BANG! The door was kicked open!
The three people in the room all turned their heads.
The two men said nothing, stepping aside respectfully. As for Paige Summers, seeing the proud, all-too-familiar figure standing in the doorway, she could only press her lips together tightly to keep from losing her composure.
"You can’t even handle a simple thing like this?" Marcus Monroe stepped into the living room, his sharp gaze sweeping over his two subordinates, yet deliberately avoiding Paige Summers’s stare.
The younger one stood there, momentarily speechless. ’Don’t you know your own woman and how stubborn she is? If we could actually talk her out of it, you’d be the one getting anxious!’
The older one was more perceptive. He discreetly tugged his partner’s sleeve while replying in a low voice, "Yes. This subordinate has failed. I will go accept my punishment!"
Marcus Monroe gave a heavy grunt of acknowledgment and said no more.
Before the younger one could figure out what was happening, he was dragged out.
"We have to get punished for this? You go if you want, but I’d rather die than go to the Punishment Hall!"
"Keep your voice down, you idiot!"
"I’m practically whispering! How much quieter can I get?"
"Then shut up! Don’t ruin the boss’s cool and handsome image, or you really will end up in the Punishment Hall!"
"..."
The voices faded into the distance until it was completely quiet.
Paige Summers’s heavy mood was unexpectedly lightened a little by the conversation between the two goofballs outside. The last line, in particular, gave her a more "profound" understanding of the cold expression currently on the man’s face.
However, she suddenly turned her head to look at the clock on the wall, and her anxiety returned.
It was almost time for the tutoring session. If she didn’t go this time, she would undoubtedly miss her best chance! If she rescheduled, something might change!
She gritted her teeth and looked up at him. "I know you mean well, and I know they’re difficult to deal with, but right now, I have to go. We can talk about everything else when I get back!"
With that, she strode toward the door.
But before she could even touch the handle, her arm was yanked back. The force compelled her to turn and face him, now standing right in front of her.
Marcus Monroe’s eyes had turned incredibly dark.
"Do you not understand me? You can’t go!"
Paige Summers was getting anxious too, trying to shrug off his grip. "This isn’t something you can just forbid! No matter what, I have to go!"
Her struggling only infuriated Marcus Monroe further. With a sudden exertion of force, he dragged her onto the sofa and pinned her down with his body. Looking down at her face, which was clearly thinner since they’d parted, an unreadable flicker of guilt crossed his eyes. His words, however, were merciless. "Why do you think everyone else is so stupid? Did it never occur to you that it’s a trap?"
Paige Summers was silent for a moment before she said, "I have. But even if it is a trap, that doesn’t mean there aren’t openings to exploit. For me, this is also an opportunity." She paused, and when he didn’t react, she had to say sharply, "Let me go!"
At this, Marcus Monroe raised his eyebrows high, hissing through gritted teeth, "You’re just incorrigibly stubborn!"
He used all his strength to pin her hands firmly above her head, pressing his body even tighter against hers. He stared at her, his intentions perfectly clear. ’You want to go? Fine. I’m not moving an inch. Let’s see you go now!’
Paige Summers was stunned.
’She truly hadn’t expected Marcus Monroe to act like this. This... isn’t this just being a complete rogue?!’
She instinctively squirmed, but that only created more friction between them. A moment later, she was shocked to realize that even in a situation like this, the man was actually getting aroused!
"You... you... you..." She stammered for a long while, her face flushed red, before finally managing to choke out, "Are you insane?"
Compared to her anger, shame, and embarrassment, Marcus Monroe wasn’t faring much better. He was grinding his teeth so hard they audibly scraped together. "Who’s the one who’s insane?! Dammit, can you stop squirming!"
The words had barely left his mouth when, before she could reply, a door in the room was suddenly thrown open. Levi Young rushed out furiously, shouting, "You bastard! Let her go!"
Marcus Monroe’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He shot the other man a single glance before abruptly lowering his head and sinking his teeth into Paige Summers’s shoulder.
’It hurts!’
’He’s really biting me!’
Caught off guard, Paige Summers couldn’t help but let out a short cry of pain.
Startled by her cry, Levi Young froze mid-stride.
Marcus Monroe lifted his head and looked at him with contempt. "Get out!"
Levi Young’s face instantly turned beet red, his fury nearly boiling over. He swung his fist and charged at Marcus Monroe, heedless of the fact that he was no match for him.
But just as his fist was about a foot from Marcus’s head, Marcus remained completely still. Instead, it was Paige Summers’s unsteady voice that rang out. "Stop!"
Levi Young naturally assumed she was talking to him, so he stopped. Although the sight of the two of them in that position was gut-wrenching, he still stopped. Because she had asked him to, and he could hear the urgency in her voice...
But both Paige Summers and Marcus Monroe knew in their hearts that she was actually talking to him!
They were so close that Levi Young couldn’t see the tense, coiled state of Marcus Monroe’s body, but Paige Summers could. She felt he was being completely unreasonable right now and worried he would actually hurt Andy, which was why she had shouted. Then, before Marcus Monroe could speak, she urged, "Andy, I’m sorry, please go back inside! This is between him and me... I can handle it myself!"
Hearing this, Levi Young’s momentum deflated by more than half.
After settling Ben in the secret passage, he had hurried out, intending to help her fight off the enemy. But when the moment came, he found the reality was completely different! He had just overheard the last few lines of their conversation, and their words, which sounded like flirtatious bickering, were grating to his ears. Before he could regain his senses, he had already rushed out...
’But in the end, it seemed he wasn’t needed...’
Dejectedly, Levi Young let his hands fall to his sides. He turned stiffly and went into Ben’s room. Unwilling to torture himself further, he went straight into the secret passage.
Marcus Monroe watched him leave and snorted coldly.
’Claims to like her, yet he lets her go on a dangerous adventure alone. Call that a man?! If it weren’t for the fact that he can make medicine, I would have kicked him out today!’
Paige Summers sighed heavily to herself.
"Isn’t this enough? Let me go... or do you want to force me to use a weapon?"
After all this commotion he’d caused, there was no way she could go to the Federation today. For her, who had been preparing for so long, this setback at such a critical moment was a huge blow. And as for Andy, she had probably lost face for a lifetime. She really didn’t know what she could possibly say!
Marcus Monroe, however, hesitated to move. Her sudden listlessness and weariness made him feel a pang of panic. He forced a slight smirk. "Didn’t you say you were going to ’handle’ me? How do you plan on doing that?"
Paige Summers tentatively pulled her hands back and pushed against his chest. "Let me make a phone call first. We can talk about... us... later?"
Her voice was soft and faint, devoid of any anger, but to Marcus Monroe, it sounded all wrong.
He shot up into a sitting position, crossing his arms and staring at her. He watched as she discreetly told the person on the other end of the line to cancel the operation, hung up, and then turned her head back... and he suddenly understood.
"You don’t think I’m crazy, do you?"
he asked dangerously.
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