After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 108

“I don’t want to have to repeat myself,” Jeffrey said, using his usual tactic of control. “We’re alone in this room now. Who knows what might happen later?”

“Threatening me? Is that all you know?” Rebecca shot back, her thoughts filled with contempt. ‘He’s really shameless,’ she thought.

Jeffrey’s eyes locked onto her with overwhelming intensity, making it hard to breathe. Rebecca felt an uneasy dread gnawing at her from within. She quickly looked away, refusing to meet his eyes, but gave up struggling.

Jeffrey, knowing how stubborn she was, bent down right in front of her. His large hand carefully lifted her ankle, and with those slender, pale fingers of his, he gently peeled off the sloppily stuck Band–Aid.

Since he knew she couldn’t handle pain, he softly blew on her wound the whole time, trying to soothe it for her.

Watching him being so patient and gentle, just like always, Rebecca just couldn’t figure out why he’d want to spend his whole life looking after Andrea. “Jeffrey.” She called him.

Without even looking up, he kept tending to her wound, his movements gentle as ever.

“Why are you with Andrea?” Rebecca asked seriously. The question was heavier this time.

Jeffrey’s hand stilled mid–motion. His eyes suddenly clouded over with emotion impossible to read.

Remembering what she’d said last time, he swallowed back the explanation he’d been about to give, then shot her own words back at her. “Didn’t you say it didn’t matter?”

Rebecca forced herself to swallow down every feeling, burying it deep inside. The room sank into silence, and the silence between them hung heavily in the air.

Jeffrey finished wrapping her ankle with practiced care, double–checked his work, then quietly got up and took a seat beside her on the couch.

“Try to keep it dry for the next couple of days if you want it to heal faster.” Jeffrey reminded her, handing over the bag of meds. “Every night, just follow exactly what I did.”

Rebecca took the bag, sounding almost indifferent. “Okay.”

are you mad now?” Jeffrey could read her like a book, right down to those tiny shifts in her mood. He knew

not mad,” Rebecca said, sounding as calm

she knew she was a little pissed off. She knew it made no sense, she knew it was irrational, but she just couldn’t

how stubborn and proud she was. “But do you really want

Chapter 108

her mind going blank. To her, the answer didn’t really matter

with Andrea, it was true that he had decided to support Andrea for life. It was also true that he had forced Rebecca to apologize and had transferred assets

problems standing between them. From that moment, she

as though a jagged, barbed knife had pierced his chest and then been

the urge to demand why she couldn’t choose him just once, firmly and without hesitation. But

answer,” Jeffrey said, masking everything behind his usual calm. “If there’s anything

into a

shot right back.

already,” Rebecca said coldly, never once wavering on this. “I’d rather beg for scraps and starve to death than

sure about things you can’t predict,” Jeffrey replied, voice steady and low. “And don’t forget, your words have a habit of coming back to

reached a peak, but she also couldn’t swallow this indignation, so after a moment of silence, she retorted with

you’re Rebecca,”

go

my name.” Rebecca shot back, her mood clearly sour.

her. In the end, he didn’t argue back, fearing that it would

about to tell Jeffrey to leave, there was a

a moment. She

looked her up and down, his gaze finally landing

12:59 Wed, Sep 24

Chapter 108

big.” Rebecca reassured him, gently

70