I couldn't bear to see her struggle, and I didn't want to wound her pride.
So I hid my real identity and invested in her from the shadows. Every executive who owed me a favor, I redirected toward Yolanda, quietly funneling projects her way.
Four years of that, and Morton Corp had grown into something formidable.
But she hadn't even reached the top yet before she'd already mastered the art of pampering her lover and trampling the man who'd built her up.
Fine. At least this way, I had no reason to be soft-hearted anymore.
I didn't surrender. Instead, I whipped my head around and sank my teeth into Nathan's wrist.
He'd been leaning in close to savor my humiliation. He never saw it coming.
Nathan shrieked, shoving at my head with both hands. By the time the bodyguards pried me off, the bite mark on his wrist was deep enough to show bone. He was sobbing, wailing.
"Ms. Morton, he's jealous that you gave me the jade pendant! He did this on purpose to get back at me!"
"You have to stand up for me, or I swear I'll kill myself!"
Yolanda was livid. She drove the point of her stiletto into my stomach.
The pain folded me in half. I collapsed to the ground, every organ inside me feeling like it had been knocked loose.
"Clement, you never learn! Fine. Since you don't appreciate the chance I gave you, Nathan will be the groom instead. He's a thousand times more obedient than you'll ever be!"
"You like biting people? A dog that bites its owner doesn't deserve teeth. Someone hold him down and rip out every last one!"
"No anesthesia. Let him remember this pain so he learns to stay in his place as my side piece and never lays a hand on Nathan again!"
A bodyguard fisted my hair and wrenched my head back, forcing my face upward. My scalp screamed, then went numb.
Nathan's face split into a grin. He mouthed the words silently: You lose.
Another bodyguard pried my jaw open. Cold steel pliers clamped around a tooth.
Before they could pull, a deafening roar erupted overhead.
Ten helicopters materialized out of nowhere, hovering low, their rotors shaking the air itself.
Over a hundred bodyguards in black-and-gold uniforms descended from rope ladders, steel batons holstered at their hips. They fell into formation behind a striking woman whose beauty was matched only by the killing intent carved into her expression.
Nathan stared, slack-jawed, then clapped his hands over his mouth in excitement.
"Ms. Morton, did you hire a performance troupe for my birthday? This is amazing!"
I let the corner of my mouth curl upward, slow and deliberate.
Let's see if you're still smiling when they grind you into the dirt.
