, and Cherise felt goosebumps as Damien continued to caress her skin. While struggling to free herself, she noticed a hard object pressing against her thigh.
• Cherise looked both adorable and enticing with her flushed cheeks.
• Feeling breathless amid Damien's barrage of kisses, Cherise was grateful when he finally allowed her some space to breathe.
• Damien's voice was husky as he held her waist with one hand and asked, "Do you have any regrets about being with me?"
• Cherise hummed softly, her gaze slightly dazed yet earnest as she replied, "I have no regrets."
• Her resolve was clear – whoever she married, she would commit to for life, without second thoughts.
• Damien looked into her innocent and sincere gaze and sighed. "You silly girl."
• However, before Cherise could determine whether he meant those words as a compliment, figures suddenly dashed out of the house.
• Damien promptly withdrew his hand from under Cherise's clothes, and she quickly stood up, distancing herself from him.
• "Damien!"
• Tristan rushed toward them furiously, his face covered in soot. Behind him were four of his bodyguards.
• His previously immaculate hair was now disheveled, and his neatly buttoned shirt was pulled askew.
• With a dark expression, he suddenly and forcefully kicked over Damien's wheelchair. Seeing this violent act, Cherise understood just how furious Tristan was.
• But she couldn't spare a moment to think about that. She wouldn't allow anyone to bully her disabled husband in front of her. She rushed forward, shielding Damien, and yelled, "Have you lost your mind? Why are you taking it out on Damien!"
• Tristan signaled to his bodyguards with a glance, and they quickly grabbed Cherise, restraining her to one side.
• "Look, I now invite you to watch a drama unfold," Tristan said with a wicked smile. His gaze turned murderous when he faced Damien.
• "What are you doing? He's part of your family!" Cherise screamed, but the passing servants, even if they heard the commotion, dared not intervene.
• "You blind fool, you dare set me up!" Tristan viciously kicked Damien in the chest.
• Cherise heard Damien's muffled groan and shouted desperately, "Grandpa! Help! Someone is bullying me!"
• "Shut her up!" Tristan commanded his men in irritation.
• As Damien lay on the ground, he faced Tristan and gave a cold, faint smile, "What are you talking about, Tristan? Who did I set up? Does the child in Violet's belly belong to me, perhaps?"
• "How about it? Didn't you create a good image for yourself in front of the media just now?"
• His tone was harsh and sarcastic, pushing the already fuming Tristan off the edge.
• "Damien, die." Tristan's initial intention was only to knock him down and kick him a few times, but he hadn't expected Damien to mock him so blatantly.
• He thought he had kicked hard enough to make Damien fall out of the wheelchair.
• "You wretch! What right do you have to mock me?" Tristan motioned to his bodyguards, one of whom handed him a dagger.
• Cherise saw the gleaming blade and watched in horror as Tristan advanced towards the fallen Damien.
• She struggled fiercely against her captors. Raised in the countryside, she had never witnessed such brutality and now fully realized the tragic life Damien had been enduring within the family.
• Madman! Tristan Lenoir must be insane! Cherise's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't just stand by and watch Damien get hurt.
• Tristan sneered, "I really wish you'd just die and return to h3ll, you demon!"
• Finishing what he had to say, he raised his hand to strike a lasting lesson.
• Damien, having returned today, was destined to be Tristan's punching bag, regardless of whether he was behind the Belcourt family incident.
• The servants and bodyguards, lurking in the shadows, watched the unfolding drama, while Damien lay on the ground, calm and undaunted, showing no intention of begging for mercy.
• "Ah!"
• Tristan's dagger descended, but the scream that followed was unexpectedly from Cherise.
• Everyone was shocked as she suddenly ran forward and took the stab for Damien.
• Damien's eyes filled with immense rage as he faced Tristan, sending shivers down his spine.
• "Damien, are you alright?" Cherise gasped as the excruciating pain from the dagger in her back hit her, feeling like she was about to collapse.
• She had no idea of all the things that would eventually happen that evening when she came to the Lenoir Residence.
• "I... I think I'm going to die," she murmured in a daze, pain clouding her consciousness. "I'm sorry… I couldn't break the curse for you…"
• Damien's heart skipped a beat. Even in such agony, she was thinking of him, feeling sorry for him.
• Tristan, who had only intended to teach Damien a lesson, was taken aback by Cherise's decision. Although the dagger didn't hit Damien, it landed on his wife, equally humiliating for him.
• She looked so frail and timid, yet she dared to step in and took a blade for Damien.
• "Oops, my hand slipped," he said with a sneer, signaling the bodyguards, "Take her to the hospital. Keep it down, Grandpa is going to bed."
• After giving the order, he laughed wickedly, "What a waste of a beautiful woman."
• "Tristan, you better pray she's alright," Damien said darkly. If not for his plans and the need to keep a low profile, he would have made Tristan beg for mercy.
• Raymond's voice came from behind, angry, "Haven't you caused enough trouble? Leave now."
• "Not a word about this to Old Mr. Lenoir, or you'll answer to me," he warned everyone at the scene sternly.
• "What are you afraid of? Grandpa doesn't even like him," Tristan retorted.
• Raymond glared at his son, frustrated, "Be careful! Old Mr. Lenoir doesn't like him, but he has a soft spot for that girl! Be careful, or you'll find yourself in deep trouble."
• "The old man is still furious. If that country girl brings this up to him, forget about inheriting a penny from him!"
• Tristan scoffed indifferently. "Grandpa doesn't care much about him anyway. It's been years since he kicked Damien out of the house. He even arranged for Damien to marry a country bumpkin."
• "Doesn't care about him? If he didn't, would he think of finding a suitable woman to take care of him?" Raymond scoffed from a distance. "If I hadn't stepped in to deal with his previous three fiancées, he would probably have joined forces with those women and their families to work against us by now!"
• Tristan was stunned. "His three late fiancées. Did you…"
• "I did it."
• …
• In the darkness, Raymond lit a cigarette. "I never expected the old man would pick a girl from a village. But as long as she is alive and bears Damien a child, at least half of the family's fortune will end up going to Damien!"
• "What! That cannot happen!" Tristan was incredulous as if he had heard some unbelievable fairy tale. How could that demon possibly inherit half of the family's fortune?
• On the other hand…
• Damien, sitting in the wheelchair, held Cherise in his arms. The bodyguard was barely strong enough to wheel the pair to the entrance of the residence.
• Cherise's blood had drenched Damien's clothing by now. He couldn't help but feel agitated, "Cherise Shaw, who asked you to take a knife for me! If that worthless fool, Tristan Lenoir, had been more ruthless, you could have lost your life."
• "I had to protect my husband," Cherise managed to utter through pain.
• Tristan hadn't intended to kill; otherwise, Damien wouldn't have foolishly waited for his attack.
• Damien realized he hadn't been this anxious in a long time. "You didn't need to go this far."
• He held her tightly. The bodyguard left them at the doorstep and departed.
• Cherise, in pain, still tried to smile at Damien, "You don't think I'll become your fourth dead bride, do you?"
• He leaned against the wheelchair and chuckled lightly, "Judging by the amount of blood you've lost, you might indeed become the fourth."
• Cherise paused, her voice tinged with a hint of fear, "R-really?"
• "Now you're scared? Why weren't you afraid when you took that knife for me?"