?<strong>Chapter 804:</strong>


    Less than a minuteter, the door opened with a click.


    The moment Lnd saw Catherine standing before him, all the color drained from his face.


    “Catherine…” he began, but he couldn’t seem to find the words to say next.


    His voice trembled just saying her name.


    Catherine felt a sharp pain in her heart. As if Lnd’s reaction to her presence wasn’t enough, his current state was all the answer she needed.


    His clothes were disheveled, with most of his shirt buttons undone. There was also a fresh trail of kiss marks scattered across his neck and chest. His cheeks and lips were smudged with bright red lipstick.


    Lnd said, “Catherine, let me exin. This isn’t what it looks like!”


    “Exin?” Catherine cut him off. “With your current state? There’s nothing to exin. Were you going to gaslight me into thinking this was all a huge misunderstanding? That nothing happened between you and Hailee?”


    When Catherine spoke, her voice took on an eerily serene quality, a calmness that sent shivers down Lnd’s spine.


    Despite the slight ashen hue of herplexion, there was no trace of fury evident in her expression.


    Yet, paradoxically, the moreposed Catherine appeared, the more anxious Lnd felt inside.


    “Catherine, please hear me out!” Lnd said desperately. “Hailee borrowed someone else’s phone to reach out to me. She believed she had been drugged and trapped in a private room at a restaurant, pleading for my rescue! I couldn’t simply disregard something so serious; it was a matter of urgency.”


    After a pause, he continued, “So I went to find her! When I arrived, Hailee truly had been drugged. The only way to counteract its effects was through… physical contact. I had no alternative but to escort her to a hotel. But… I promise you, I never intended to help her alone! I even called for a male escort toe help her!”


    Lnd’s voice trembled as he recounted the events. “However, while we waited, the drug’s effects overwhelmed Hailee, and thus… Nothing transpired between us! Honestly! Catherine, you have to believe me.” Lnd hurriedly exined everything to Catherine.


    Catherine said nothing. She stood there, silent, her stillness more unsettling than any outburst could have been.


    Behind her, Belinda let out a cold, derisiveugh. Turning to Bethany, she spoke with feigned earnestness. “Bethany, isn’t this just absurd? If something like this happens, isn’t the logical thing to do to call the authorities?”


    Bethany’s lips curled into a scornful smile as she nced at Lnd with disdain and quipped, “Perhaps Mr. Ruiz believes he’s more valiant than the police! Or maybe he simply relishes ying the hero.”


    Lnd felt his expression stiffen at their ridicule. Just as he was about to defend himself, moans from Hailee pierced through the tension in the air.


    “Lnd! Lnd! Where are you? I feel so ufortable… Please, help me, Lnd…”


    Her voice was cloyingly sweet, dripping with vulnerability.


    Catherine’s demeanor remained unchanged as she turned her gaze toward Lnd. “Mr. Ruiz,” she said coldly, “Hailee is calling for you. You should go and help her. I won’t bother you any longer.”


    With that, she turned on her heel and began to walk away.


    “Catherine!” Lnd blurted out abruptly, reaching out to grasp her hand with urgency. “You have to believe me; I—”


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