Patti was about to say more, but James had no intention of listening. Now that he had the contract, he considered her useless.


    "Don''t forget what Hawthorne''s wife threatened us with yesterday,” Patti snarled into the phone. "She told me to get a paternity test, remember? What do you think Hawthorne will do to you when he finds out the baby I''m carrying is yours? You used him as aplete fool. Do you think he''ll let you get away with it? And then there''s your monster of a wife. You just wait, you''ll be dead.”


    Patti''s words were spoken in a fit of rage, but they inadvertently reminded James of a crucial point. He was wary of Hawthorne, but he was terrified of his wife. Even with this huge new deal, he wasn''t powerful enough topletely defy her and his father. Patti''s words were a direct threat. James''s heart pounded, and he nearly swerved onto the median. He couldn''t help but curse under his breath.


    "That cheap, drama-loving bitch. How dare she threaten me?"


    He was so angry he wanted to smash his car. He immediately made a call.


    "That''s the situation. Teach that woman a lesson. Let''s see if she keeps running her mouth after this."


    James hung up. Patti was a liability. The child in her belly was a ticking time bomb. If it was confirmed to be his, Hawthorne''s reaction would be one thing, but he dreaded his wife and father finding out. He would be left with nothing. The prenuptial agreement he''d signed with his wife stipted that all her assets remained under her name. That was why James had been so desperate to carve out his own little empire after getting married. He had wed his way to this position, and he wouldn''t let it all be ruined by a tramp like Patti.


    A vicious glint appeared in James''s eyes. The project was secured, and his position with his father was stable. Patti, the pawn, had now be a threat to his status and future. He decided to sever all ties with the bitch and maintain a superficial peace with Hawthorne. Once he was strong enough, he wouldn''t have to fear Hawthorne anymore. But keeping Patti around was like holding onto a live bomb that could detonate at any moment.


    Back in the apartment, Patti was smashing everything in sight. The maid didn''t dare make a sound as Patti, unlike thest time, destroyed everything she could get her hands on, cheap or expensive.


    When Hawthorne arrived, he saw the maid cleaning up the wreckage. A crystal chandelier worth ten thousand dorsy shattered on the floor, ss shards glittering everywhere.


    "What happened here?"


    Hawthorne nced toward the balcony, where Patti sat with disheveled hair, wearing only a white shirt that left her long legs exposed. He walked over tossed a nket onto herp, and asked coldly, "What are you doing now?"


    Was she going on this rampage because he''d told her she didn''t have to pay back


    the three million dors she''d spent?


    "Tell me why, Hawthorne." Patti''s


    expression was verging on


    madness, "Why would James abandon me? Why? You used to like me too but when I came back everything changed. Whien words thate out of you men''s mouths are ever true?"


    Seeing her shattered phone on the floor, Hawthorne guessed what had happened. "There is no why. This is simply the extent of your own value."


    As the maids finished cleaning the room, Hawthorne leaned coolly against the


    balcony railing, his hands in his pockets, his face an emotionless mask as he looked at Patti.


    Patti let out a coldugh. "Value? For


    you men, what makes a woman valuable? We''re all just ythings. Once you''re bored, we''re worthless. Unless we can bring you tangible benefits, like someone like Gwh. You married her for the Langford family, didn''t you? And James''s wife the only reason he won''t divorce herts for his father''s sake I''m right, aren''t I? But my family fell from grace, so to you both, I''m worthless. You just used me and threw me away, never once caring for me."