After the divorce he begged novel Chapter 189

Chapter 189

Jeffrey just stared at her, and Rebecca met his stare without flinching. The tension between them was a thick wall of silence. Neither of them spoke.

Finally, he broke it, reaching out to smooth a stray piece of hair from her face. His face was a calm mask. “Then I’ll just have to work harder,” he said softly, “to win your mother over.”

“Okay,” Rebecca said, her voice flat.

Jeffrey’s fingers lingered, sliding slowly from her car down to her check. “I’m going now. You stay and be a good daughter.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Call me if you need anything,” he added.

Her response was robotic. “Okay.”

“So cold,” Jeffrey said, giving her cheek a gentle squeeze. His voice was sickly sweet. “Your mother just tore me to shreds in there. Don’t you think I deserve a little comfort?”

When Rebecca was done with someone, she didn’t hide it. “I don’t know how to comfort you,” she said flatly.

“Go home. Get some rest.”

Jeffrey’s gaze stayed gentle. “Yes, ma’am. Whatever you say.”

Rebecca couldn’t even be bothered to react to his sarcasm. Jeffrey could feel the wall of her disgust and decided to back off for now. “Go on,” he said. “Go back inside.”

“Okay,” Rebecca said, turning and walking away without another word.

Jeffrey stood there and watched her. The hospital doors swallowed her up, and she never looked back. The calm mask on his face finally dissolved, leaving behind something cold and hard as stone.

The driver hurried to open the rear door. Jeffrey got in, his expression blank, and stopped short. Someone was already in his seat.

“Hey, man,” Stanley said, managing a weak smile.

Jeffrey frowned. “Why are you here?”

“I heard some rumors that Rebecca’s dad is the head of the Guzman Group, and I came to get the scoop,” Stanley said, trying to sound casual. “Didn’t expect to walk right into… that.”

‘Great timing, Stanley,’ he mentally kicked himself. ‘Should’ve just waited around the corner.

Jeffrey’s lips formed a thin, hard line. He said nothing, his eyes cold as ice.

“Mr. Hanson,” the driver asked, “should I take you to the office or back to the manor?”

11:00 Thu, Oct 2

Chapter 189

Jeffrey said, “The office.”

Stanley glanced at the clock. “It’s after five. What’s the point of going to the office now? The place will be empty by the time you get there.”

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Jeffrey ignored him. He needed to put in some extra hours tonight. He had to be free to play Rebecca’s little game of “runaway wife.” He had to be free to teach her a lesson she’d never forget.

“So, is it true? Is the head of the Guzman Group really Rebecca’s father?” Stanley asked, unfazed by the silence as he smoothly changed the subject.

“Yeah,” Jeffrey grunted, his attention elsewhere.

He was already on his phone, firing off a text to Gregory to wire Amelia’s money right back to her account. ‘If I keep it, I look pathetic,‘ he thought. ‘I lose any high ground I have left with her.

Stanley whistled softly. “Man, doesn’t that make things, you know, a million times harder? Trying to keep Rebecca?”

Jeffrey’s gaze remained fixed on his screen. “Whether or not I can keep her has nothing to do with who her father is. This is about her, and her alone.”

Jeffrey saw the endgame perfectly. As long as Rebecca cared about Jessica and Ian, she would always come back to him on her own, terrified of what he might do to them. It didn’t matter if she reconnected with Ryan

or not.

Stanley opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. He wanted to tell Jeffrey to just be a man, apologize, and let Rebecca go. But he knew Jeffrey would never listen.

A reply from Gregory came through. Jeffrey put his phone away. “You can call off those precautions I asked you to set up,” he said, his voice casual. “When Rebecca leaves, let her go.”

Stanley stared, completely floored. “Seriously? You’re just letting her go? Did you hit your head and finally come to your senses?”

“I can’t chain her to the floor,” Jeffrey said, his voice flat. “But the happier she is walking out that door, the more shattered she’ll be when she finds out her friends are paying the price for it.”

Stanley went quiet, the hope draining out of him. ‘I’m an idiot,‘ he thought. ‘You should have known better than to think he’d ever do the decent thing!‘

“What if you’re wrong?” Stanley challenged. “What if she just doesn’t care?”

“She will,” Jeffrey stated, his voice final.

He knew Rebecca’s pressure points. She only cared about a handful of people in the world, and that was her greatest weakness. It was the reason she’d caved to his threats and refused the help of Jessica and her other friends before.

Stanley’s face was grim. “Jeffrey, don’t be such a monster, please.”

11:00 Thu, Oct 2

Chapter 189.

Jeffrey didn’t reply. Stanley truly believed Rebecca was a good woman who didn’t deserve any of this

“She has done nothing to you,” Stanley said, his voice rising. “Nothing. And you just keep torturing her. Don’t you ever worry you’ll break her completely?”

“Even if she breaks, she’s staying with me,” Jeffrey said, his voice terrifyingly quiet.

Stanley was honestly starting to wonder if Jeffrey was even sane at this point. “Dude…”

Jeffrey hadn’t been right since the incident. On the surface, he was the picture of calm control, but Stanley knew the truth. Underneath, he was a time bomb, waiting for someone to trip the wrong wire.

Rebecca had changed that. When Jeffrey got together with Rebecca, Stanley saw that old light come back into Jeffrey’s eyes. Both Stanley and Riley had believed, had hoped, that he was finally healing.

But looking at Jeffrey now, Stanley knew he hadn’t healed. He’d just gotten sicker.

“What if she doesn’t give a damn about what you might do to Jessica and the others?” Stanley asked bluntly.

“If she doesn’t care, that just means I haven’t pushed far enough,” Jeffrey said, his voice devoid of all emotion. “Everything has a breaking point. One just has to find it.”

“Jeffrey, man-” Stanley started, trying to reason with him.

“Pull over,” Jeffrey ordered the driver.

Stanley raised an eyebrow, totally baffled. Jeffrey gave him a sideways look and said, “Get out.”

Stanley gaped at the endless stretch of highway in front of them. “You’re kicking me out here? In the middle of nowhere? Where the hell do you expect me to go?”

“You’re getting on my nerves,” Jeffrey said. “And it’s ruining my mood. Your problems are not my concern.”

“Fine. Keep acting like a damn psycho,” Stanley spat as he climbed out. “One of these days, you’re going to get beaten to a pulp. And when you do, don’t expect me to come scrape you off the pavement.”

“You’d have to get in line,” Jeffrey said flatly. He slammed the door, and the car pulled away.

Stanley watched the car disappear, practically shaking with anger. He pulled out his phone and called Riley. “Can you come get me? I just sent you my location. Jeffrey is a damn jerk. I’m done. I’m so done with him.”

Riley’s laugh crackled over the phone. “Isn’t this all your own fault, though?”

“What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Stanley sputtered.

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