Chapter 3

Tabitha struggled with everything she had, but her strength meant nothing against a few burly bodyguards.

"Apologize to Carrie!" Jordan snapped.

When Tabitha didn't speak, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "What, cat got your tongue?"

His grip was so vicious that it sent a sharp bolt of pain through her. Tears welled up in her eyes reflexively.

They'd grown up together. They'd gone from ignorant kids to teenagers learning what it meant to love, from that first flutter of a crush to a confession, then to a proposal and a marriage certificate. They'd been through so much.

When he loved her most, he'd been willing to risk his life for her.

At 16, Jordan had thrown himself in front of a falling billboard for her and ended up with 7 stitches in his forehead. He'd grinned like an idiot and said, "It's fine. My life is yours anyway. If my face gets ruined and you dare complain, you're dead."

At 18, the moment he became a legal adult, he couldn't wait another second to confess because he was terrified someone else would swoop in first. At 22, when he proposed, he'd dropped to one knee with the ring, so nervous his voice was shaking.

At 23, Jordan and Tabitha ended up marrying on the latter's birthday. But that was when the abduction happened, which led to him hating her with all his might. Despite that, they still didn't get divorced.

Tabitha had thought she and Jordan would stay tangled up like that for the rest of their lives. Yet now, in order to placate another woman, he wanted to divorce her.

"Tabitha, I honestly never expected things to turn out like this. I'm so sorry. Everything's my fault, whether it's the rabbit or my baby." Caroline tugged gingerly on Jordan's sleeve, trying to get him to let go. "I just want my child to be born legitimate. I don't want him branded a bastard the moment he comes into this world."

The more she talked, the sadder she sounded. Her tears fell without restraint, spilling down her cheeks nonstop. "As a mother, I have to think about my child. You're such a kind person—you can understand that, right? Don't worry. Once the baby's born, you'll be his only mother."

"I don't have some kink for raising a homewrecker's love child," Tabitha said. She was a mess from head to toe, but her spine was steel.

The smell of food from the dishes on the table drifted through the air, but all she could see in her head were scenes of Tufty keeping her company.

"You don't want your kid growing up as a bastard?" She turned Caroline's words over slowly, then laughed, her voice even more mocking. "Here's a thought—either don't be the other woman, or keep your damn legs closed if you insist on being the side chick.

"You two had your fun and made a kid—what does that have to do with me? It's not like I shoved the baby into your womb."

Caroline froze for a second, her face flushing bright red. She clearly hadn't expected Tabitha to be that blunt.

"You're both disgusting!" Tabitha spat.

Caroline instinctively lifted her head from Jordan's chest, wanting to explain. "It's not—"

"Shut up!" Tabitha and Jordan spoke at the same time.

Caroline jumped, startled.

"Behave and go sit back down," Jordan snarled, brushing her hand aside.

His gaze landed on Tabitha again. "Seems your tongue's gotten a lot sharper in the six months we've been apart."

Tears slid down Tabitha's cheeks as she looked away from him. Just like Arnold had said, the past three years with the Gill family hadn't exactly been walking through fire and brimstone, but she'd more than paid her dues as their beast of burden.

Every part of Jordan's daily life, right down to a single pair of socks, had gone through her hands.

She'd grown up as a pampered heiress and had never lifted a finger in her life, yet when he'd drunk himself into gastric erosion, she'd forced herself to devour medical textbooks until she basically became his personal nutritionist. She'd cooked for him, managed his medication, and carefully planned his diet.

When he'd had kidney failure, she'd become his walking blood bank because of his rare blood type. Later, when they needed to screen for a kidney match, she'd stepped up without a second's hesitation. The only thing she hadn't done yet was literally hand over her life.

Because of that, the doctors had said she was too weak. Without serious treatment, getting pregnant would be a long shot.

At work, she'd been a complete workhorse, throwing all her money into Gill Corporation and single-handedly dragging a company on the verge of collapse back from the edge. Now, the company's valuation had soared, giving the Gills their best numbers in the last decade.

"To get back at me, to force me into a divorce, you even went after my rabbit." Tabitha's heart raced. "What makes you think I'll roll over like a dog, sign the papers, and sit around waiting for you to remarry me? What makes you think I'll happily raise the spawn of your cheating?"

