Chapter 18
As he carried me back to the car, he nipped my ear,“Well now, I arrive only to find you cuddling and flirting with your ex–husband.”
Flustered, I tried to explain,“No, it’s not what it looked like!”
t’s exactly what it looked like. I need to punish you.”
Jeff placed me on the back seat and shut the door.
His fingers deftly unfastened the buttons of my qipao, and soft kisses rained down on my pale skin.
My head buzzed. I struggled to push him away, but he easily pinned y arms above my head.
Heat rushed from my ears down my neck, then spread through my body like wildfire.
A car passed by outside.
In a small voice, I pleaded, “Jeff, not here…”
“Exactly here,” he said, pressing closer, his skilled hands igniting every nerve. “How else
will
you remember this?”
Fear gripped me, but he kissed me deeply,“Don’t worry. They can’t see us.”
Two hours later, I was exhausted, leaning against his chest.
Jeff pinched my cheeks left and right, not allowing me to drift off, “Why bait them so much?
Watching it frustrates me. If I stepped in, there’d be no fuss.”
I protested softly, “But that’s too easy on them.”
His method would be to cut off the Hortons directly.
Though the Horton family had some standing, compared to the ancient, powerful Vince family, they were like ants challenging a giant oak.
л
Chapter 18
The Vince family was like a massive whale–any small shift could create monstrous waves
for the small fry.
With just a nod from Jeff, the Hortons would be done in the business world.
But I refused to grant them such an easy end.
Jeff gently pinched my nose, “Even so, I hate seeing my Elizabeth dangled like a piece of meat in front of that hungry wolf Tyler Horton.”
I feebly swatted his hand away, “I think you’re more of a hungry wolf.”
Jeff adjusted his glasses, smiling mischievously as if deep in thought, “You’re right. I’m still
not satisfied.”
He reached for my waist again.
I hurriedly surrendered, “I was wrong, I was wrong! I won’t talk nonsense anymore!”
That same night, Tyler Horton returned home and kicked Sarah Carlisle out.
He called me, eager for praise, asking when we could meet again.
I considered it and told him I was busy for now; I’d see later.
He didn’t get angry–he became even more enthusiastic, sending daily messages of concern, professing how he missed and loved me.
It was treatment I could never have dreamed of before.
How worthless it seemed now.
A man like Tyler Horton discards anything precious once he has it.
My decade of sincere love meant less than playing hard to get now.
After he pestered me for a week, I finally agreed to meet him at the Good Fortune
Restaurant over the weekend.
In a text brimming with pride, Tyler wrote, “Their jade shrimp dish is especially good. You’ll
Chapter 18
definitely love it.”
I deliberately left three hours late.
When I reached the private room, there was no trace of anger on Tyler’s face. He was all solicitous care, endless flattery.
As if the man who slapped me so hard my lip bled two months ago, who tore at my body, who pressed my head against the tiles, had never existed.
Just looking at him made my stomach churn. I could barely eat a bite.
After a short while, I excused myself, saying I needed to use the restroom, and left midway.
Stepping outside and turning down a corridor in the veranda, a sudden force struck from behind. Two claw–like hands with sharp nails yanked me against the wall.
“Elizabeth Cala! It’s really you! So it was you!”
Sarah Carlisle was without makeup. The accelerated aging from losing her ovaries was
etched on her face.
The flawless, rosy complexion of her arrival day was long gone.
Her skin had yellowed, her eyes sunken.
In her frenzy, her face twisted into something monstrous.
“No wonder Tyler took the ring back! No wonder he’s angry with me! So you were behind this!”
She tried to attack me, but I blocked her easily.
I hadn’t been training my strength this past month for nothing.
Gripping her forearm as she struggled, I spoke through clenched teeth:
“Bitch, I was just wondering when I’d get the chance to hit you.”
Then I swung my hand twice. Two sharp slaps rang out, blooming red on her cheeks.
Chapter 18
Saraly’s face burned crimson, hair disheveled, tears forced from the pain.
I gave her a shove, making her stagger back and fall.
Once she gathered herself, she glared at me, teeth bared, “Elizabeth, why don’t you just die?! Why won’t you die?!”
As she struggled to rise, snarling madly and lunging again, Tyler Horton–having left the private room to find me–arrived just in time to witness it all.
