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.”

empty glass back

and moved aside, gesturing

but before she could take another, her body suddenly felt weak. In that instant, panic

been something in

hesitate. She turned and ran for the door desperate to get out. But before she could even make it, Howard grabbed her arm. His voice followed, dripping with

were careless. But don’t worry. Soon, we’ll be right across from

free, but her body was like jelly–completely powerless. She tried to scream, but the words barely

Chapter 12

+25 BONUS

“L–let go of me!”

private room opposite William’s. In the moment he turned, Rachel caught sight of William, who was clinking glasses with Samantha. Her ears were tinted pink and

feeling as though it was being tightly squeezed, threatening to suffocate her. Hot tears

Howard turned to the waiter behind

frantically.

onto a leather couch as the door slowly swung shut behind them. Her desperate gaze locked onto that narrowing sliver of light–her last hope–until it vanished with a final

raked over her with predatory

symmetry of her features; every inch of her was calculated perfection, from the arch of her brows to

She seemed cold and distant, like she didn’t care about anything. Yet, there

licked his lips, his eyes dark with hunger as

gonna be fun,”

voice cut through the air behind

Howard’s face freeze momentarily

“Since when did you

to be my private room. Can’t afford a hotel room, Mr. Ziegler? Is this where you

running a hand through his hair. “The hell’s it to you?” He glance you want

face

and took

think you can threaten me? Who do you think you are?!” Howard

her, and it’ll be all over the headlines tomorrow. How do you think

his cigarette and raised his phone, camera lens aimed squarely at

second, rage flashed in Howard’s eyes, but then he zipped his pants and grabbed his

afraid the Lewis family will flay you for this?” he hissed at