CHAPTER 14: CHAPTER 14: DONOVAN XAVIER SEES HER ON A BLIND DATE AND FURIOUSLY DRAGS HER INTO THE CAR!!

Chloe Preston said quickly into the phone, "Something’s come up. I’m hanging up."

She then rose and glanced at the man. "Yes. Are you Mr. Sutton?"

Wyatt Quinn had told her that her blind date’s surname was Sutton and that he came from a prominent family.

"Yes," Connor Sutton affirmed as he pulled out a chair and sat down, his entire demeanor refined and noble.

Chloe Preston had no desire for small talk. "Mr. Sutton," she began directly, "I’m not the right person for you. We should just forget about this."

Connor Sutton’s eyebrow twitched. "We’ve only just met, Miss Quinn. Isn’t that a bit hasty?"

"I’m currently looking for a woman to marry. I’ve seen the profile your father gave me, and I believe you are very suitable." This woman is beautiful and alluring, yet she carries herself with an air of extreme grace and dignity. She’d be presentable on my arm and would make a suitable wife.

"But I don’t want to get married," Chloe Preston stated.

To be precise, she didn’t want to marry the man in front of her!

"If you feel marriage is too sudden, we can start by dating," Connor Sutton suggested.

"I don’t want to date, either."

"Mr. Sutton, my father arranged this blind date without my knowledge. I’m very sorry for wasting your time."

"You come from a prominent family, and I’m truly not a match for you. I’ll be going now."

Seeing this, Connor Sutton arched an eyebrow, finding the situation rather novel. Women have always flocked to me. Until now, not a single one has ever dared to reject me! Is she leveraging her beauty to play hard to get, trying to keep me on the hook?

If Chloe Preston knew what he was thinking, she would have told him he was seriously overthinking it. Does he think he’s that handsome? He’s average, at best.

Without another word, Chloe Preston rose to leave.

Connor Sutton stood up as well, following right behind her. I don’t believe any woman can refuse me. I will have her!

"Miss Quinn, where are you going? I can give you a ride."

"That’s not necessary."

Chloe Preston didn’t spare him a glance, quickening her steps as she exited the café. The next moment, her foot slipped, and she nearly stumbled to the ground.

Connor Sutton shot out a hand and steadied her just in time.

At that moment, Donovan Xavier was sitting in his car. Impeccably dressed in a suit with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, he was engrossed in reviewing a file.

His assistant, Liam Keane, suddenly stopped the car and turned around. "Mr... Mr. Xavier."

"What is it?" Donovan Xavier asked without looking up.

"Outside... isn’t that Miss Quinn?"

Hearing this, the slender, well-defined hand Donovan Xavier was using to turn a page paused. He looked up, his gaze shifting out the car window. The next moment, his face darkened as he stared at the woman standing outside the café.

Wasn’t this woman supposed to be at the hospital for surgery? So, she lied to me!

「Outside the café.」

Chloe Preston took two steps back, putting some distance between herself and the man. "Thank you for catching me, Mr. Sutton."

With that, she turned to walk away. In the next instant, she lifted her head and looked directly into a pair of cold, dark eyes.

Chloe Preston froze on the spot, utterly at a loss.

I’m so doomed! Maybe I should just find a coffin and lie down in it myself. It would save him the trouble of doing it for me!

Donovan Xavier stepped out of the car and strode toward her. He was tall and imposing, his expression unreadable. He appeared ascetic and coolly composed, the very picture of propriety. But only Chloe Preston knew that deep down, he was nothing but a vile, deceitful scoundrel.

Donovan Xavier walked right up to her, his posture condescending and his dark eyes frigid and menacing. "What a coincidence, Miss Quinn."

"Weren’t you supposed to be having surgery? What are you doing here?"

"I... I..." She stammered, unsure of how to explain herself.

Donovan Xavier canted his head, his gaze flicking to Connor Sutton beside her. His voice was as cold as if it were laced with poison. "Who is this? Care to make an introduction?"

