Hesper stood in front of Julian. Rickard raised his brow as the air grew cold around them. “Hesper Rivera, do you have any idea what you’re doing?”“I do.” She raised her chin and met his dark gaze. “Ian helped me out a great deal. No one can kick him out.”“What if I insist?” Rickard’s gaze was so sharp it could cut someone. Julian didn’t want to put Hesper in a tough spot, so he walked forward. “There’s no need for scare tactics here. I'll leave if you take good care of her. I don’t want to see her in the hospital again. However, I will give you a piece of advise. It’s best for you to find out what happened before you come in with your holier-than-thou attitude.”Rickard squinted because he could tell if there was a hidden meaning. After Julian left, he asked, “What did he mean? What happened?”“You don’t know?” Hesper was surprised because she thought that he was there after finding out what had happened. Benji immediately explained. “Mr. Duval cares about your health, so
“Mr. Duval, are we really going to leave? Why don’t I go ask the doctor and see how Mrs. Duval is?” Benji asked. Rickard didn’t appreciate that and walked even quicker. “Go ahead, but it doesn’t concern me anymore. I don’t want to know!”Benji was left behind and was hesitant but still decided to find out more. He knew that Rickard went there because he wanted to find out what happened. After ten minutes, Benji walked to the car with a troubled look. “I found out what happened, sir.” Rickard was resting his eyes and didn’t see Benji’s expression. He didn’t care. “Tell me then, what’s her issue?”“The doctor said that… Mrs. Duval was drugged with an aphrodisiac. She was sent to the hospital and was given injections and forced to throw up. She went through a lot before she finally felt better.”“Aphrodisiac?” Rickard’s eyes opened and looked sharp. “Are you sure?”Benji nodded solemnly. He wouldn’t dare joke about this. Rickard’s change in expression was obvious. His eyes t
“I don’t want the money. Give it back to him.” Hesper refused it expressionlessly. Her pride wasn’t something that could be bought with a measly check. Benji was going to say something, but she cut him off. “As for what happened today, I’ll make a police report and let them handle it.”“I’ll drive you home then.” Hesper didn’t reject that. On the way back, Benji told her, “By the way, Mrs. Duval, the people at the hospital said someone drove you there. I believe that person would have seen what happened. If you could get him to be a witness and provide some information, it would help with the investigation.”Hesper’s mind was filled with Matthew’s face, but she didn’t know who he was, so there was no chance that she could get him to be a witness. The man was very well-dressed and was in an extravagant luxury car. He would probably not want to get involved in this. She calmly said, “He was just there at the right time. I don’t think it will be easy to track him down.”Benji d
“Why would you ask that?” Juniper frowned, looking surprised. “Do you suspect that I did it? Or do you think I would be happy about it?”Rickard didn’t reply. Juniper’s reactions seemed normal and her behavior didn't seem odd. He couldn’t find a reason to convince himself that she had anything to do with this. After a few seconds, he spoke. “I was just asking.”Juniper was relieved but she still looked wronged and unhappy about it. Sophia jumped at the opportunity and stood by her side. “What are you doing? You used to care about Juni the most but now you seem to question her a lot. Do you think she wouldn't feel hurt? Or is someone trying to twist the truth?”Rickard knew what she meant and frowned. “What are you trying to say? Hesper made a police report, so the police is getting involved. I'll investigate this too, so no one will be able to twist the truth.”Sophia didn’t talk back after she was called out. Rickard, agitated, loosened his tie then walked to his study. Be
The investigating officer looked at her. “But we’ve investigated this thoroughly, and the suspects were adamant that no one was ordering them around. We looked into their bank cards, phone records, and everything else. There were no suspicious transfers or calls.”Hesper couldn’t put a finger on it, but she knew that the two men were targeting her. “Please look into this again. I don’t want the actual culprits to get away!”The officer hesitantly looked at Rickard, and when he nodded, the officer agreed to avoid wrongly closing the case. “Alright, we’ll investigate further. Can you provide any evidence or witnesses? The person who saved you, for example?”Hesper hesitated, then shook her head. “I don’t know who he is, so I wouldn’t be able to contact him.”Rickard noticed the slight change in her demeanor and his eyes darkened. However, no matter how many times they interrogated the men, they refused to change their statements, so the outcome remained. The police were out o
In the study, the mother and son sat down. Rickard checked the time on his watch. “Go ahead.”Julie spoke. “I know that you’re trying to get Hesper, but have you considered why she didn’t come home? Has she ever done this since you married? Don’t you think that this is out of character?”How could it not be? He never imagined that she would do this, so he didn't notice that she wasn’t home until the helper went to wake her up. Julie scoffed and coldly said, “I’m going to say something that you wouldn’t want to hear. I watched the video too yesterday. She was disoriented and couldn’t even walk properly. Who knows if anything happened after she got into some man’s car?”“Mom!” Rickard cut her off. “What? Am I wrong?” Julie continued. “I don’t want to accuse her of anything, but the truth is right there. If they were both innocent, why did she not cooperate when the police asked to look for the witness? Also, why didn’t she come home?”Rickard’s mind went to the moment when Hesp
When Rickard realized that she hadn't come home, he immediately sent people to search for her and personally went to get her, but what he got in return was her yelling at him. His eyes glazed over. “I haven’t signed the papers yet, Hesper. You’re being too arrogant.”He pushed her away, but because he used too much force, she fell backward into the wet bed. Rickard gave orders with no expression on his face. “Mrs. Duval is disoriented. Bring her to the car!”Two bodyguards walked next to Hesper, one on each side, and dragged her out while ignoring her struggles. “Rickard Duval, you’re crazy!”Hesper was distraught. She was wet from head to toe and was manhandled as if she was a criminal. She anxiously said, “It was just one night. Who actually cares about my safety? What’s the point of doing all this now?”“Of course, there’s a point.” Rickard’s eyes were sharp and cold as he glared at her. “It’s one thing if we care about you or not, another thing to ruin our family’s repu
“If you haven’t done anything to betray me, then what are you afraid of?” Rickard grabbed her by the wrist and subdued her firmly within his arms as cold and stern words escaped between his thin lips. “I’ll never let anyone deceive me or hide something from me, so you have to go through the test whether you like it or not!”“You bastard!” Hesper cursed at him exasperatedly, and the walls of the mental prison that had been used to contain and suppress the grievances within herself finally crumbled at that moment.Her clear eyes welled up gradually and tears blurred her vision. Hesper could only hate herself for not finding out that he was such a person before this.“Rickard Duval, this relationship between me and you cracked a long time ago, and we didn’t file for a divorce only because of your family. If you dare treat me like this, I’ll never forgive you!”Hearing this, the level of Rickard’s anger skyrocketed.‘She just seems to love to bring up the fact that our relationship is