<b>Chapter </b><b>177 </b>
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“What <b>were </b>you about to say?” Jessica asked Reba after they’d stepped away from <b>all </b><b>the </b>chaos.
“Nothing,” Reba said, swallowing whatever she’d been about to say. “You didn’t get hit<b>, </b>did you<b>?</b>”
Even after checking, she still felt uneasy because of what Jeffrey said earlier.
“Nope, just gave me a scare,” Jessica replied carelessly. She nced over <b>as </b>security kicked the drunks <b>out</b>. “Next time, let’s just go straight to a private room. The crowd’s fun, but you never know when <b>someone’s </b>going to go crazy.”
Reba nodded. The two of them stayed at the bar for another half hour before heading out.
Before they left, Reba downed the untouched ss of lemon juice on the table, hoping the sourness <b>would </b>wash away the lingering dread from Jeffrey’s message.
“You-” Jessica stared at her, startled. “You’re really tough.”
Reba set the ss down. “Let’s go. I’ll drive you home.”
Jessica followed her out. She’d had a few drinks, so she let Reba take the wheel.
On the ride back, Jessica nced at Reba’s serious face lit by the dashboard lights. Then she tapped out a quick text to Ian–saved as “Mr. Asshole” in her phone: [Got anything yet?]
Ian replied almost instantly: [Easier said than done.]
So far, he still hadn’t figured out which doctor Andrea had seen. All he had was a vague lead pointing to Jsburg University Hospital.
Jessica: [Reba’s not doing well. She didn’t tell me what happened, but she chugged more than one ss <b>of </b>fresh lemon juice.]
Ian sent her a string of question marks.
<b>Jessica</b><b>: </b>[Hurry up and find something. Stop cking.]
Ian: [Got it.]
Then he quickly added: [I’m not cking.]
After they finished texting, <b>Jessica </b>tucked her phone away and, pretending to be careless, asked Reba, ‘So, is all that lemon juice <b>because </b>Jeffrey’s been annoying you again?”
Reba brushed it off. “Hey, <b>it’s </b>just us tonight–let’s not bring anyone else <b>into </b><b>our </b>little <b>world</b><b>. </b>
From that reaction alone, <b>Jessica </b>could <b>pretty </b>much <b>guess </b><b>what </b><b>had </b><b>gone </b><b>down</b>. <b>But </b><b>since </b>Reba didn’t <b>to </b>talk, she wasn’t about to <b>press</b>.
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Half an hourter, after dropping Jessica off, Reba drove back home to Reba’s Manor
She got out of the car and headed straight upstairs to the study. When she pushed the door open, she saw Jeffrey working on hisptop. He looked up from his screen and paused what he was doing<b><i>, </i></b>“Hey, you’re back Had a good time?”
Reba mmed her phone down on the desk, the screen showing the message he’d sent her earlier,
“What’s this about?” Jeffrey asked.
“Did you set up that fight at the bar? Reba cut straight to the point.
Jeffrey didn’t deny it. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.
“Did you know that Jessica almost got hurt?” Reba snapped, her temper ring at his indifference toward other people’s safety. “She hasn’t done anything to annoy you, so why did you have to pull something like that?”
Jeffrey’s gaze stayed indifferent. “You know why.”
Reba felt a suffocating frustration. She could tell he truly didn’t care if Jessica got hurt.
“Normally, I deal with people the first time they break the rules,” Jeffrey said slowly. <b>“</b>But you’re different<b>. </b>I was willing to give you time to adjust. And you?”
To him, since she had signed the agreement, she was bound to follow it.
“Come here,” Jeffrey said, his voice cool.
Reba stood her ground, forcing herself to hold back her anger.
“You’re smart,” Jeffrey looked at her, his words like a knife against her throat. “You don’t want today’s ident turning real, do you?”
That one sentence shattered the faint goodwill Reba had started to feel toward him. She gave a bitterugh inwardly before finally stepping toward him.
“As long as you stay by my side, I can give you anything you want.” Jeffrey pulled her onto hisp, taking her
cold hands in his. <fn2008> Fresh chapters posted on Find★Novel</fn2008>
Reba said nothing, but her silence didn’t bother him.
His gaze lingered on her distant, almost emotionless face, and as his hand slid to her waist, he asked, “May I?”
Reba couldn’t even bring herself to answer. She knew she had no choice. If she went against him, he would use her friends as leverage.
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as a yes.” Jeffrey’s warm fingertips traced up her skin while his other hand held the back of her head. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her lips.
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Jeffrey’s touch was gentle. He knew her body well, every casual move brushing against her sensitive spots.
But Reba resisted him so much that the moment his lips touched hers, she gagged reflexively.
She shot up from hisp almost instantly. Nothing came out, but the retching wouldn’t stop.
Watching her bent over the trash can, gagging again and again, Jeffrey’s eyes darkened. He hadn’t expected her to reject him like this.
“It’s a physical reaction. I can’t control it,” Reba said tly after the gagging subsided. “If you still want to have sex, wait until I’ve dealt with it. I just hope you don’t hurt my friends.”
Her words struck something in Jeffrey. “In your eyes, am I really the kind of man who ignores your will?”
“Yes,” Reba replied without a second thought.
Before today, she might have been able to look past his mask and see the real him underneath. But now, that side of him waspletely gone to her.
All she knew now was his constant threats and how he always forced her into things, never giving a damn about her own wishes, just to get what he wanted.
As for whatever kindness he had shown, it was nothing more than a means to an end. He only wanted her <b>to </b>willinglye back to him and ept his original offer–to provide for Andrea with his money.
And if she refused, he would find a way to force her. Just like the threat today.
“Then go take a shower. Wait for me in the bedroom afterward,” Jeffrey said. He wanted to see how far a stubborn woman like her would go.
“I’ll do what you ask, and I expect you to keep your word too.” Reba no longer cared. Sooner orter, she would leave this ce. “Don’t go back on your promise.”
Jeffrey’s gaze darkened further. “If you keep your end, I’ll keep mine.”
Reba nodded. “Alright.”
She left the room without another word.
Back in the master bedroom, she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The moment the cold water hit her skin, goosebumps rose all over her body.
The intimacy she once shared with Jeffrey when they were in love was nothing like this. Back then, she had enjoyed it; now she despised it.
She forced down the disgust in her chest, trying to convince herself that Jeffrey was just a rent boy. Only with that thought could she push through the nausea and endure what wasing.
But when the moment actually came, whether she could truly suppress the revulsion was another matter.
Meanwhile, in the study, Jeffrey was reying his exchange with Reba. He rubbed his temples, feeling a
9:01 Tue, Sep 30
twinge of regret for the mean words he had thrown at her.
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Their fragile rtionship had barely begun to ease, and now it might have slid right back into a deadlock because of what he’d said.
With that thought, he rose and headed to the master bedroom. Hearing the sound of running water, he stopped at the door and knocked.
AD
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