"He’s not important."

He’s misunderstood. He looks so, so angry right now. What do I do?

"Is that so?" Donovan Xavier pressed. "Then what were you two doing here?"

"We’re on a blind date," Connor Sutton, who had been standing to the side, suddenly chimed in with a smile.

Donovan Xavier scoffed. "A blind date?" He looked at Chloe. "Is that true?"

Chloe Preston pressed her lips together, her body trembling slightly.

The expression in Donovan Xavier’s eyes turned glacial. In the next second, he seized her arm and dragged her into his car.

As the door slammed shut, he shot a look at Liam Keane. "Get out!"

"Right away!" Liam Keane nodded, scrambling out of the car and running a safe distance away.

The pull was painful, and before Chloe Preston could even react, he had already pinned her down on the seat. In that moment, all the tenderness from the day before was gone, replaced by pure rage.

Donovan Xavier gripped her waist hard, his voice icy and vicious. "Chloe Preston, going on blind dates behind my back?"

"What, are you that desperate for a man?"

Looking up at him, Chloe Preston trembled violently, tears welling up in her eyes against her will. "No... It’s not like that..."

Donovan Xavier’s gaze dropped to the bracelet on her wrist, a bloodshot glint entering his eyes. "Wearing the bracelet I gave you to go on a blind date with some other man? Chloe Preston, do you have a conscience?"

"Was I not good enough for you? Or did I fail to satisfy you?"

She actually dared to hide this from me. If I hadn’t happened to pass by here today, I would have remained completely in the dark!

He reached out and savagely tore her dress to shreds, tossing the scraps aside. Then, he pulled off his own tie and, with unhurried deliberation, bound her hands together tightly, finishing it with a neat bow.

Chloe Preston was instantly terrified. Her eyes filled with a misty haze of tears, and her voice trembled. "What... what are you doing?"

Donovan Xavier’s face was impossibly cold as he began to methodically unbuckle his belt. "This will teach you to behave. Then you’ll know who you belong to."

I’ve been too indulgent with her. If I’m not harsh, she’ll never learn her lesson.

Seeing this, Chloe Preston’s pupils shrank. He’s insane! He’s actually going to do *that* here! There are people everywhere outside, how can he!

Chloe Preston’s eyes instantly turned red. "Donovan Xavier, can you please not do this..."

He’s like a stranger right now. I’m scared.

Donovan Xavier didn’t answer, his face a mask of frigid indifference.

Panicking, Chloe Preston quickly buried her face in the crook of his neck, her words choked by sobs. "Please... don’t be like this..."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, soaking the collar of his shirt.

Donovan Xavier’s slender, pale hands clenched into fists, the blue veins on his arms bulging. His voice was deep as he growled, "Chloe Preston, don’t cry in front of me."

When she cried, he was completely helpless against her.

Chloe Preston heard him, but faced with this side of him, crying was all she could do.

Donovan Xavier watched her, his brow furrowed tightly as a sharp pang went through his heart.

After a long moment, he took a heavy breath, raised a hand, and gently patted her back twice. "Don’t cry..."

In the end, he was the first to yield.

"My tone was too harsh just now, alright?" As he spoke, he reached out to wipe away her tears, then tilted his head to press a soft kiss to her ear.

He was clearly trying to soothe her. It couldn’t be helped; he was the one who had made her cry, after all.

"Look at you," he murmured, "crying after just a few words. So delicate."

Chloe Preston lifted her watery, red-rimmed eyes and glared at him resentfully. "It’s because you yelled at me!"

"The way you were just now, the look in your eyes... it was like you wanted to kill me."

"I was only on a blind date, and I already rejected him anyway."

"My dad forced me to be here! It’s all his fault! Why don’t you go yell at him?"

"All you know how to do is bully me! What kind of man are you!"

At her last sentence, Donovan Xavier’s anger flared anew. His eyes went cold as he gripped her waist and pinned her down again.

"Since you asked, I’ll show you exactly what kind of man I am!"