After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 303

Two minutes later, Jack ended his call with Rebecca. For once, a rare look of contemplation crossed his usually calm face.

Daniel, ever the helpful assistant, spoke up: “What’s wrong?”

“Why didn’t I think to record Uncle and the others when I was eavesdropping?” Jack rubbed his chin, deep in thought. “I was going to get caught anyway. Wouldn’t a recording have been even more solid proof?”

Daniel was speechless.

Jack asked, “So you didn’t think of it either, huh?”

Daniel pointed out kindly, “You didn’t expect to get caught while eavesdropping.” –

Jack mulled it over. “Makes sense.”

Daniel just got back to work, already used to Jack’s occasional lapses in judgment.

Meanwhile, after she hung up, Rebecca found herself worrying about Amelia and how things had gone wrong. Since Jack couldn’t remember the exact details of the conversation, she figured maybe he’d misunderstood something while trying to listen in. As for Max, he always struck her as a pretty honest, straightforward guy.

Thinking it over, Rebecca made a mental note to dig deeper once she got back to Honnala.

Before getting down to business, she shot Karen a quick message: “Are you here yet?”

Karen texted back almost right away: “Just got here.”

Standing in front of the villa she’d called home for the past three years, she drew a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and headed inside.

What she didn’t know was that Stephen hadn’t gone upstairs to rest at all since his meeting with Jeffrey last night. He’d been sitting on the couch the whole time, waiting for her, with his phone volume turned all the

way up.

When he saw her come back, Stephen switched his phone to silent.

“So you finally decided to come back,” he said, his voice low and heavy with tension. His eyes behind the glasses were bloodshot from a sleepless night.

Karen stood in front of him, trying to figure out how to bring up the real reason she was here.

Stephen’s gaze lingered on her dark coat before he reached out, pulling her into his arms and starting to remove it. “Did you forget what I told you before?”

“This is Rebecca’s coat,” Karen said, reaching out to stop him.

“I’m not going to say it again,” Stephen replied, his tone calm but carrying a definite chill. “Go upstairs and

Sat, Oct

Chapter 303

change your clothes.”

swallowed her feelings.

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him in this mood, Stephen wouldn’t listen to anything she said anyway. Might as well switch into one of those pale outfits

talk.

later, Karen

off–white knit sweater, some of that

you fainted from exhaustion last night,” he said, pulling her down beside him and gently tracing her delicate fingers. “So, what’s going

pressed her lips tightly together, refusing

hand slid beneath the hem of her sweater, his rough

to talk to you,”

on the way here, but now, wrapped in Stephen’s arms and overwhelmed by his intense presence, she just couldn’t

waist a slight squeeze. “I haven’t grilled you about faking that faint or ghosting my messages, so

Karen stiffened.

knows… she realized,

to talk because Rebecca said something and now you’re feeling bold again,

years of raising her–he knew her inside

after just one night away and suddenly wants to talk?

any

other

Karen’s spine. “How

look like some refined villain. “Someone who can stay wide awake through

flicker of unease crossed Karen’s face, and a cold feeling settled in

to go up against someone like Stephen?‘ she thought, feeling

me out on it?”

13:59 Sat, Oct 11

Chapter 303

A

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with blatant possessiveness. “Maybe then you’ll finally get a good look at reality and stop

morning that Karen had faked that

to explain anything–just showed up wanting to talk, which was a pretty obvious sign something was up. Plus, her eyes looked totally red from not sleeping, so he could tell right away she’d been up

had said something to her, and Karen had been

that what this is? You want to break up with me?”

after a

“You didn’t grow up with loving parents, you’re not part of some fancy rich family, and you don’t have trust–fund friends who’ll always

her lip and

herself sinking, lower

trying out a normal life,” Stephen continued in that deceptively gentle voice. “But if

said quietly. Stephen was making it crystal clear: don’t

time, he’d let it