CHAPTER 86: CHAPTER 86: TONIGHT, NO HOLDING BACK

Zion Pence chased out of the private room and saw those two figures.

Blake Sinclair was half-holding Holly, full of possessiveness.

Zion Pence thought he was seeing things and nearly ran into the doorframe.

Blake Sinclair looked up at the sound, his gaze landing on Zion Pence, tightening his grip around Holly a bit more.

Zion Pence suppressed the turmoil in his heart and reached out to Holly, "Holly, come over here."

Holly didn’t move.

Blake Sinclair looked at Zion Pence and spoke casually but with a hint of authority, "President Pence, my wife is not available."

"Wife?" Zion Pence’s eyebrows knitted into a knot, "What does President Sinclair mean by that?"

Blake Sinclair glanced at Holly, whose eyes were slightly red, gently stroked the top of her head, then looked up again, "Let me introduce myself, I’m Holly’s husband."

"Impossible!" Zion Pence retorted without thinking.

He looked at Holly, his eyes full of urgent need for confirmation, "Holly, isn’t your husband that florist? How could he be Blake Sinclair?"

Mia Chapelle had clearly told him that she had seen with her own eyes that Holly’s husband was an ordinary person running a flower shop, how could it be Blake Sinclair?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Blake Sinclair ignored his doubts, pulling Holly closer into his arms, repeating, "I am Holly’s husband, as recognized by law."

Zion Pence’s mind was in chaos, stumbling back a few steps.

Suddenly, he remembered something, pulled out his phone, and started flipping through his chat records. He searched for several minutes before finally finding that chat box at the bottom. Last time when he was drinking, someone had said that Blake Sinclair was already married and even sent him a photo of his wife’s back.

His hands trembling, he opened the photo, magnified it, and again, the familiar side profile of the woman in the photo....

It was Holly! It was really Holly!

He opened his mouth, his throat seemed tightly blocked, and he couldn’t utter a single word.

A few days ago, he had learned from the HR manager that Holly had already submitted her resignation, and the procedures were handled cleanly.

He always thought she left the company in a fit of pique and would regret it sooner or later. After all, she had been with him for seven years and was already used to the life he provided.

He had even planned that when she came back, how he would reprimand her and then generously forgive her.

But he never expected that she not only didn’t look back but also married Blake Sinclair!

The man at the top of the pyramid, someone even he had to look up to!

How could she? How could she have such a good life after leaving him? How was she deserving?

Extreme jealousy and anger clouded Zion Pence’s mind, and he rushed forward, trying to grab Holly’s hand, "Holly, come with me, I have something to ask you!"

But before he could touch Holly, his hand was caught mid-air by Blake Sinclair.

Blake Sinclair’s grip was astonishingly strong, his gaze cold without a trace of warmth, "President Pence, please have some respect."

"Respect?"

The look from Blake Sinclair made Zion Pence’s heart skip a beat, but he stubbornly refused to admit defeat, "President Sinclair might not know, but Holly and I were together for seven years! And how long have you two been married?"

Blake Sinclair released his grip on Zion’s hand.

He turned sideways, completely shielding Holly, and looked at Zion Pence’s flushed face, saying, "Only seven years. Holly and I have a lifetime, those seven years of yours are nothing."

Zion Pence was choked by this statement, his face turning livid.

He glared at Blake Sinclair, as if trying to find any trace of care on his face, but saw nothing but calm and determination.

Now, Holly finally took a breath and tugged at Blake Sinclair’s coat hem, her voice slightly weary, "Let’s go home, there’s no need to say anything to him."

Blake Sinclair immediately responded, "Alright, let’s go home."

Watching them really turn and leave, Zion Pence’s fury exploded, shouting at their backs, "Holly! You believe it because he said he doesn’t mind? You’re really that foolish!"

He snorted, "What kind of family is The Sinclair Family? You think they’d allow him to marry a woman like you? No lineage, no background, even second-hand goods..."

Holly’s face turned pale at his words.

Blake Sinclair’s gaze darkened completely, the pressure around him suffocatingly low.

Zion Pence continued to speak recklessly, "A woman I don’t want, and President Sinclair cherishes so much? Your past seven years with her, is President Sinclair really not curious? Not at all bothered?"

Before he finished speaking, his collar was suddenly grabbed tightly, and Blake Sinclair lifted him entirely with one hand, slamming him against the wall behind.

It felt like his bones might shatter.

Blake Sinclair held his collar, that usual calm and unhurried face now filled with terrifying hostility.

He stared at Zion Pence, squeezing out a few words through clenched teeth, "Looks like you’re tired of staying in Beldon!"

Zion Pence, struggling to breathe with his throat tight, still stubbornly said, "I... I’m speaking the truth! Can you really say you don’t care?"

"Zion Pence, enough!" Holly stepped out from behind Blake Sinclair.

She grabbed Blake Sinclair’s hand, "Don’t be angry with a madman, let’s go home."

