The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

Gwendolyn clenched her hands tightly as she listened to the low growls coming from inside.

However, her face was still cold and emotionless when she looked at Elven. “Do you think I’ve gone too far?”

Elven knelt down on the spot. “That’s not what I meant. You were drugged last night. It’s only fair to make up for

the suffering you endured, but I know that you don’t really want to kill Mr. Wright.”

Gwendolyn felt much better after she heard that.

She looked at Quinton after contemplating for a while. “Go to the Wright residence and bring Frida over here. Be

quick.”

“Yes, Ms. Shalders.” Quinton set off immediately.

The rest of them stood at the basement door, listening as the growling and struggling sounds grew more intense as

though Maverick was on the brink of despair.

Even the tall and burly bodyguards found it difficult to continue listening and felt as though they were also being

subjected to a cruel form of torture.

Ten minutes later, Gwendolyn finally spoke up. “Open the door. Get a bucket of ice water and bring it over. It’ll help

him cool down.”

The bodyguards obeyed Gwendolyn’s orders after a brief moment of shock and went to get some ice cubes to mix

with a bucket of water.

Creak.

The basement door opened, allowing a sliver of light to seep in. That beam of light stretched Maverick’s shadow

long and thin in the center.

Maverick lay curled up on the floor, just like a baby in its mother’s womb.

The floor beneath him was soaked with sweat, and his hair was also damp from perspiration as it hung limply over

his forehead. He looked like a helpless and pitiful puppy that had been injured.

Maverick had struggled through this hour to the point of exhaustion, yet his body still trembled violently, and his

face was horrifyingly red.

He struggled to open his eyes as he felt the blinding light on his eyelids.

Maverick saw a slender and familiar figure although his vision was blurry.

He reached out with trembling hands without hesitation and looked at that figure longingly. His voice was hoarse as

he said, “Gwendolyn… I-I feel… terrible…”

He couldn’t help but feel heartbroken after seeing how uncomfortable the drug made her feel last night.

Would she feel a little bit better knowing that I’ve suffered through the effects of the drug as well? Can this lessen

some of the disgust she feels toward me in her heart?

Even though his hands trembled violently, he stubbornly tried to reach out and touch the figure before him. It

seemed so close that he could touch it as soon as he reached out, yet it felt so distant as if there was an

insurmountable barrier forever separating the two of them.

Maverick couldn’t see Gwendolyn’s expression because of the backlight, but he could feel the coldness emanating

from her.

The intense coldness made his heartthrob painfully, which was a hundred times worse than when the drug took

effect.

Gwendolyn did not budge as she watched him quietly from a distance.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed that Maverick’s gaze hadn’t left her since he opened his eyes, but she

remained silent.

Maverick was still waiting, hoping that she would at least utter a single sentence that contained a hint of sympathy.

However, what came next was Ryan pouring ice-cold water over his head.

His sweltering body couldn’t bear the sudden, drastic change in temperature. He was ice cold to the core after

being poured the bucket of ice water. His entire body trembled even more violently, and his teeth chattered from

the cold. His consciousness began to fade away.

“Ryan, who told you to pour it directly on his head!” Gwendolyn’s grip on the armrest of the chair tightened

abruptly.

“Huh? Wasn’t that what you ordered, Ms. Shalders?” Ryan was shocked by her aggressive demeanor. His hand

trembled, and he accidentally poured the remaining half bucket of water all over Maverick.

The massive impact caused Maverick to cough violently.

The heart-wrenching sound of coughing echoed throughout the basement as if his lungs were about to be coughed

out. It sounded incredibly terrifying.

Gwendolyn was extremely frustrated by Ryan’s approach, which seemed to cause more harm than good. She was

about to stand up to check on Maverick when a woman’s scream sounded from behind her. “Ah! Maverick! My dear

Maverick!”

Gwendolyn’s grip on the armrest loosened slightly when she heard that.

She settled back into her chair, her usual icy haughtiness returning to her face.

Frida had still been in a cast, lying in the private ward of the Wright residence.

When Quinton showed up at the door with a scowl on his face, Frida could easily tell that it wasn’t going to be

anything good, and she tried her best to play the victim, acting as though she really didn’t want to be involved.

In the end, she was forcefully dragged over by Quinton.

Frida could no longer pretend to be crippled after seeing her son, who was on the brink of death after being

tortured in the basement. She stepped on the ground and ran as quickly as she could with her leg in a cast.

She collapsed to the ground next to Maverick as she felt how cold and lifeless his body was. She panicked as she

noticed his uncontrollable trembling. “Where’s the doctor? Hurry up and find a doctor! My son is dying! He can’t

die! He mustn’t die!”

Frida had been arrogant for most of her life, and this was the first time she had broken down in tears in front of

Gwendolyn and disregarded her image. “Gwendolyn, I’m begging you! Please save him! He hasn’t done anything

wrong. Why are you treating him like this? You were once a couple. Why are you being so cruel?”

I can’t be cruel to him because we were once a couple?

Gwendolyn sneered, “Despite being married into the Wright family for all these years, I have never experienced any

kindness. People also say that a daughter-in-law is like half a daughter, but not only did you not treat me as a

daughter, you even said that I was worse than your pet dog. How do you feel knowing that the woman you despise

the most is torturing your most precious son?”

Frida was stunned for two seconds before crying out in despair, “I feel awful! I feel like I’m about to suffocate from

the pain. It’s all my fault for being so harsh on you, but my son is innocent. Please, save him, Gwendolyn! I’m

begging you!”

Gwendolyn sighed helplessly. “I can’t save him. Only you are able to save him.”

Frida stopped crying and froze for a few seconds. “What does that mean?”

“The reason why Maverick ended up like this is because he used the thing you gave him in my coffee, and you—”

Frida yelled before Gwendolyn could finish, “No! It has nothing to do with him! He rejected my suggestion when I

brought it up. I secretly gave it to him when he wasn’t paying attention! It really has nothing to do with him. He

doesn’t know anything! I mean it!”

“Oh? Is that so?” Gwendolyn stood up, walked over to Frida, and looked down at her condescendingly. “So, who

gave you the drug? Who gave you the idea to pretend to be sick?”

Frida was taken aback and didn’t respond.

Gwendolyn laughed. “The most intelligent thing you could come up with is to bring us back together. The person

who instigated you to cause all this trouble just wants to sit back and watch the fight from a safe distance. You

didn’t even realize you were being used. It’s quite foolish of you.”

It was the first time that Frida had been reprimanded in this manner, but this time she felt that Gwendolyn was

absolutely right. “That’s right. I was used! Dexter said that the Wright family could regain its former glory as long as

I could bring Maverick and you back together. I shouldn’t have believed his nonsense!”

Dexter? As expected, it’s that old fox. He’s incredibly shameless to still be resorting to these despicable tactics at

such an old age.

Frida held Maverick in her arms and cried, “Gwendolyn, his body’s getting colder. Please save him! He means the

world to me! He mustn’t die!”