Chapter 7
When Hunter heard Ryan make that grinning, sleazy request, his face turned dark.
The cold, detached look in his eyes sharpened into fury, and his voice dropped, low and dangerous.
“Ryan, I’m here to make a serious deal. This isn’t a goddamn joke.”
“I’m serious too,” Ryan replied, still smiling. “You’ve got Ms. Steele. What other kind of woman could catch your eye? It’s just an assistant. What’s the big deal if I take her off your hands? I saw the way her eyes lit up at all that jewelry. Girls clearly have a thing for money. If she comes with me, she’ll never have to worry about a thing for the rest of her life. I get the beauty, you get the jewels for your girlfriend, and she trades a few years of youth for cash. Win–win–win, right?”
With every word coming out of Ryan’s mouth, Hunter’s expression turned darker.
Rage ignited in his chest and roared up in an uncontrollable blaze. Without another word, he lunged forward and smashed his fist into Ryan’s face.
The first blow left him bruised and bleeding, but Hunter didn’t stop. He kept going, landing punch after punch for at least a dozen until he was on the floor, howling in pain, his blood splattering across the marble tiles.
Hunter finally stopped after he’d knocked out Ryan’s teeth and snapped his arm clean at the joint.
He stared coldly at the man curled up on the floor, his voice laced with murderous intent.
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01:130
“From this moment on, every deal between Langdon Group and Mercer Group is over. Done. Finished. Ryan, this is your first and only warning. If you ever so much as look at my assistant again, it won’t just be a broken arm next time. I’ll skin you alive. You’ll wish you were dead, and I’ll make damn sure you won’t get it.”
The venom in his voice was enough to send chills down anyone’s spine. Lena heard every word from behind the wall. Her mind swirled with
memories.
She remembered in her second year of high school, a boy cornered her after class, confessed his feelings, and then tried to force a kiss.
When Hunter found out, he beat that boy so badly that the kid didn’t get out of bed for a month and was ultimately forced to transfer schools.
The next day, Hunter stood in front of the whole school, declaring loudly and proudly.
U
‘Anyone I like, no one else is allowed to touch. Period. Or deal with the consequences.”
Back then, Lena believed he would always stand by her, that he’d be her shelter and protector from the storm.
But now she understood. His umbrella had room for others, too. It had once shielded her, yes. But it could just as easily shield someone else.
She looked at his still–bleeding hand, and a sharp, aching pain pierced her chest like a thousand tiny needles.
Her nose stung, tears threatened to spill, but she tipped her head back, refusing to let them fall.
Just as Hunter turned to leave, ready to return to the auction hall, Lena tried to slip away before he could spot her.
01:13
But Eleanor ran out of the stairwell before she could move and threw herself into his arms.
“Hunter, everyone says I’m just a fling to you. That you’ll dump me when you’re tired. But I know you care about me. Even if I only showed up late in your life, even if I had to play dirty to be with you for these three months, it doesn’t matter because you fell for me. You’d give up everything for me, right? You’d be my man and no one else’s. Isn’t that
true?”
And then Lena watched as Hunter wrapped his arms around Eleanor. Softly, firmly, he answered, “Yes.” In that instant, it was as if the last piece of her shattered heart had turned to dust, scattered, gone, without a
trace.
Numbness spread from her chest to her entire body.
She forced a twisted, painful smile, lowered her head, and quietly blended into the departing crowd.
She caught a cab alone and went home. When she arrived, she saw a message from Hunter sent half an hour earlier.
“Lena, something urgent came up at work. I have to head out now. I need to grab a cab home, okay? I’ve got a business trip over the next few days. Stay home and get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”
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