After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 15

Rebecca turned toward the voice,

Stanley, in a perfectly tailored suit, offered an apologetic smile that reached his eyes, his whole presence

radiating a friendly warmth.

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“Please excuse my bodyguards—they can be overprotective,” Stanley said, taking a seat and pouring coffee for

Rebecca. “Please take a seat. Let's talk about your ring.”

“I've changed my mind about selling it,” Rebecca said, checking her dead phone signal as she plotted her

escape.

“Ms. Jensen, I'd encourage you to reconsider,” Stanley said, pushing the coffee toward her. “If this is about me

running late or my guys being rude, I'il make it worth your while.”

“No, it’s not that. | just want to keep it for sentimental reasons,” Rebecca said.

Stanley spun his cup slowly, his whole vibe changing. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Rebecca said.

“I guess you don’t know how | operate, Ms. Jensen,” Stanley said, dragging out his words. “I don’t usually make

offers like this. When people flake at the last minute... let's just say it pissesoff.”

Rebecca's knuckles went white around her bag strap.

Stanley took a slow sip of coffee. “Throw out a number.”

“Fifteen million,” Rebecca said, hoping the crazy number would make him back off.

“I'm making a real offer here, Ms. Jensen. | hope you don’t takefor seasy mark,” Stanley said, setting

down his cup with a calm smile. “How about 600 dollars?”

It was painfully clear to Rebecca now-he wasn’t here to negotiate, but to mess with her.

She gripped her phone tighter. “I'm not selling it.”

“Then | guess we'll have to do this the hard way,” Stanley said, signaling his bodyguards with a look, and the two

men moved in instantly.

Sensing trouble, Rebecca thumbed her emergency call button. But before she could complete the call, they

snatched the phone from her hand and pinned her arms behind her back.

“This is robbery!” Rebecca shouted.

“Who said | was after your ring?” Stanley moved closer, tilting her chin up as he delivered his lines. “I couldn't

touch you when Jeffrey had your back. Now you're going to settle your father’s debts.”

Rebecca's heart sank at his words.

Before Rebecca could even form a question, Stanley snapped orders to the bodyguards. “Tie her up, blindfold

her, and put her in the suite next door. My important guest will be there in a bit.”

“My friend's waiting downstairs!” Rebecca blurted out. “If I'm not back in ten minutes, she’s calling the cops.”

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

Stanley didn’t even blink at her threat. Shaking like a leaf, Rebecca had no choice but to let the bodyguards lead

her away.

Once she was gone, Stanley called toward the side room, “This is the woman you treat like precious glass. How

can you stand to scare her like this?”

“Sometimes fear is the only way to make a lesson stick,” Jeffrey's cool voice responded. He stepped out in his

gray suit, all cold intensity. His expression

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Chapter 15

gave nothing away as his eyes locked on where Rebecca had disappeared.

‘She even tried to sell the ring. If | don’t teach her a lesson now, who knows what she’ll pull next?’ Jeffrey

thought to himself.

“Take it easy on her,” Stanley said, always more considerate toward women. “If she gets truly frightened, you'll

be the one who ends up worrying about

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Jeffrey ignored the remark. As his mind replayed what he had just seen, his intense gaze unconsciously dropped

to Stanley’s hands.

Stanley shifted uncomfortably under the gaze. “What's with the look, man?”

“Which hand did you use to touch her?” Jeffrey's voice held a quiet threat.

Stanley stared blankly. “Are you for real? | was following your plan. You're not crazy enough to blme for this,

are you?”

“Since you said I'm crazy...” Jeffrey replied calmly.

“Wait, you're serious?” Stanley said, seeing a new side of his friend. “If that’s how it’s gonna be, countout

next time. I'm not being your bad guy and your fall guy.”

Jeffrey let out a derisive snort. “Sbackbone you've got.”

Stanley could only stare in frustration. The only thing stopping him from throwing Jeffrey out the window was

their friendship.

“Take your guys and get out,” Jeffrey ordered, his expression darkening as he thought of the terrified Rebecca

next door. “And nobody comes up here without my say-so.”

“Yeah, | got it. Wouldn't want to interrupt,” Stanley said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, though he couldn't help

adding a word of caution. “Just take it easy, man. She looked seriously spooked.”

Jeffrey shot him a sharp, warning look.

“Alright, alright, I'm gone,” Stanley said immediately, backing off with his hands up.

Without another word, Stanley headed out with his bodyguards and secretary in tow. Jeffrey waited until he

heard the elevator doors slide shut before finally making his way down the hall to Rebecca’s room.

The creak of the door hinges made Rebecca flinch, her bound body trembling against her will. She tried to

scream, but the tape over her mouth trapped the sound, turning it into a desperate, muffled whimper.

The sound of dress shoes clicking on the floor grew closer, sending fresh waves of fear through her.

With her vision taken, every other sense becpainfully acute.

Jeffrey approached the bed. For a moment, her terrified expression almost made him soften. But then he

remembered how she tried to sell the ring he gave her without even asking, and the anger crushing back.

His calloused fingertips traced a slow path across her soft cheek.

She shook her head wildly, trying to escape his touch, but she was completely immobilized.

Within moments, silent tears were soaking through the blindfold.

When his fingers met the warm wetness, his expression darkened.

He pulled out his phone, typed into an app, and hit play. A synthetic male voice stated coldly, “You should know

that tears only make a man want you

more.”

Rebecca stood frozen in terror, her mind racing. ‘Who is this man? Could he be the important guest Stanley has

mentioned?’

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Chapter 15

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Before she could even process his presence, the warm whisper of his breath brushed against her neck, followed

by the unsettling trail of his kisses along

her skin.

She couldn't tell whether it was pure panic or her body's instinctive rejection of a stranger's touch, but suddenly,

her breath hitched in her throat.

A suffocating pressure built in her chest, and her flawless skin flushed an alarming shade of crimson.

Jeffrey noticed her distress immediately. Without hesitation, he ripped the tape from her mouth, giving her room

to gasp for air.

But Rebecca was too paralyzed by

fear. Between the panic and her

restrained pogiion ¥ikebobidrt get

Sool hen Her head began to

feel heavy as her vision started

tunneling into darkness. The content

is on novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

“Rebecca,” Jeffrey said, his voice low but firm as he gently patted her cheek.

She still couldn't catch her breath, her chest rising and falling in useless movements.

He brought his mouth to hers in a deep kiss, sharing his breath. Meanwhile, his hands worked swiftly to untie her

bindings, finally freeing her to move.

It took another ten seconds before

Rebecca's breathing returned [0

normal. She gagpedikesdmeone

ReRging from underwater, the

crimson flush on her cheeks slowly

receding as air filled her lungs. The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

Watching her breathing even out,

Jeffrey removed the blindfold. Ts

brief concern that [c(Sbftened his

En a sre) replaced by his

characteristic cool detachment.

“Back to normal?” The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

Rebecca opened her eyes to find him looming over her. As she recalled the terror she'd just endured, fresh anger

surged through her veins.

“Get your kicks?” she asked, her eyes flashing with accusation as she emotionally withdrew from him.

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