Chapter 83: Chapter 83: I Am Yours
Vesper Grayson’s eyes were perfectly calm.
"Because back then, I loved you. I loved you so much that I was willing to hide who I was, just to be an ordinary couple with you. I knew you came from a humble background and were very proud. I was afraid you’d think I was giving you charity or pitying you, and I was even more afraid of hurting your pathetic, fragile pride."
She considered his feelings in everything she did, waiting for him to become successful and stand on his own before telling him the truth.
But Luke Lockwood didn’t wait for that day to come, and he never gave her the chance to tell him the truth.
It felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing Luke Lockwood’s heart, a suffocating ache that made it hard for him to breathe.
Guilt, regret, shame, and humiliation swarmed in, threatening to consume him.
He dropped to his knees before her and clung to her leg.
"Vesper, I was wrong. I was so wrong..."
His voice was hoarse and broken, choked with desperation. He gazed up at her, his eyes full of nothing but pleading.
"I’m begging you, give me one last chance. You can punish me however you want, just don’t abandon me. Don’t leave me... I really can’t live without you..."
If he had knelt, admitted his mistake, and begged for forgiveness like this right after she found out he cheated, she might have actually relented, forgiven him, and given him a chance.
But... that was all in the past.
She had severed all ties with their past love.
...
「Hawthorne Tower.」
The skyscraper stood majestically in the heart of Northolme’s CBD.
Jared Hawthorne sat behind a massive ebony desk, his posture as ramrod straight as a pine.
His gaze was lowered to the documents on his desk, his long lashes casting cool shadows on his face. He held a pen with a steady, well-defined hand. The afternoon sun streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing him in a pale golden light that made him appear all the more noble and aloof, sacred and untouchable.
Leon Quillan knocked and entered.
"President Hawthorne, Luke Lockwood has come to Northolme. He’s with Miss Grayson right now."
Jared Hawthorne’s hand, in the middle of a signature, paused. He lifted his narrow, dark eyes. "Where?"
"The Left Bank Cafe, across from Grayson Corporation. They’re in a private room," Leon Quillan reported dutifully. Seeing his boss’s expression instantly turn frigid, he quickly lowered his head.
’Years ago, Miss Grayson had run away from her own wedding, fleeing to Ashmore to be with Luke Lockwood.’
’Now, they had finally broken up.’
’And President Hawthorne had finally won the beauty.’
’Now they were meeting alone again. If they were to rekindle things and get back together, his own President Hawthorne would probably cry himself unconscious in the bathroom.’
By the time he came to his senses, a gust of wind shot past him.
He hurried after him, only managing to catch a glimpse of President Hawthorne’s back as he disappeared into the elevator.
...
Back in the private room, Vesper Grayson and Luke Lockwood were still locked in a stalemate.
Luke Lockwood was clinging to her leg for dear life, refusing to let go.
"Vesper, I’ll treat you twice as well from now on. I won’t even glance at another woman."
His promises were laced with anguish.
But to Vesper Grayson, his words sounded like a joke.
"Let go. If you don’t let go right now, I’m calling the police!"
She truly wanted nothing more to do with him.
He was completely exhausting her patience.
Her gaze swept over a nearby decorative object. She seriously considered knocking him unconscious with it.
The door was pushed open from the outside.
Jared Hawthorne stood there, a cigarette dangling from his lips. His dark eyes scanned the scene in the room, and his nonchalant voice was laced with a bone-chilling cold.
"What’s this act? A melodrama?"
Hearing his voice, Vesper Grayson froze. She turned her head, and her gaze met his narrow, deep-set eyes.
"Boyfriend, someone’s trying to steal your girl. You going to do something about it?"
Luke Lockwood’s expression turned frigid. His sinister gaze locked onto the man who had suddenly appeared, his eyes filled with intense suspicion and hostility.
’This was the man who had stolen Vesper from him.’
Jared Hawthorne stepped forward and wrapped a firm hand around Vesper Grayson’s arm. He looked down imperiously at the kneeling Luke Lockwood, his voice frigid. "Let go."
Far from letting go, Luke Lockwood tightened his grip, his eyes wild with defiance and desperation.
Jared Hawthorne’s eyes darkened. Without another word, he lifted his foot and kicked him ruthlessly in the shoulder.
The kick was swift and brutal. Caught off guard, Luke Lockwood was sent stumbling backward. His hand was forced to release its grip, and he fell to the ground in a heap.
Before Luke could react, Jared Hawthorne pulled Vesper Grayson into his arms, holding her tightly against him.
The man stood tall, exuding an air of noble, cold arrogance. His presence was so powerful it was almost suffocating. When his gaze fell upon Luke Lockwood, it was filled with nothing but cold, condescending indifference and the contempt of a man who had already won.
"You want to make a move on my woman? Did you bother to ask me first?"
Luke Lockwood scrambled up from the floor. Seeing Vesper Grayson nestled so docilely in the other man’s arms, his eyes turned crimson. Jealousy and madness threatened to tear him apart.
He gritted his teeth and roared in fury, "Who the hell do you think you are? Vesper Grayson was mine!"
A smirk touched Jared Hawthorne’s lips. He bent down and pressed a kiss onto Vesper Grayson’s mouth. When he lifted his gaze to Luke Lockwood, his dark eyes were filled with undisguised provocation and possession, at once regal and insolent.
"A shame. From now on, she’s mine."
The sudden kiss stunned Vesper Grayson for a moment, but then she leaned against his chest with a bashful blush.
"I’m yours."
Luke Lockwood watched the scene unfold, his entire body trembling with rage. His eyes were bloodshot, and a furious jealousy surged through his chest, threatening to burn him to ash.
’In the past, Vesper had been so averse to physical contact with other men that even an accidental touch would have her scrubbing her hands with soap for ages. But now... now she was leaning in another man’s arms, accepting his embrace, his kiss, and even replying, "I’m yours."’
’How could she belong to someone else? She was supposed to be *his*.’
"’Vesper...’ His voice was a broken tremble. He reached a shaky hand toward her, his eyes filled with desperate pleading. ’Come back to me. Don’t be with him.’"
Vesper Grayson ignored him completely. She linked her arm through Jared Hawthorne’s and looked up at him, her expression soft. "Let’s go. There’s no need to waste our time on someone so unimportant."
Jared Hawthorne glanced down at her, a bold smirk spreading across his lips. "Completely... ir... relevant."
With that, he wrapped an arm around Vesper Grayson and, with a regal air, walked away without a backward glance.
Luke Lockwood’s hands clenched into fists. He shouted at their retreating backs, his voice thick with defiance.
"Vesper, I’m not giving up this time!"
’She has a new boyfriend now? Fine. He could just wait for them to break up.’
...
「In the car.」
The pad of Jared Hawthorne’s thumb caressed her soft jaw. His dark eyes were locked on her, and his voice was a low, husky rasp laced with amusement.
"Just now... were you just playing along with my act, or did you mean what you said?"
Vesper Grayson blinked, her long lashes fluttering like a butterfly’s wings. A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes as she asked softly in return,
"Which part? I... said several things back there."
The man chuckled, leaning in even closer, his hot breath brushing against her face.
"The ’I’m yours’ part."
A faint blush instantly colored Vesper Grayson’s cheeks, and her heart skipped a beat.
She bit her lip, her voice as soft as cotton yet carrying a hint of sincerity.
"Both."
"Hm?"
"I wanted Luke Lockwood to face reality and back off. Besides... I am yours now, aren’t I?"
Jared Hawthorne’s eyes darkened. The pad of his thumb pressed a little harder as he leaned down toward her, his voice a low, seductive murmur.
"Say it again."
"..."
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