Chapter 1858:


    Before Brendon could catch his breath, they had him off the ground. Momentster, the lid of a nearby rubbish bin swung open, and he was deposited inside with brisk efficiency. The lid mmed shut above him.


    The smell hit him immediately — dense, putrid, inescapable. It seemed to seep into his skin. His stomach lurched, and he retched helplessly in the dark.


    Brendon retched for a long while. When it was finally over, he hauled himself out of the rubbish bin, reeking and unsteady.


    He raised a hand to wipe his face, but the smell clinging to his skin set him gagging all over again. He stood there, choking and furious, ring at the front gates of the Jones estate.


    He couldn’t understand why Christina kept refusing him. In his mind, if she would simply stop being so stubborn ande back, he would overlook everything — even the trouble she had caused with Dn. He had even considered arranging for her to be quietly moved abroad for her own safety.


    He retched again, but the resolve hardening inside him only grew stronger. He swore to himself that he would find a way to bring Christina back.


    She had once loved himpletely and done everything he asked. He refused to ept that those feelings were truly gone. He told himself she was simply ying hard to get — testing him, making him work for it. The more she pushed him away, the more certain he became.


    He staggered off, still fighting his stomach, turning the problem over in his mind.


    The only real leverage he had over Christina was Bethel. But he hadn’t seen the old woman since she left the hospital — she had simply disappeared. He had been lurking outside the estate for days hoping to catch a glimpse of either of them, and Bethel had not stepped outside once. He knew Christina listened to Bethel above almost anyone. If he could find a way to use Bethel’s influence, he believed Christina would eventually relent.


    Beyond the personal, there was the business to consider. Christina was sharp, resourceful, and brilliant with money. When she had been his wife, she had smoothed over problems before they could be crises. The Dawson Group was struggling —petitors were picking off his clients, and it galled him that even a modest firm like Lumina Haven Group was managing to poach his customers. With Christina by his side, he was certain all of it would resolve itself.


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    The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that letting her go had been the worst mistake of his life.


    Inside the Jones estate, Christina found the photo album Bethel had been asking after.


    Now that Bethel was getting older, she treasured her memories more than almost anything else. Christina turned the pages slowly, and the years unfolded before her — Bethel as a young woman, bright-eyed and luminous, standing beside Karl in photograph after photograph.


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