Chapter 1224
Like a hawk diving for prey, one of his men lunged.
Before Linsey could blink, a firm hand clamped down on her shoulder from behind. She let out a small cry as she was yanked backward, the sudden pain flaring through her bones.
She turned, furious, glaring up at Collin. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Collin stepped forward, a chilling smile curling at his lips. “What am I doing?” he repeated with a cold chuckle. “Oh, I’m just settling a score.”
With a flick of his hand, he signaled again, and his men dragged her to the waiting car.
At Vista Villa, inside the bedroom, the door slammed shut behind them. Linsey barely had time to steady herself before Collin shoved her forward. She stumbled, landing hard on the sofa with a thud that shook her ribs.
A wave of nausea surged through her chest—sharp and dizzying. She wanted to throw up but couldn’t.
“Collin!” she yelled, anger and tears rising together. “Can’t we just talk? What gives you the right to treat me like this?!”
Collin paused, standing over her, unreadable. Her defiance—her trembling voice, the way her eyes glistened but refused to break—it stirred something in him.
A flicker of emotion passed behind his cold expression, but his tone stayed hard. “Why did you try to run? No one runs from me under my nose.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have taken her out that night. Maybe celebrating her birthday was a mistake.
Linsey bit her lip, blinking back the tears. “What about you?” she shot back, voice low and trembling. “Why do you keep pestering me?”
Collin squinted hard at her. “What did you say?”
His presence suddenly filled the room like a rising storm, and just like that—his sharp words returned to what he knew best. He threw Felix’s project in her face again, without realizing he had just struck her where it hurt the most.
Linsey shot upright, her voice cutting through the air, eyes blazing with defiance. “Go ahead, do whatever you want! I don’t care if that bastard loses everything!”
Her outburst caught Collin off guard, his brows lifting in surprise. He hadn’t seen this coming. Usually, Linsey clung to Felix’s side, willing to bend and break for his sake—always the one to sacrifice her own pride to shield him. Yet here she was, cursing Felix as if she couldn’t wait for his downfall. The sharp shift in her loyalty sparked Collin’s curiosity, making him wonder what on earth had gone down between the two of them.
Still, there would be no answers tonight—not while she was drunk and furious. For now, it was best to help her sober up.
Collin let her words pass without comment, instead rolling his wheelchair over to the bedside table and pressing the intercom.
A moment later, Roland’s voice echoed crisply through the line. “Mr. Riley, what do you need?”
Without missing a beat, Collin issued his order. “Send up some honey water.”
“Right away,” Roland responded.
Just as Collin prepared to hang up, Linsey—misreading the situation—snatched the receiver from his hand, convinced he was calling Felix. Her temper snapped again, and she lurched toward him, gripping the phone tightly.
Completely unfiltered in her drunken haze, Linsey snatched the phone and shouted, “Felix, you miserable bastard! You absolute snake! May you grow old alone and never know the joy of children!”