Chapter 71 – Caroline, You Better Be Clean!
David narrowed his eyes as Caroline remained still. “So, you want me to handle this myself?”
Fine by him. She only needed to lie there while he took control.
A simple touch would tell him everything he needed to know.
Gripping both of Caroline’s wrists and pinning them above her head, David quickly unfastened her nightgown.
The faint scent of her recent bath lingered on her skin, momentarily distracting him.
A surge of desire flared within, but he quickly suppressed it with logic.
If she had already been taken by another man, claiming her now would only disgust him.
A woman in his life had to be pure—no exceptions.
Caroline lay flat on the bed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, drowning in humiliation.
She stopped resisting, knowing it was pointless.
“David…” Her voice trembled. “You don’t need to do this.”
“Oh?”
“Even if you check, suspicion will linger between us. If I’m innocent, you’ll still doubt me. If I’m not, you’ll only grow angrier.”
David’s gaze hardened. “Answer me, are you a virgin?”
“I am.”
Caroline answered without hesitation, knowing that even the slightest pause would doom her.
The truth of her pregnancy or that night with Nash at the hotel could never be revealed. The consequences were unthinkable.
David’s expression remained stoic. “Your words mean nothing. I need proof.”
He stripped her completely, tossing her clothes aside.
Caroline bit her lip hard, goosebumps rising on her skin.
She couldn’t bear this invasion, being treated like a possession.
If Elizabeth had dared to accuse her, there had to be some truth in it, or so he believed.
Caroline, you better be clean!
Caroline shivered, instinctively trying to close her legs, but he forced them apart.
“Wait!” she shouted just in time. “I don’t know what lies you’ve heard, but if you must check, I have one condition.”
“Speak.”
“Bring an experienced older woman to conduct it,” she said firmly. “I can’t accept your method.”
David’s eyes narrowed. “I’m your husband.”
“We’ve never consummated anything,” Caroline countered, clutching the corner of the pillow. “I refuse for my first time to happen like this. If you doubt me, let a woman handle it. That’s the only way I’ll agree.”
He scrutinized her, his expression unreadable.
“The woman will be someone you trust,” she added. “That’s my final request.”
It felt like an ancient ritual, as though she were a maiden undergoing scrutiny for a king’s approval. She felt helpless, humiliated, and tormented by the ordeal.
After a tense silence, David relented. “Fine.”
Caroline exhaled shakily, turning her face away to press silent tears into the pillow.
Moments later, David left, and an elderly woman, thin and in her seventies, briskly entered the room.
