Dangerous Love: You Are My One and Only Bride novel Chapter 358

An unwanted hand snaked around her waist suddenly before the middle-aged man’s breathy voice loomed close to Tiffany’s ear, “That kind of sleaze won’t give you the time of their day, my dear. But I will. I know girls like you very well, like the back of my hand. You’re all looking for a sugar daddy, aren’t you? How about I be direct with ya—let’s spend some time together tonight. If you make me a happy man, I’ll make you a happy woman, starting from a luxury apartment.”

Tiffany’s face twisted into a glower a split second before she decked the man’s face hard. As a stark, scarlet handprint surfaced on his cheek, she shrieked hotly, “Fat chance if I’ll sleep with a disgusting horndog like you!”

Their altercation silenced the room instantly; every pair of eyes was now turned to the pair. At a distance, the conversational smile on Jackson’s face froze before he approached them quickly, “What’s the matter?”

The look on the middle-aged man’s face was of one desperately evading scrutiny. “M-Mr. West! N-n-nothing’s happened! I was just pulling her legs… Is she a friend of yours, by any chance?”

Shadows crossed into Ethan’s eyes. Silently, he shuffled his half-started step back to himself. At the same time, Jackson tilted his head slightly and bristled, “The door’s over there.”

The middle-aged man’s face was bright red. Too embarrassed to stay, he glumly dashed out of the banquet.

Tiffany was not any less embarrassed. After all, she had come to the party as Jackson’s companion, yet she ended up causing a scene. “God, how much longer are we going to stay here? I don’t wanna be here anymore,” she whined.

Jackson combed her silky hair with his fingers and replied gently, “Give me ten more minutes. Don’t worry, just stick close to me.”

Blushes — red enough to raise eyebrows — stained her cheeks. She snaked her hand to an elusive spot on his arm and gave a meaningful pinch. “You better not try to take advantage of me, bigshot,” she growled through clenched teeth. “Touch me like that again, and I’ll have you for breakfast.”

Jackson could only mask his annoyance under an “everything-is-fine” look. Drawing her hand into a hook around his arm, he said, “Let’s just go.”

Jackson brought Tiffany back to his spot before the commotion, and the men resumed their discussion. Ethan stood to Tiffany’s left, but she avoided his eyes by staring at her shoes.

She fidgeted with Jackson’s sleeves to stave off her self-consciousness, but the more she felt Ethan’s gaze, the less she wanted to raise her head.

Then, out of the blue, she heard Ethan announce, “I still have some matters to attend to tonight. Please, carry on without me.” With that, he turned and headed for the entrance.

Barely ten minutes later (or possibly only about five), Jackson fulfilled his promise, as he too abandoned the conversation. “Excuse me as well, lads. There’s somewhere else I need to be,” he declared.

Tiffany was nonplussed. “I thought you said ten more minutes?”

“Ten minutes as the max, really. Pragmatically, it’s not so different to end this within ten minutes and at the tenth minute. Look, weren’t you whining about leaving just a few moments ago? Can you appreciate me being considerate for once?”

She rolled her eyes. “Quit bullsh*tting and pay up.”

Bringing up Tiffany’s payment was a sign that the pair’s cooperation — and this conversation — had ended. Tiffany resigned to silence, leaning her head on the headset and closing her eyes.

When the car stopped downstairs, she kicked her heels off and lifted it in her hands, opting to head back into her residence bare-footed. Jackson watched her fading out of his sight before driving away. En route, he called a number.

“The thing’s with me. Come and collect it and send it in for examination ASAP. I’m certain that it belongs to Ethan Connor.”

-

Jude Tremont was incarcerated a month later.

It was the kind of news people would dance to, yet Arianne felt unnerved by it. Somehow, she had the nagging feeling that Mark had something to do with it, especially when he had made it clear that he never wanted to see Jude ever again.

Mary informed Arianne that Jude was sentenced to life imprisonment for a slew of appalling crimes over twenty years. He had two rape allegations, five violent assault cases that severely crippled other parties, as well as a list of several gambling frauds and illegal prostitution. Jude had committed them before the Tremonts had expulsed him, but the cops had been keeping tabs.

What finally landed Jude to a lifetime of prison, however, were the crimes he had done after the family disowned him. He had his hands on every sickening crime under the sun, but most of all, he had extorted Mark for a hundred million dollars.