CHAPTER 199: CHAPTER 199: WHO HAS THE RIGHT?

It’s been a while since she saw Ryder Griffin, Sheila Yardley thought he might have given up.

He looked a lot more spirited than before, reminiscent of how he appeared when she first met him, if she put aside everything else.

A clean boy wearing a white shirt.

Sheila Yardley saw the cake box in his hand and understood the purpose of his visit.

She didn’t expect him to still remember her birthday.

"Elaine." His voice, accompanied by the night wind, blew into her ear, sounding somewhat soft, making her momentarily think she had gone back to the past.

Sheila Yardley took a deep breath and walked up to him.

"Happy Birthday."

"Thank you."

Ryder Griffin smiled, raised the box in his hand slightly, and said, "I bought you a cake, your favorite flavor."

Sheila Yardley glanced at the cake box, then looked up at Ryder Griffin and said, "Ryder, doing these things really doesn’t mean much anymore. You should stop."

He said, "It’s just something I want to do. You don’t have to respond to me in any way; just consider it a friend’s blessing, okay?"

Sheila Yardley frowned slightly. Looking at Ryder in this way, she couldn’t bear to speak too harshly.

"And this." He pulled a small box from his trouser pocket, handed it to her, and said, "A birthday gift."

Sheila Yardley glanced at the box he offered, but didn’t reach out to take it. She just said, "I can’t see you as a friend, and I hope you won’t do things like this again in the future. Let’s not disturb each other, okay?"

After saying these things, Sheila Yardley didn’t dare to look at Ryder Griffin’s expression, afraid that seeing that familiar face would stir up those beautiful memories, and she wouldn’t be able to help but feel soft-hearted.

Ryder Griffin’s hand froze in mid-air, staring at her.

Not far away, a car’s headlights made the road very bright. The car was heading towards them, but they both thought it was just a passing vehicle and didn’t pay attention.

Until the car got closer, though the road was wide enough, it drove directly towards where the two were standing.

With her back to the road, Sheila Yardley didn’t notice, but when Ryder Griffin saw the car approaching, he instead accelerated, immediately shouting, "Watch out!"

The cake box fell at his feet, and Ryder Griffin quickly freed a hand to protect Sheila Yardley in his arms, turning to the relatively safe side.

With a screech of brakes, the friction between the tires and the ground made a loud noise. The car stopped right in front of them, only about ten centimeters away from Ryder Griffin.

Sheila Yardley steadied herself and could now see this familiar car clearly beneath the glaring headlights.

The car door opened, and Caleb Grant got out. Ryder Griffin frowned as he looked at Caleb approaching and instinctively shielded Sheila Yardley behind him.

Caleb Grant looked at the two of them expressionlessly, neither happy nor angry, and said, "Come inside for a chat?"

Sheila Yardley stepped out from behind Ryder Griffin, feeling inexplicably guilty. She knew Caleb Grant wasn’t that generous and feared he was already angry.

Not wanting to stir up trouble, Sheila Yardley said to Ryder Griffin, "You should go back now."

Ryder Griffin looked at Sheila Yardley, then Caleb Grant, gritting his teeth, seeming both unwilling and helpless, bent to collect the cake box at his feet, and handed it to Sheila Yardley, saying, "Then take this."

In front of Caleb Grant, Sheila Yardley dared not engage too much with Ryder Griffin, only wishing for Ryder to leave quickly because she knew that if Caleb was upset, the consequences might involve not just her but potentially Ryder Griffin as well.

She hastily took the items from Ryder Griffin’s hands. Before she could say anything more, Caleb Grant grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from Ryder, locking the car door with the car key in one seamless motion.

Caleb Grant, tall and long-legged, was walking quickly, and Sheila Yardley had to jog along to keep up with his pace.

Ryder Griffin stood on the spot watching the two of them walk away, biting his teeth, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

The pain in her wrist made Sheila Yardley think that if Caleb Grant applied a bit more force, it might break.

She didn’t understand what he was angry about; she wasn’t his personal property, and his possessiveness was somewhat incomprehensible to her.

Sheila Yardley slowed down, exerting force backward with her body, trying to free her hand.

Caleb Grant naturally felt her struggle and let her go, stopping and turning to look at her.

Beside the private pool in front of the villa, the night wind made shallow ripples on the water surface, and under the lights, the pool sparkled.

"...Mr. Grant, I don’t understand." Sheila Yardley gathered up the courage to speak.

Caleb Grant looked at her and said bluntly, "I remember telling you to stay away from other men during the contract period. You have quite the nerve, having a rendezvous without even hiding, and even inviting a man to your doorstep. If I hadn’t been around, would you have invited him inside for a chat?"

"Even if I was on a date with him, that’s my personal emotional matter. Mr. Grant and I only have a working relationship, and I feel Mr. Grant has no right to interfere in these matters." These were words Sheila Yardley had wanted to say for a long time, and she didn’t know where she found the courage to finally say them now.

After saying it, she realized she was scared, looking at Caleb Grant’s sharp gaze, goosebumps rising all over her body.

"I have no right?" Caleb Grant repeated her words indifferently, then glanced at the cake in her hand, his anger flaring up even more.

He had canceled his evening engagements, meticulously preparing dinner and a gift, waiting for her to return to celebrate her birthday, only for her to be out with her ex-boyfriend, deceiving him by saying she was with her brother.

Sheila Yardley swallowed hard, watching as he took a step forward. She instinctively stepped back.

Caleb Grant reached out and grabbed the cake box from her hands, and the next second, he tossed it heavily aside, the box opening up, its meticulously crafted cake now a mess.

"Who has the rights?" he asked with a cold smile, seemingly not waiting for a reply, striding steadily towards Sheila Yardley.

Panicked, Sheila Yardley retreated two steps. When she turned to flee, one foot unexpectedly stepped into the pool, her balance tipping, "splash," she fell in.

The pool was quite deep for her height, and she couldn’t swim.

Caleb Grant didn’t rush to save her. He just watched her struggle and choke on water...

He unhurriedly unbuttoned his shirt, one button at a time, with elegant movements.

He left his shirt by the poolside and then entered the water.

Sheila Yardley clung tightly to him like grabbing a lifeline, gasping for breath as she surfaced, but Caleb Grant pushed her body against the cold pool wall, planting a punitive kiss, not giving her a chance to breathe.

Sheila Yardley wanted to break free from him, but her legs were dangling in the water, and she lacked the strength to resist him. Caleb controlled everything...