She was afraid of giving herself away, so her first stop was a beauty salon, where she had all the love bites on her skin expertly concealed. Then, she made an appointment for a hymenoplasty later that day.
Last time hadn’t worked, but she refused to give up.
Sliding into her own car, Marina pulled off her hat, scarf, gloves, and sunglasses, then took a deep breath.
She needed to be ready for the next time.
No matter when Jonathan finally decided to touch her, she had to make sure she was a virgin.
She picked up her phone and checked her calls.
No missed calls.
It had been two days since she’d drugged him, yet Jonathan hadn’t called her once. Not a single message on WhatsApp, either.
A sense of dread settled in her chest.
More than once, she almost called him herself.
But every time she picked up her phone, she lost her nerve and set it down again.
After all, both she and Jonathan had been drugged that night. If she reached out to explain, it would only make her look more suspicious.
Still, the fact that Jonathan had left her alone after what happened–that was enough to make anyone angry.
But Marina worried that if she started a standoff, it would become real, and then there’d be no way back.
She sat, wracked with indecision, her thoughts a tangled mess.
Suddenly, her phone rang in her hand.
Startled, heart pounding with hope, she glanced at the screen-
It wasn’t Jonathan.
Disappointment washed over her as she answered the call.
It was Joker, calling to say he was leaving Aldenville.
1/2
14:40
Chapter
Or, more precisely-
He was leaving Aldonia altogether.
“Oh, and just so you know–too many hymen repairs, and it starts to show..” he
added with a mocking edge.
Marina’s face darkened.
“Spare me your concern.”
“Fair enough. It’s not like Jonathan’s ever going to touch you anyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” she snapped, her anger boiling over.
It was bad enough she’d failed to drug Jonathan and Joker had taken advantage; now Jonathan was ignoring her, and Joker was rubbing salt in the wound.
“Listen, Joker, we’re in this together. If I go down, you’re going with me!”
Silence fell on the other end.
The pause dragged on so long, Marina felt a twinge of unease.
“Marina…” Joker’s voice finally came through, cool and unhurried as ever.
“Don’t forget what you promised me… If you fail to become Mrs. Thomas, then to me, you’re…”
Useless.
The call ended abruptly. Marina shivered.
The Sapphire Fork.
Niamh arrived at the private dining room as arranged.
She’d just received a call from Jonathan while standing outside Harmony Senior Residence.
He’d said he wanted to meet in person to discuss her uncle Bagot.
Niamh wasn’t sure how Jonathan had found out about Bagot–maybe Bagot had managed to contact him directly, bypassing her.
Either way, Bagot had made enough trouble to land himself in front of Jonathan.
Niamh decided this might not be a bad thing.
Right now, Jonathan was feeling the pressure from Sprague and was trying to use her current popularity to boost The Thomas Group.
14:40
Chapter 288
Bagot’s sudden appearance might force Jonathan to reevaluate her value.
If Jonathan wanted to avoid being hounded by a leech like Bagot, the smartest thing would be to get to city hall and finalize the divorce as soon as possible.
Niamh had already mapped out her negotiation strategy, but when she opened the door to the private suite, she was surprised to find that the person waiting inside wasn’t Jonathan.
Chapter 289
Chapter 289
