?Chapter 1240:


    He was sure that Davina, from a small town, couldn’t possibly offer much, and five times her worth should buy these people’s loyalty.


    And once that happened, Terence promised himself he’d make Davina regret ever defying him.


    “You’re actually taking their side?” Davina’s voice trembled with fury, her teeth clenched as hatred shed like lightning in her icy eyes.


    She tried to yank her hand free, but Ralphy’s grip only tightened around her wrist.


    “Why would I ever help them?” he said with a low, helplessugh. Behind the ck mask, a dangerous spark lit his gaze, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly—dark, steady, andced with quiet menace.


    They had dared toy hands on the woman he loved, and he was fighting to keep from tearing them apart.


    “Then why are you stopping me?” Her voice wavered, tinged with a pain that sounded almost like betrayal.


    “I didn’t want you hurting your hand.” Ralphy’s tone softened as he lifted her delicate fingers, rubbing them gently between his palms.


    Her skin was flushed red, and a frown shadowed his face.


    “See? You’ve already bruised yourself,” he murmured. Then his eyes, cold and sharp beneath the mask, snapped toward the others.


    “Hit them,” he said icily.


    Two bodyguards stepped forward in perfect sync and struck the Murray couple across their faces—hard.


    “Smack.”


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    “Smack.”


    The sound of each blow sliced through the air, brutal and echoing, making every heart in the room tremble. Terence and Nelly saw stars dancing before their eyes. Each time they tried to speak, another p silenced them midword.


    “The next time you want someone pped,” Ralphy said while gently massaging Davina’s sore hand, “let your guards handle it. You don’t need to dirty your hands.”


    If she injured herself again, he knew he’d be the one to ache for her.


    “But I wanted to do it myself. It helps me feel better,” she muttered softly, her lips forming a faint pout, her tone touched with stubborn defiance.


    Ralphy paused for a brief moment before saying, “Wait here.”


    He turned and walked away, his movements calm andposed. Davina’s eyes followed his tall figure as her heartbeat stumbled into a quickened rhythm.


    In that moment, she knew she had fallen for himpletely.


    Yet the ghosts of her past still haunted her. Her family had left traumas too deep to heal. She feared bing her mother—broken, betrayed, destroyed by love.


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