Countdown to My Divorce

Rachel’s mood was already bad, and running into Howard made it worse. She could feel her frustration rising.

Her usually calm eyes narrowed with irritation. “Let go of me, or call for help.”

“Are you going to call your husband?” Howard laughed mockingly as he tilted his head toward the room, his eyes following the scene inside. “But he seems pretty busy.”

His words cut deep. What seemed like a harmless joke felt like a knife twisting in Rachel’s heart.

She looked inside, her stomach tightening as she saw Samantha leaning against William’s shoulder, her cheeks flushed. William, with a drink in his hand, was laughing and chatting with ane and the others, completely relaxed. It was a version of him Rachel had never seen before.

No wonder Zane had said earlier that everything felt too stiff whenever she was around. He wanted to have fun but had to hold back because of her presence.

Rachel’s lips curled into a bitter smile. She really was a bother, wasn’t she?

Howard was a madman, and the patriarch of his family was a retired military officer. In Yurelia City, only the Lewis family could rival the Ziegler family in terms of power. Rachel had once been under William’s protection, and while Howard still had some respect for him, things were different now.

She had no choice but to outsmart him.

Furrowing her brow, she asked, “What do you want, exactly?”

“Nothing much. You embarrassed me back in college. How about you make it up to me with a drink? A little apology for all that humiliation.”

Howard tried to mimic sign language by making hand gestures to Rachel, but after a few moments of awkwardly flailing his hands, he seemed frustrated. “Damn, your ears are really a pain in the ass!”

At that moment, a waiter passed by with a tray of drinks. Howard grabbed two glasses, keeping one for himself. He raised the other toward Rachel, his eyes challenging.

“Drink this, and we’ll call it even. How about it?”

Rachel hesitated, but her only thought now was to leave. This place, this situation–she just wanted to get away. Besides, the drinks had been brought over by a waiter, so Howard probably hadn’t known Ra ould be here.

She picked up the glass. “I hope you keep your word.”

11

Howard’s grin widened. “Yeah, drink up and you

can go.”

then set the empty glass back on the waiter’s tray. “I can leave now,

smiled and moved aside, gesturing

could take another, her body

had been something in the

ran for the door desperate to get out. But before she could

Soon, we’ll be right across from William. He’ll

struggled to break free, but her body was like jelly–completely powerless. She tried to

Chapter 12

+25 BONUS

“L–let go of me!”

carry her into the private room opposite William’s. In the moment he turned, Rachel caught sight

her heart feeling as though it was being tightly squeezed, threatening to

the door to the private room opened, Howard turned to the waiter behind him and tossed

waiter nodded frantically. “Yes, of

to scream, but Howard clamped a hand over her lips. He shoved her onto a leather couch as the door slowly swung shut behind them. Her desperate gaze

raked over

saw her. It wasn’t just the elegant symmetry of her features; every inch of her was calculated perfection, from the

like she didn’t care about anything. Yet, there was something about her–something fierce

lips, his eyes dark with hunger as

gonna be fun,” he

when a cool, detached male voice cut through the air behind him:

face freeze momentarily before

did you become so fond of meddling in others‘

a hotel room, Mr. Ziegler? Is

“The hell’s it to you?” He glance you want her for yourself? But

face and

cigarette, and took a slow drag. “You’ve got

Who

out smoke, his voice lazy but sharp. “Touch her, and it’ll be all over the headlines tomorrow. How do you think

his cigarette and raised his phone, camera

in Howard’s eyes, but then he

him? Aren’t you afraid the Lewis family will flay you for this?” he hissed at