Scarlett Yates had made up her mind that whatever Ian Douglas asked her to do, she would do it, as long as it didn’t involve killing or arson. She would agree to anything else.

Whether she could do it well, though, was something she couldn’t guarantee.

Just like the "whole egg meal" she cooked this time—these few dishes were just about everything she had learned in her lifetime. What more did he expect from her?

She thought her attitude was not a problem. If her attitude had to be evaluated—excellent, good, average, poor—she deserved at least a ’good’, right?

He found fault with her every move, naturally disliking whatever she did.

To satisfy him, she guessed the only solution would be for her to leave right away.

But could she bear to leave Matthew Saxon?

Last night, in a fit of anger and impulsiveness, she suggested breaking up with Matthew Saxon. But when asking herself honestly, did she really want to break up with him?

No, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

They argued because of a misunderstanding. She believed time could prove everything, and that misunderstanding would eventually be resolved.

Even if the waiting was a bit hard, she still wanted to wait.

She liked him so much; he occupied her heart completely. How could she give up on this relationship?

"Are you cursing me to die early?" Ian Douglas’s face was already grim, and now it looked even worse, with veins throbbing angrily on his forehead.

No one but Matthew Saxon had dared to anger him like this, especially not a little girl without any family background.

It seemed she needed a lesson to rein her in.

Ian Douglas was a figure commanding respect in both the underworld and the legal system; mentioning his name made others give way out of respect.

His narrow eyes squinted, and the atmosphere around him became dangerous. A flash of brutal intent flickered in his cold, blade-like eyes.

"A little girl who doesn’t understand the heights of the heavens, relying on Matthew’s indulgence, thinks I can’t deal with you? Matthew may indulge your reckless behavior, but that’s him being misguided; I won’t tolerate your impudence in my presence."

After speaking, he slammed the table and stood up, his face filled with anger as he shouted, "Hold her down for me! Use family discipline!"

At his command, the bodyguards nearby rushed over, one blocking Scarlett Yates’s path forward, and the other blocking her retreat.

Scarlett Yates was stunned for a few seconds, then jokingly said, "Old Master Douglas, you’re not seriously going to use some kind of private punishment on me, are you? This... isn’t right, is it? We’re in a civilized society now, aren’t we supposed to persuade with reason? You’ve had higher education, surely you wouldn’t adhere to those feudal practices, would you?"

Family discipline?

Scarlett had only heard of such words in TV dramas, usually in those old family or clan settings. In modern times, where would there be such a notion?

Seeing she still had the mood to joke, Ian Douglas became even more determined to teach her a lesson. With a cold smile, he said, "To teach a disobedient girl like you, who needs civilized methods? Take her to the study."

Suddenly, Scarlett Yates seemed to foresee her impending tragic ordeal, imagining her plight as a melodramatic TV scene unfolding in her mind.

She seemed to already see Ian Douglas raising a pitch-black whip, striking her hard, the whip with barbs leaving her skin torn and bloodied with one lash.