A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 674

Rex clicked his tongue, annoyance practically radiating from his sharp features. He narrowed his eyes, catching Asher giving him a half-provocative, polite smile.

Instead of addressing Rex, Asher turned back to Tanya. "I haven't seen them in a long time either. Do you want to go back in with me?"

Heh.

A faint, mocking smirk touched Rex's lips. He stood there, fully expecting Asher to get shot down.

"Sure."

To Rex's disbelief, the woman who had just stormed out of that chaotic hospital room agreed without hesitation.

The smirk froze on Rex's face. When he finally spoke, his voice dripped with pure sarcasm. "Haven't you been screamed at enough for one day?"

Hearing that, Tanya's blood ran cold.

Until this moment, she hadn't been entirely sure how long he had been standing outside the door.

She had tried to convince herself he only caught the very end of the argument.

But now, she knew the truth. He had heard almost everything.

He had heard Silas call her a cold-blooded, ungrateful wretch.

He had heard Silas accuse Sheila of sleeping around to fund a lover.

He had heard Silas call her mother a bitch.

Those repulsive insults were nothing more than her father's daily vocabulary.

No wonder the Wilkinson family had looked down on her back then.

A bitter lump formed in her throat, but she forced a bright smile onto her face. "Do you even call that being scolded? Mr. Rex, you really need to get out more. For someone like me, that's just a normal Tuesday."

She had grown up suffocating under those words.

Back in high school, when she refused to hand over her meager weekend paycheck, they had pointed right in her face and called her a little slut.

Tanya didn't miss the deep frown of confusion that crossed Rex's face. A sudden wave of relief washed over her, and she gave a genuine, dismissive laugh before turning to Asher. "Let's go in."

She and Rex were never from the same world.

He walked on paved, golden highways; she had to crawl across broken glass just to survive.

Asher's eyes softened. "Yeah."

Laurel just gave him a slow, unimpressed look. "If you had gone in, were you planning to stand there and get cursed out with her, or were you planning to pay off her brother's debt?"

Rex froze.

He fell silent for a moment. "Throwing money at a debt like that is useless. It needs to be handled permanently."

But 'permanent' solutions were usually reserved for enemies. He had no idea if Tanya would ever accept him crossing that line.

"Instead of standing around guessing, why don't you just ask Tanya what she wants?"

Laurel added, "She's an incredibly capable woman. She knows what she's doing."

"..."

Rex had no comeback.

He wanted to ask.

But she clearly didn't want to say a damn word to him.

Laurel stared at him, driving the knife in deep. "She just doesn't want anything to do with you, does she?"