From Worthless Son-in-Law to Island King

Chapter 2：For Her, He Knelt

Joseph froze.

“What do you want?”

Charles leaned close to his ear.

“We’re far out at sea.”

His voice was almost playful.

“If you refuse this glass of fine wine, Alice might suddenly become seasick. Maybe she’ll lose her balance. Maybe she’ll fall overboard.”

He paused.

“Imagine how heartbroken I would be.”

Joseph’s face went pale.

“You can tell everyone what I said,” Charles continued. “You can even sue me when we return.”

“But who do you think the people aboard this ship will believe?”

“You?”

“Or me?”

Charles’s smile turned cold.

“And if you accuse me without proof, what do you think Alice will make of it? She already thinks little enough of you.”

His voice suddenly hardened.

“Kneel.”

“Beg me.”

Charles stepped aside, enjoying every second of it.

This was the scene he had come to see.

To him, Joseph was nothing more than a clown—someone powerless enough to be humiliated and discarded at will.

Joseph stared at him, fury burning in his eyes.

It was a threat.

A direct and unmistakable threat.

And Joseph knew Charles was capable of carrying it out.

He could expose Charles in front of everyone, but what good would that do? Given the difference in their status, no one would believe him.

They would simply laugh and call him insane.

But Alice could truly be in danger.

Joseph had grown up in the mountains before being sent to an orphanage. Later, Alice’s father had adopted him and eventually arranged his marriage to Alice, making him the live-in son-in-law of the Jones family.

Through all those years, Alice had become the only person he truly loved.

Joseph looked at Charles.

Rage filled his heart, yet he was powerless.

If he refused, Charles might actually harm her.

With a heavy thud, Joseph dropped to his knees.

“I’m begging you.”

His voice trembled despite his efforts to control it.

He could not bring himself to look at the people around him.

“Drink.”

Charles’s voice was cold.

“Try anything clever, and I promise the next time you see Alice, she’ll be floating facedown in the sea.”

“Fine.”

Joseph forced the word through clenched teeth.

His right hand slowly reached toward the glass.

It trembled violently.

As long as Alice was safe, he was willing to surrender every last shred of dignity he had.

“My God. Is he actually going to drink it?”

“Does that man have no pride at all?”

“He really is willing to live like a dog.”

“That’s disgusting.”

Whispers erupted throughout the room.

No one had heard what Charles whispered to him.

Their voices soon became distant, fading into a meaningless blur in Joseph’s mind.

Just as his fingers were about to close around the glass, Charles suddenly lashed out with his foot.

The glass flew from the attendant’s hand.

Its foul contents splashed across Joseph’s hair and face before the glass itself sailed over the railing and disappeared into the sea.

A wave of disgusted murmurs swept through the crowd.

Charles looked down at him.

“Look at you.”

His voice was filled with contempt.

“You’re not even worthy of being called a dog.”

“If you have any sense left, you’ll divorce Alice the moment we return.”

“Stop dragging her down.”

“What part of you could ever be worthy of Alice Jones?”

“You and I belong to different worlds.”

“This is not a world someone like you will ever enter.”

Charles turned to a nearby janitor.

“Make sure he cleans the floor afterward. I won’t have him ruining everyone else’s mood.”

Then he walked away, with Brianna hurrying after him.

Before leaving, Charles glanced toward a particular section of the deck.

A knowing smile appeared on his face.

His goal had been to humiliate Joseph in front of her—to show her just how pathetic Joseph was and how far beneath Charles he stood.

Now he had succeeded.

As for the choice she would make, Charles trusted that Alice was intelligent enough to see the obvious answer.

A bitter smile touched Joseph’s lips.

Humiliation?

He had endured so much of it over the years that he should have been used to it by now.

He forced himself to his feet and began walking back toward his room.

The stench of urine clung to his body.

Everywhere he passed, people recoiled and covered their noses.

At that moment, he was no different from a rat scurrying through the streets.

Pride and dignity no longer mattered.

“Alice, didn’t you tell me he had at least some backbone?”

“Why did he kneel so easily?”

Inside one of the cabins, two women watched Joseph’s retreating figure through the window.

One of them looked at him with nothing but disgust.

Beside her stood Alice Jones, dressed in white.

Her features were so flawless they seemed to have been carved by divine hands. Even with only the lightest touch of makeup, she made every other woman in the room fade into the background.

In one hand, she tightly clutched a jade pendant.

Alice had seen everything.

Her beautiful face had gone completely cold.

“He was actually willing to drink urine,” the woman beside her continued. “He can’t compare to my brother at all.”

“I can’t even talk about it anymore. It makes me sick.”

“Alice, I honestly don’t understand why you brought him with you.”

“You should give my brother a chance. He really does love you.”

“Only someone like my brother deserves a woman like you.”

Heather Martin continued talking, but Alice did not respond.

Her fingers tightened around the jade pendant.

Then, as though she had finally reached a decision, she turned away.

“Alice?”

Heather stared after her.

“Where are you going?”

Alice did not answer.

Under the astonished gazes of the surrounding guests, she walked out of the cabin, leaving only the sight of her slender figure behind.

She was heading directly toward Joseph’s room.