As Vivian spoke, her gaze dropped, guilt flickering in her eyes.

She pressed her lips together. She had always thought she understood Zachary- but now she realized she never truly had.

After all, at that birthday banquet, even if it was just for show, even if it was meant to provoke her... they had attended together.

Leon''s voice grew colder. "Maybe not when she''s fully conscious. But what if Sarah doesn''t want to resist? Do you really think Zachary could hold himself back?"

He had seen it-that hazy look in her eyes, the flushed cheeks, the parted lips tinged with pink. He knew just how seductive it could be. Most men wouldn''t be able to resist.

He mmed his fists against the steering wheel, consumed by helpless rage. He had watched Zachary take her away-again. It wasn''t the first time, either.

"Stop talking," he growled. "Doesn''t saying it out loud make you feel even worse?" Grinding his teeth, Leon hissed, "There has to be some way to get Sarah back."

But every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was the two of them tangled together in bed. His mind automatically reced the faces with Sarah''s and Zachary''s—and the urge to track Zachary down and kill him surged through his

veins.

Vivian stayed quiet for a few seconds, then said tly, "There isn''t. You should focus on protecting yourself now."

With that, she ended the call.

At the bar, Leon pulled in and walked straight inside. The fury and frustration of losing Sarah, the humiliation of having Zachary rip her from his grasp he could only numb it all under shing lights and a haze of alcohol.

Only the loud music, the blur of swaying bodies, and the sharp scent of liquor gave him any sense of escape. Any illusion of control.

He hade from H Country, where fear was something he''d never known.

But back at the café-when he met Zachary''s eyes-he had felt it. That moment when Zachary said, "Run, before I catch you," his heart had skipped a beat.

He''d heard the rumors beforeing to East Coast. Zachary''s methods were infamous, and now that he''d crossed the line, he had no doubt Zachary would use every weapon at his disposal to retaliate.

"Bring me some damn drinks!" he barked as he slouched into a booth, propping his feet up on the table.

The bartender didn''t dare argue. Leon had a stash of expensive liquor stored at the bar, so it was easy enough to bring him a full spread.

His hand trembled slightly as he raised a ss, almost spilling it. With a harsh grunt, he downed it in one shot. Before he could set the ss down, the server refilled it.fn72b4 The source of th?s content is FιndＮovel/fn72b4

It wasn''t just fear burning in his chest-it was resentment.

No woman had ever gotten under his skin like this. Ever.

tom

His excuses to meet Sarah these past few days hadn''t all been lies. He really had been dreaming about her-again and again. And it wasn''t just lust. It was deeper. Stranger kind of longing he didn''t know how to handle.  s

As he continued drinking, two women slid in beside him, one on each side, pressing close.

Already irritated, Leon flinched at the overpowering perfume. It stung his nose, making him sneeze.

"Leon, finally! We''ve been waiting for you," one of the women cooed, lifting her ss to feed him a drink, while the other clung to his arm.

Leon recoiled.

He used to enjoy this kind of scene-women on both sides, pouring him drinks, hanging off his shoulders.

But now? After what he''d just seen with Sarah?

All of it felt cheap. Empty.

Late at night, Sarah woke up in a haze, pain and heat radiating through her body. She turned her head slowly to see Zachary aste on the couch beside the bed his brow faintly furrowed even in rest.  s

He was sleeping soundly, but not peacefully.

The feverish heat inside her hadn''t gone away. The sedative had only worked for a while. Now that the effects were facing, the fire surged, back through her veins-like he was burning from the inside out.  s