Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Was Stephanie disgusted with him because of Olivia? Or was it because of that random guy in her apartment? Chris couldn’t help but think.
It suddenly hit Chris that maybe, just maybe, Stephanie wasn’t interested in marrying him at all.
The thought of “not interested” was like a fist to the chest. It made it hard to breathe.
He grabbed her wrist tight and commanded, “Come with me.”
Stephanie snapped, “Leave me alone!”
Chris whipped around. The moment their eyes locked, he saw nothing but icy cold in hers.
“You want to end up like Tyler?” Stephanie’s stared at him, voice completely void of warmth. “Need a ride to the hospital?*
Chris froze, his expression hardening.
Before he could respond, Macro stepped in, grabbing Chris‘ wrist with precision. “Mr. Ashford, you better let Stefi go
“Who the hell are you?” Chris growled.
First, there was some guy with a gun at Cloudridge Valley last night, and now another one? This was totally out of his mind.
But when Chris finally registered Macro’s face, his eyes widened in shock.
He recognized Macro. This was the guy–the world–renowned heart surgeon from Fiorenza.
He knew Macro mysteriously quit his medical career two years ago, but his name still carried a lot of weight.
…I’m not important,” Macro said coolly. “But if you keep holding her like that, I’ll make sure you’ll be in big trouble tonight.”
Macro’s words came out in a smooth, deadly tone, his eyes narrowing with cold precision. Even Chris couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.
On
One by one, Chris slowly released his grip Stephanie’s wrist.
Once she was free, Stephanie was quickly pulled behind Macro, who gave her a quick, reassuring look.
“Are you alright?” Macro asked.
Stephanie massaged her sore wrist, her expression nonchalant. “I’m fine.”
Macro shot Chris a cold glance, then turned to Stephanie with warm smile and continued, “Did you eat?”
Stephanie blinked. She just took a small bite on the cake.
But honestly, after seeing this mess, she wasn’t in the mood to eat anymore. She nodded reluctantly. “Yeah.”
“Good. Let’s get out of here. The air in this place is toxic,” said Macro.
He took her arm gently and led her out of the chaos. Everyone in the room stood there, dumbfounded. Chris, in particular, couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
What was going on between Macro and Stephanie? Chris‘ mind spun.
And what about that guy last night at Cloudridge Valley with the gun? He clearly wasn’t a nobody. Was Stephanie trying to
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Chapter 40
make an escape plan, stacking backup after backup like this?
Chris couldn’t deny that if so, Stephanie was playing the game like a pro–lining up one heavy hitter after another.
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Meanwhile, Tyler was still sprawled on the floor, groaning in pain from Stephanie’s brutal kick. He wasn’t getting up anytime
3000
Upstairs. Sebastian and Jackson were coming down the stairs when they saw the chaos near the dessert station.
The chaos gave Jackson a headache. His family was hosting the event, and he’d designed every detail himself, but now this? This was not what he was expecting.
He remembered while he was talking business with Sebastian, an assistant rushed in with the report: his sister Lilian had gotten into it with Stephanie.
Sebastian’s face immediately darkened at that time. Without saying a word, he stood up to leave.
Was he worried this would reflect badly on the Hodge family’s reputation? As the thought crossed his mind, Jackson grew irritated.
Sebastian took a quick look at the scene downstairs, but he didn’t see either Macro or Stephanie.
“It’s nothing serious, Mr. Giovanni,” Jackson sighed, trying to stir the topic. “Lilian doesn’t really know how to behave herself. Let’s head back and finish the contract…”
“Mr. Hodge, Sebastian cut him off. “If you can’t even handle your own family, we need to rethink this collaboration.”
Jackson froze. He didn’t understand what their family drama have to do with the business deal.
Before he could process the situation, Sebastian was already marching downstairs. Jackson was left standing there, completely lost.
The ambulance arrived shortly after, carting off Tyler. Lilian was ready to follow him.
But Jackson grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Tyler was beat up by Stephanie! I’m going to the hospital with him.” Lilian replied.
As Tyler’s recognized girlfriend, she believed she had every right to go with him. But Jackson was sick of Lilian and had no respect for the Hart family.
That Olivia was all show and no substance enough. He couldn’t figure out how Lilian got mixed up with those people.
Now that Tyler was hurt, it wasn’t hard for Jackson to guess: Stephanie had finally snapped.
Seeing Lilian rushing to leave, Jackson’s anger flared. “Where do you think you’re going?” he yelled. “Go back to your room! You’re embarrassing the whole family!”
“What are you talking about?” Lilian shot back. “Let go of me!”
Jackson sighed and turned to the butler, “Derek, take Lilian to her room.”
The butler immediately stepped forward and nodded, “Yes, Mr. Hodge.”
Lilian panicked when she realized Jackson was serious. “What are you doing?” she refused to go upstairs and was determined to go to the hospital.
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Chapter 40
Jackson shot her a warning glare. “We’ll talk later.”
With that, he stormed out, leaving Lilian fuming.
Sebastian had finally come to Long Harbor and agreed Jackson was furious.
to meet with him–now Lilian was making everything a mess.
Behind him, the scene was turning into complete chaos. Derek, worried about Jackson’s temper, finally had people drag Lilian back upstairs.
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Inside the car, the tension was palpable.
Sebastian’s face was stormy, while Stephanie sat quietly beside him, not daring to speak.
“Did they bully you?” Sebastian glanced at her.
“No, they didn’t,” Stephanie replied, shaking her head.
Macro chimed in quickly, “I can vouch for her. She wasn’t bullied.”
After all, who in their right mind would dare to bully Stephanie? The woman was tough enough to send a guy to the hospital.
But Sebastian’s face remained as dark as ever, until Both Stephanie’s and his phones rang at the same time. One from Ella, and one from Jackson.
“Hey Ella,” Stephanie picked up the phone.
“Stefi, are you okay?” asked Ella, her voice filled with concern.
She was really wondering how Stephanie ended up leaving with Macro.
Macro was internationally famous, far more well–known than Allison. How did Stephanie know someone like him? Ella was
curious.
“No worries, I’ll take you for some Mexican dish tomorrow.” Stephanie quickly ended the call, saying, “I need to go now.”
Sebastian, however, didn’t pick up his call. When he heard Stephanie take the call and even mention dining out, his face darkened.
Jackson called again, and without a second thought, Sebastian hung up and blocked the number.
“I really wasn’t bullied. Can you stop looking at me like that?” Stephanie muttered.
Sebastian’s voice was as cold as ever. “Really?”
“Really,” Stephanie said firmly.
Sebastian let out a frustrated grunt. “Is this how you’ve been dealing with things all these years?”
Stephanie went quiet.
His words hit a little too close to home. He was right. This was how she’d been handling things.
People always said that in life, you’ve got to take a hit to gain love and support. She pondered. Maybe the reason so many people didn’t like her was because she couldn’t stand being walked all over.
