Chapter 68
Eddy’s lips came crashing down toward Blanche’s, but she turned her head away, evading his kiss.
He pressed his mouth instead to the delicate curve of her neck, leaving harsh, possessive marks on her pale skin, as if branding her as his own.
With a rough tug, he tore her dress apart, his hands tracing the elegant line of her back, gliding down to her thigh. He hoisted her leg around his
waist.
But just as suddenly, he stopped.
Through it all, Blanche hadn’t made a sound.
Inside the Rolls-Royce, the silence was suffocating.
Eddy, his anger still simmering, looked up to see Blanche collapsed against the seat, her hair disheveled, her clothes in disarray, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were hollow, lifeless, like a porcelain doll that had been broken-beautiful, but utterly shattered.
He had never seen her like this, so empty, as if she’d given up on the
whole world.
Panic seized him. He pulled her into his arms and wiped away her tears. “Blanche, I’m so sorry,” he murmured.
She was pregnant, her health fragile, and yet he had almost forced himself on her like some kind of monster.
The realization made him want to slap himself. If only she would forgive him. “I just love you so much,” he whispered desperately.
“I saw you alone with another man, speaking so intimately. You even agreed to go to his launch event. I couldn’t help myself-I was jealous. Blanche, you’re mine. Only mine.”
“Please, promise me you won’t go to that launch. Don’t see him again.
Chapter 68
Please?”
He clung to her tightly, pressing her face against his chest, as if he could keep her from slipping away. But his heartfelt confession only left her feeling even more barren inside.
He loved her so much, yet he’d slept with her half-sister.
He loved her so much, yet knowing how much she longed for another child, he’d secretly given her birth control.
He loved her so much, yet he lied to her again and again.
How could he possibly call this love?
It wasn’t love. It was obsession. He wanted to cage her, keep her bound to him with vows and marriage, strip her of freedom until she could only survive by clinging to him.
Meanwhile, he roamed free outside the prison he’d built for her, doing whatever he pleased.
This was never love-not truly.
Blanche pushed Eddy away. He didn’t dare stop her, letting her slip from his arms and move to the window seat.
She stared out at the city lights, her gaze cold and distant, refusing to
look at him even once.
For Eddy, that silent rejection was torture-worse than any wound.
The driver started the car, and finally Blanche spoke, her voice steady but ice-cold. “I’m not going to Simmons Manor. Take me to the apartment my
mother left me.”
She was furious, and Eddy knew better than to argue.
He shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders, his dark eyes full of regret and longing.
Half an hour later, they arrived at her mother’s apartment. Blanche left Eddy standing outside and shut the door in his face.
But she knew he wouldn’t leave.
He’d already sent staff to clean the place. The spacious living room was lined with photos of Blanche at sixteen, every corner lovingly arranged by her mother-a shrine to Blanche’s childhood.
She locked herself in the bathroom. Scalding water ran over her skin, washing away the traces of Eddy’s touch, the heat of his kisses still burning, branding her as his.
But she didn’t belong to anyone—not anymore. She belonged to herself.
After her shower, Blanche logged onto The Simmons Group’s internal website and found the latest investment deal from the business department. She dialed the manager.
“Ma’am?!” The manager’s voice trembled.
“It’s good you know who I am,” Blanche said coldly. “Cancel the investment in Prosperity Holdings.” Prosperity Holdings-Pollock’s
company.
The manager hesitated. “Ma’am, may I ask why? Mr. Simmons personally approved this deal. If I cancel it without a reason, I’ll have no way to explain to him—”
“Remove The Anderson Group from the Al Smart Parking project’s bidding. Cancel all cooperation with The Marshall Group.”
She offered no explanation, only one ruthless order after another. The manager on the other end sounded as if his brain was about to short-circuit.
