Chapter 118
Chapter 118:
“You take your duties so seriously. All of them,” she fumbled, reaching for words deep enough to hold her gratitude — and finding only ones that imposed distance, words that kept the overwhelming reality of his care at arm’s length from her own fragile heart.
Dallas’s face fell. The softness in his eyes hardened into something brittle.
Duty.
He had just heard her confess her love on a street corner, and now she was framing his desperate, single-minded care as a contractual obligation. He wanted to be her lover, her world. She was making him her caretaker.
He stood up abruptly. “Get some sleep. I have work to do p>
He crossed to his study and closed the door with a quiet, definitive click.
PD𝗙𝘀 o𝗻 𝗀а𝗹ո𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅ѕ.𝗰о𝗺
Eliza sat alone, genuinely confused. Why was he angry? She had thanked him.
Wednesday morning found Anson Hyde in his study, staring into a cold, dark fireplace. A crystal glass of scotch sat untouched on the desk beside him.
His phone lay next to a manila folder labeled Dallas Koch — Movements.
“He was at the pharmacy last night,” the PI’s voice crackled over the speakerphone. “Buying women’s products. Large quantities p>
Anson gripped the edge of the desk. “He’s living with her p>
“It appears so. He carried her into the new estate on the north shore. She didn’t come out p>
Anson hung up. He picked up the glass and hurled it at the fireplace. It shattered, shards of crystal raining across the hearth.
The door opened. Claudine entered. She looked worse than she had at the restaurant — hair unwashed, eyes wild and unfocused. She didn’t even notice the broken glass.
“Anson, my father needs a loan,” she begged. “The bank froze everything. Dallas blocked our credit lines p>
“Get out, Claudine,” Anson said without turning.
“We are engaged! You have to help!” She rushed toward him, her voice climbing to a scream.
Anson turned. His eyes were dead.
“We were a merger, Claudine. Your stock is zero. The merger is void,” he said coldly.
Claudine stumbled back as the words landed. “You used me,” she breathed, the realization spreading across her face. “To make her jealous. That’s all I was p>
“And it failed,” Anson said, the cruelty in his voice as clean and precise as a blade. “Because you are annoying, and she is — Eliza p>
Claudine raised her hand to slap him.
Anson caught her wrist in midair. He squeezed until she whimpered.
“Don’t touch me.” He threw her hand back.
Claudine stumbled. She stared at him with pure, undiluted hatred.
“I curse you, Anson Hyde,” she hissed. “You will never have her. You will die alone in this cold house, rotting with your mother p>
She ran out, sobbing.
Anson stood alone in the silence. His eyes drifted to the photo of Eliza on his desk — one he had stolen from her room years ago.
“She loves someone else,” he said, mimicking her voice from the street.
“No,” he muttered, tracing her face with one finger. “She’s just confused. I need to remind her p>
He picked up his burner phone and dialed.