?Chapter 1374:


    The bodyguard obeyed at once, taking the photo and presenting it to Brendon like it was some kind of offering.


    Brendon epted it, his fingers shaking. The moment his eyesnded on the picture, his heart stopped.


    It was Christina.


    His pulse spiked and then plummeted, heavy as a rock sinking to the bottom of his chest. So Christina was the one Darian wanted?


    Sure, he didn’t like Christina. But not enough to see her tortured or killed. No one deserved Darian’s kind of cruelty.


    Christina hadn’t even had the chance to make things right, to face her own mistakes. How could he hand her over to someone like Darian?


    “I want her,” Darian said smoothly, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag before exhaling with clear satisfaction. “Bring her to me, and everything is open for negotiation.”


    Ynda nced at the photo and allowed herself a small, bitter smile.


    She had never imagined Christina, of all people, would catch Darian’s interest.


    This time, Christina was done for. There was no way out. Darian had marked her, and that meant death.


    But then…


    Brendon hesitated, and that hesitation made Ynda’s chest tighten with irritation.


    Christina had humiliated him countless times, treated him like dirt. So why the heck was he still hesitating now?


    Could he actually still care about that wretched woman? The deal on the table was massive, and losing Christina was nothing inparison. And yet, Brendon was still wavering. He should have just agreed; sacrificing Christina should have been a no-brainer.


    Anger red in Ynda’s chest, but when she remembered everything Brendon had done for her, how hard he’d fought to get her that medicine, she forced herself to breathe, to stay calm. She wasn’tpletely happy with Brendon, but he was the only man who had ever genuinely cared about her.


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    For her, Brendon had even stopped caring about his own mother.


    She believed Brendon loved her deeply, so much that she couldn’t pull away, and she wanted to hold on to that feeling.


    After a long pause, Brendon finally said, “Mr. Lloyd, I need to think about it.”


    “Think about it?” Darian asked, his lips curling into a cold sneer. “You do know time doesn’t wait for anyone, right?”


    “I know,” Brendon replied. “But I can’t decide right now. Give me a few days, please.”


    Darian only wanted to test how serious Brendon was and drag him into his own scheme so he couldn’t back outter. Making Brendon go after Christina was a way to test his loyalty and give Darian control over him.


    If Brendon wanted to work with the Lloyds, he had to let go of his so-called “honest” business and get his hands dirty.


    “Fine,” Darian said with a smirk, blowing out a puff of smoke. “I will give you one week.”


    The smoke curled around his face, making his smile look even more sinister.


    “Thank you, Mr. Lloyd,” Brendon said quickly, trying to sound grateful.


    Darian wrapped an arm around the woman at his side, shot his bodyguards azy look, and ordered, “See them out.”


    “Yes, sir!” the bodyguard answered right away.


    Brendon and Ynda were escorted out. In the hallway, sweat clung to their skin, and their legs felt weak beneath them.


    Luckily, since they were in the Morfort Restaurant, Darian couldn’t risk causing a scene.


    If they had said the wrong thing in there, Darian would have had them tied up and tossed into the sea without hesitation.


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