After the divorce he begged novel Chapter 17

Rebecca yelped in surprise at Jeffrey’s sudden action. As he hauled her off the ledge, her heart leaped into her throat with the gut wrenching certainty that she was atmest to plummet twenty–eight stories.

Before Rebecca could even catch her breath, Jeffrey had already dragged her back into the bathroom and thrown her onto the floor

She managed to steady herself just in time to avoid collapsing to the floor.

“If you really didn’t want to, all you had to do was say no. I wouldn’t have forced you,” Stanley said, cutting off the shower water. He gave her an inscrutable look before continuing his act. “You didn’t have to do something that reckless.”

“How do I know you won’t force me?” Rebecca’s voice trembled as her eyes darted to Jeffrey, “After what you’ve already done, making me comply would be nothing.”

Stanley stayed silent, shooting a look at Jeffrey. ‘This has gone far enough. The act is over now, right?‘ he thought.

“If I wanted him to hurt you,” Jeffrey said, closing the distance between them with his imposing height, “you wouldn’t be standing here unharmed,”

A fresh wave of fear hit Rebecca, and she instinctively stepped back.

What happened next caught everyone off guard.

In one swift motion, Jeffrey scooped Rebecca up and carried her to the window. Before she could process what was happening, he leaned her body over the edge. “You’d rather be out here than in the room? Then get a real taste of it.”

“Jeffrey!” Stanley shouted, startled by the sudden move.

Rebecca went completely limp in his arms, frozen with terror.

Earlier, with solid handholds and her movements under control, she had managed to push past her fear. But now, her whole life literally hung in Jeffrey’s grip. If he were to let go for any reason, she’d be done for.

“Rebecca!” Just then, Jessica’s voice cut through the tension from somewhere down the hall, sharp with worry.

“Jessica, I’m in here!” Hope surged through Rebecca as she shouted, “Right here!”

She tried to twist free from Jeffrey’s hold, but with nothing to brace against, she could only dangle helplessly in his grasp.

Jessica burst into the room and froze at the sight of Rebecca dangling from Jeffrey’s hands by the window. “Jesus,” she cried out, her voice shaking.

“Jeffrey, what the hell are you doing? Put her down right now!”

Jeffrey shot her a quick, questioning glance, trying to figure out what brought Jessica here.

“Put her down right now, or I’m calling the cops,” Jessica warned, phone already in hand.

Jeffrey didn’t even flinch at the threat. “Go ahead,” he said, not moving a muscle. “Let’s see who’s faster–you dialing or me dropping her.”

Jessica’s grip on her phone tightened, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

The tense standoff stretched on, neither side giving an inch.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Stanley cut in, wanting to break the tension. “You’ve made your point. Do you really want your kid to find out you treated his mom like this?”

Jeffrey still didn’t let go.

Seeing that reason had failed, Stanley finally reached out and pulled Rebecca from his grasp, shoving her toward Jessica to end the whole thing.

1/3

Chapter 17

“Are you okay?” Jessica asked, her voice shaky as the looked Rebecca over. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“In fine” Rebecca said, finally catching her breath as the panic began to farte.

Jessica didn’t relax until she’d confirmed Rebecca was actually okay. Then she turned her furious attention to Jeffrey. “Total jerk,” she snapped.

Jeffrey’s eyes lifted calmly, showing no emotion whatsoever.

He didn’t say a word, but Rebecca could feel his anger. She took a steadying breath as everything that had happened tonight suddenly fell into place. “You set this whole thing up,” she said, staring straight at Jeffrey. “Didn’t you?”

“What if I did?” Jeffrey didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed.

Rebecca’s hands clenched. She’d been wondering why Stanley, known for his humility and impeccable manners, had acted so completely out of character. Now she realized the reason.

“Why?” She couldn’t make sense of his motive.

“Wanted to see how incapable you’d be without me,” Jeffrey said, his voice cutting as he looked at her like she was nothing. “Turns out you’re completely hopeless on your own.”

“I’m hopeless? You know exactly what’s going on here,” Rebecca said, holding his gaze as she finally set boundaries between them. “None of this would’ve happened if you’d just stayed out of my business.”

The air around Jeffrey turned ice–cold, his expression freezing over.

Rebecca took her phone from Stanley and delivered her final blow. “If you’re any kind of man, you’ll focus on your relationship with Andrea and stay out of my life.”

Without another word, she took Jessica’s hand and walked out without looking back.

Left alone in the bathroom with Jeffrey, Stanley felt the tension hanging thick in the air.

“Seems your precious wife isn’t too happy with you,” Stanley said, clearing his throat.

Jeffrey shot him a warning glance, prompting Stanley to immediately back down. “Alright, message received,” Stanley said.

As soon as Rebecca was out of earshot, Jeffrey got down to business. “What did you find on that surveillance footage I sent you?”

“Here’s the weird thing,” Stanley said. “The guy looks familiar, but I can’t place him. Normally, I’d have a full background check by now, but I’m getting nothing–no name, no address, nothing.”

His expression turned serious as he added, “But here’s the real story. It’s about your mother–in–law.”

“Go on,” Jeffrey said.

“When I tried tracing her history, everything stopped at her marriage to your father–in–law,” Stanley continued. “There’s zero paper trail before that. It makes me think she might be someone significant.”

Jeffrey’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He’d never actually dug into Rebecca’s mother’s past.

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