When the Boss’ Lady Became His Sister-in-law

Chapter 56

James got the picture and leaned back in his seat with a chuckle. “Hop in, don’t make me say it a third time.”

Kristin’s fingers were nearly raw from her nervous picking. She glanced down to make sure her clothes were clean before carefully opening the back door.

“Sit up front,” James gestured.

Kristin pondered for a moment before settling into the front seat.

James didn’t say a word and drove Kristin to the mall.

“Get out,” he instructed as they arrived.

Kristin stayed put. After a long pause, Kristin finally spoke up. “I… I’ll go back.”

“Do you think I’ve had you around for three years to play nanny or maid?” James had to stifle a laugh.

Kristin remained silent.

“Come on, whether or not I go for a paternity test depends on if you can follow directions,” James resorted to a threat, as nothing else seemed to work.

Kristin was stubborn, only responding to this kind of talk.

She got out of the car and followed James inside.

Entering the elevator, Kristin instinctively tucked herself into the farthest corner, eyes fixed on the walls.

The elevator reached the ground floor, crowded with people entering the mall.

James reached out and pulled Kristin in front of him, frowning slightly.

Kristin stood rigid among the crowd with a trace of fear in her demeanor.

Crowds terrified her.

After years in prison, Kristin developed severe psychological issues.

Any person facing great trauma and change would inevitably show some stress response.

Kristin feared enclosed spaces, crowds, and being squeezed among people. Her breathing. became labored, sweat forming on her forehead.

James glanced down at Kristin. He towered over others, but Kristin was nearly swallowed by

the crowd.

“Let’s go.” he said.

Kristin had become much more docile than she was five years ago. She followed James

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obediently like a soulless marionette.

As they walked, James had an epiphany about what had changed in Kristin.

Her eyes once shimmered, bursting with life. Now, they were vacant, hollow. It was as though her spirit had been depleted, leaving only an empty shell behind.

twinge of regret clenched

have helped Kristin,

to see her stripped of her pride.

her ID and send it to IF, James called his assistant, leading Kristin into a phone

the phones were steep, Kristin kept her

shopping, never buying stuff

to be

handle this one?” he asked

at him briefly,

took

anger, edged closer.

years off the grid, she might not know how to use a modern smartphone. She was

with the world.

confessed, shaking her head, then pointed to the simplest phone she could find, a model typically used

prone to laughter, but Kristin had always

He picked up a phone, grabbed Kristin’s

out.

to pull

want to get a hang of it first?” James

Kristin stayed silent.

isn’t that…

lit up upon seeing James. “Mr.

was a little starlet James had kept around in the past, known to everyone in the circle.

Chapter 56

in the air,

instinctively glanced at Kristin, who looked back, withdrawing her wrist from

needed to stay clear–headed that men like him

woman was just a fleeting plaything,

assistant, realizing the faux pas, covered her mouth in panic.

massaging his temples and flipping through a magazine

the plain girl Mr. Bryce brought today? He never brings anyone here willingly, and he

a country bumpkin. Did Mr. Bryce change his

fitting room,

her and whispered, “What’s your relationship with Mr. Bryce?”

Kristin said nothing.

with confidence. Mr. Bryce likes girls with grace, like those who’ve danced since childhood,” the tailor

paused, still

with Mr. Bryce for three years, and he ditches that

and didn’t care about being looked down on. What mattered was not interfering with others‘

the assistant had brought, Kristin emerged from the

watched Kristin for a long silence.

changed drastically. The

looked at herself in the mirror, she quickly lowered

a stranger to herself, unfamiliar and

James

Kristin, asking her

asked, looking up.

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turned out to be James‘ girlfriend, then Kristin

to destroy