Blake Sinclair’s chest heaved violently for a moment, then he slowly released his hand, pulling Holly back behind him.

Zion Pence held his neck, gasping for air, suddenly recalling Blake Sinclair’s unusual reaction earlier, and thought of something.

He laughed mockingly, "You... hahaha... you two haven’t even slept together yet, have you?"

Upon seeing both their expressions change instantly, it seemed to give him renewed confidence.

Zion Pence looked at Holly and suddenly laughed, with a sickly sense of satisfaction, "I guessed right, didn’t I? Holly, look! He still minds! He despises you! He doesn’t really love you at all, he..."

"Bang!"

A fist landed on Zion Pence’s face, interrupting all the words he had left to say.

Blood trickled from the corner of Zion Pence’s mouth, but he seemed not to feel the pain.

He lay on the ground, tilted his head back, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Blake Sinclair hit me!"

His shout quickly drew the attention of the people in the nearby booths, with figures peering out in pairs and threes.

Holly’s heart tightened, afraid the situation would escalate, and rushed forward intending to pull Blake Sinclair away.

Fortunately, at this moment, Shane Yates arrived with a few security guards, quickly separating the two.

Shane Yates pulled Blake Sinclair up, whispering, "Second brother, calm down, it’s not worth it for someone like him."

.....

The atmosphere inside the Maybach was eerily quiet.

Holly glanced at the band-aid on Blake Sinclair’s knuckles; he hadn’t said a word since she treated his wound.

Blake Sinclair, who was usually calm and self-contained, acted out today just for him, causing Holly to feel both guilty and slightly heartbroken.

Upon returning home, he went about as usual, fetching slippers, pouring water, his behavior impeccable, but Holly just knew he was angry.

Holly went for a shower first, and when she came out, he was still sitting on the same sofa. It wasn’t until he saw her come out of the shower that Blake Sinclair silently picked up his clothes and headed for the bathroom.

"Your... hand, be careful with the wound, don’t let it get wet," Holly urged with some concern.

"Got it." His voice was emotionless.

Holly lay in bed, listening to the sound of the shower, fearing that, like last time, he would go to the study after bathing.

But thankfully, this time he returned to the bedroom.

Holly looked at him, "Blake Sinclair, let’s talk."

She told him about what happened at the kiln opening and why she ended up at The Elysian tonight.

At first, she was calm, but when she talked about the grievances she had suffered, she couldn’t hold back any longer, and by the end, the tears just fell.

She didn’t want to cry, thinking it was embarrassing, but once her emotions broke free, there was no holding them back.

Blake Sinclair was initially angry with himself, upset for not providing her with enough sense of security, leaving her to face such matters alone.

He couldn’t bear to be angry at her; now seeing her cry only deepened his remorse.

He reached out and pulled her tightly into his arms, wiping away her tears, with regret and heartache, "Don’t cry, Holly, don’t cry. It’s all my fault, for not noticing your feelings, for making you sad."

She fooled him today, going to meet Zion Pence alone, even though he rationally understood that Holly wouldn’t go back to him, but what if?

What if she still had some lingering feelings? What if she regretted choosing him? What would he do then?

This uncertainty tormented him far more than anger.

Holly buried her face in his chest, sobbing quietly, releasing all the pent-up emotions, oddly calming her down quite a bit.

Blake Sinclair gently stroked her back, "It’s not your fault, Holly. Now you have me, whatever you want to do, wherever you want to go, I’ll be with you."

Under his soft soothing, Holly’s emotions gradually settled down.

The bedroom returned to silence, with only their breathing audible.

It was only then that Holly belatedly realized how intimate and dangerous their current position was.

She didn’t know when she had straddled his lap.

Holly felt a bit uneasy.

She instinctively shifted, intending to move off.

"Don’t move." Blake Sinclair held her firmly in his embrace.

Holly recalled Zion Pence’s words.

"Blake Sinclair..."

"Hmm."

"What Zion Pence just said, you... um...."

She hadn’t finished asking before her words were sealed by his sudden, silencing kiss.

His kiss was filled with an irresistible dominance.

He then bit her lip gently, as both a punishment and a release.

"I don’t want to hear his name." He pressed his forehead against hers, his breath hot.

Holly looked into Blake Sinclair’s eyes, seeing a desire and possessiveness she had never witnessed before, shedding his usual reserved demeanor, like a beast holding back.

It was as if today she had glimpsed a side of Blake Sinclair unknown to others, her heart trembled slightly, but instead of fear, it stirred a desire to soothe him, to be closer to him.

She slowly reached out her hand, encircled his neck, and leaned in to softly kiss his chin.

Blake Sinclair’s body suddenly tensed.

His voice was chillingly deep, "Holly, today I am a little angry."

Holly’s heart tightened, instinctively grabbing his hand.

"So," he declared, ".....I need to punish you."

He held her, slowly pressing into the bed, trapping her beneath him.

"Holly," he panted a command into her ear, "Tonight.... don’t hold back, I want to hear you."