?Chapter 6:


    Caught between irritation and embarrassment, Ste shot him a look, her flushed face only making her more striking. “Mr. Briggs, I already apologized for itst night.”


    William’s throat moved as he swallowed, almost involuntarily.


    The memory of her on hisp—moving the way she did—shed vividly through his mind. His fingers twitched slightly by his side, rubbing together as if recalling the sensation.


    “Still out clubbing at a time like this, Ms. Russell? You really ought to start taking better care of yourself.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and walked off.


    Ste stood frozen, mortified and seething. Watching him walk away so casually made her want tosh out, but all she could do was tighten her grip on the coat and storm back to her office.


    Thankfully, Lainey had been pulled into a meeting with Mr. Gibson and wasn’t around. Without wasting another second, Ste grabbed her phone and bag and hurried out of the institute.


    She found a mall nearby, bought a set of casual clothes, and finally got out of her ruined pants.


    It wasn’t until she’d changed and calmed down a bit that she noticed—William’s coat had blood on it too.


    Even if it hadn’t been stained, she knew she couldn’t clean and return it properly. There was no question—she’d just rece it with a new one. She checked thebel for the brand and drove straight to the gship store in the city.


    But the moment she parked, her phone lit up—it was Marc calling.


    She rejected the call, but he kept calling again and again. It was clear he wasn’t nning to stop until she picked up.


    Not wanting to be dragged into another pointless argument, Ste blocked his number without hesitation.


    Inside the store, she asked one of the staff about the coat and was told that it was custom-made. There weren’t any off-the-rack versions.


    She had no idea what his exact measurements were, and a custom piece would take at least two weeks—time she didn’t have. “Please find me something close in style and price,” she said.


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    Once she got the recement, she headed home, thinking Marc was probably still off with Haley. But the moment she stepped into the living room, she froze. There he was—sitting on the couch, looking stormy and tense. His ck shirt was half undone, exposing the sharp line of his corbone, and the moment his eyesnded on her, that cold, piercing stare weighed down on her like a storm ready to break.


    “Why weren’t you answering my calls?”


    His ming tone actually made herugh.


    “Weren’t you off charming the heiress for investment deals? I wouldn’t dare interrupt such an important moment.”


    “When did you start talking like this?” Marc snapped, clearly annoyed, as he got up and moved toward her—maybe to calm her down. But then his eyesnded on the coat she was carrying. It was obviously a man’s—oversized and not hers. The fury in Marc’s eyes red up without warning. “Who does that coat belong to?”


    When she got back earlier, Ste had noticed that the shopping bag was far too big and shy—bringing it to the institute would only raise unnecessary questions. So, she tossed it.


    But now, she stood there holding the coat inly in her arms.


    She didn’t feel like exining.


    “Why does it matter to you whose coat this is? You’ve got your woman—so I can have my man. Everything you did with Haley, I’m allowed to do too, right? Isn’t that fair?”


    “Ste!” The mere idea of her in another man’s arms sent rage boiling through him. His hand shot out, gripping her wrist tightly, his knuckles pale, and veins straining across his forehead. “I don’t care how angry or hurt you are! Don’t you dare say that to provoke me.”


    Having known him for nearly a decade, Ste hade to believe she knew him better than anyone.


    And in this moment, through his fury and jealousy, she could clearly feel it—his love for her.


    But that so-called love felt twisted and filthy—something that made her sick to her stomach.


    “I’m not joking,” she said coldly. “Whatever you did with Haley, I’ve done with someone else too.”


    Her wrist throbbed in pain as Marc’s grip tightened, like he meant to crush the bones.


    She winced from the pain but didn’t pull away.


    Her heart had already been crushed—there was nothing left to protect. So why should Marc and Haley get to move on as if nothing happened?


    Just a few sharp words, and he was already losing control?


    Had he ever once stopped to think what it felt like for her to find out about him and Haley?


    Marc locked eyes with her, desperate to find a crack in her words, something to prove she was lying.


    But he found nothing.


    Her gaze was so unnervingly calm that it rattled him to the core.


    “You can’t do this to me, Ste,” he muttered, beforepletely losing control and yanking her onto the sofa, pressing her down beneath him.


    His kisses burned against her neck, but the scent of someone else’s perfume clung to him, and it wasn’t hers.


    Ste felt as if something slimy and cold was wrapping around her, making her skin crawl.


    Marc seemed to have lost control. His movements were harsh and forceful. Infuriated by her resistance, he gripped her chin and bit her lips roughly. “Did that man kiss you? Touch you? Ste, you’re mine. If you ever let someone else put a hand on you, I swear, I’ll make you regret it.”


    The sharp clink of a belt buckle being unfastened rang in her ears like a siren.


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