Her voice trembled, but every word landed loud and clear. "We can divorce. You go your way, and I go mine. But getting back together? That's out of the question. Just breathing the same air as you right now makes my skin crawl."

Jordan looked at her stubborn, shattered expression and suddenly let out a low laugh. He reached up and wiped away the tears at the corner of her eye.

He leaned in close, his thin lips brushing her ear as he enunciated each word. "You go your way, and I go mine?"

He suddenly flung her aside and slammed his hand down on the coffee table. His eyes were so red that they were almost scary. "Keep dreaming, Tabitha."

Jordan bent down, getting right in her face, so close she could see the veins in his eyes and the faint handprint on his cheek. "You say we're over and that's it? I told you before, I decide when this ends."

His thumb brushed over the smear of blood at the corner of her lip, the pressure not too light or too heavy. It was laced with a kind of sick, obsessive possession.

"You want your freedom?" He suddenly laughed, but the smile never reached his eyes. "I refuse to let you walk. You still haven't repaid what you owe me, and you haven't finished paying what you owe the Gill family. What makes you think you get to walk away clean?"

He hadn't managed to move on, so what right did Tabitha have to leave him and go live a normal life? They were supposed to be chained together for life, dragging each other down to the bitter end.

Tabitha jerked, trying and failing to break free. "What's that supposed to mean? We're not getting divorced anymore?"

Jordan pulled out another document from the envelope, stacked it with the first, and laid both back down on the coffee table. He said coldly, "You're signing the divorce agreement, and you're signing the reconciliation agreement, too."

Tabitha looked down. The reconciliation agreement stated that within three months of Caroline giving birth, Jordan would be obligated to initiate getting back together, and Tabitha would not be allowed to refuse.

She would also have to raise the child as her own. She couldn't stop Caroline from visiting the child, and she couldn't cause her any trouble.

"You're insane." Tabitha tipped her head back to look at him, her eyes now completely devoid of love. "Jordan, you're having a baby with another woman. What gives you the right to keep me on a leash?"

"Because what you owe me is more than you can pay back in this lifetime." He crouched down again so they were at eye level. "Carrie saved my life. She's my savior and the mother of my child. Her only wish is that the baby doesn't suffer any unfair treatment, and I have to make that happen. As for you, you're not getting away from me in this lifetime. I'm dragging you down with me!"

"Then I won't sign. Let them stay in the shadows forever." Tabitha set the pen down.

If Caroline was so important, then Tabitha would drag this out as long as she could. She'd be gone in another month anyway.

To be honest, Tabitha didn't even know if she could still go on living by then. But her life had been bought with two others. She had to live—and live well, for all three of them.

Jordan reacted like she'd just told the funniest joke on earth. "That's not up to you."

At his words, the two bodyguards holding Tabitha clamped down even harder. She couldn't move an inch.

Jordan grabbed her wrist, shoved the pen back into her hand, and forced her to sign both the divorce and reconciliation agreements, even pressing her fingerprint onto each one.

Only then did he tuck the two documents away, looking satisfied. He said, "Carrie's insecure, so I won't touch you while we're divorced. But don't worry—I won't leave you with any… downtime."

A chill crept up Tabitha's spine. She had a bad feeling about what he'd say next. When she caught sight of the smile tugging at the corner of his lips, her skin crawled. She instinctively curled in on herself and tried to scoot back.

Sure enough, Jordan clapped his hands toward the door.

Right on cue, the villa door swung open, and ten men were led in by the bodyguards. To be exact, they were ten men who looked anything but decent. All their clothes and pants put together probably wouldn't even make a single bedsheet.

Every one of them was stupidly good-looking, like a pack of seductive, foxy playboys.

The last one was so handsome it practically felt criminal. His loose black shirt hung off his frame, lazy and casual. Only two buttons were fastened, leaving a broad expanse of skin exposed, a red silk ribbon tied over his eyes… His entire vibe wasn't even on the same level as the rest of them.

"What the hell do you mean by this, Jordan? I signed everything you wanted. Tell them to get out!"

Tabitha wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what Jordan was trying to do and screamed at him in fury.

Jordan looked over the men and slowly let the corner of his mouth curl up. "If I didn't have some dirt on you, would you obediently sit around and wait for me to remarry you?"

He knew her far too well.

It was as if something had suddenly occurred to him. He sat down on the coffee table, drumming his fingers against the wood, clearly in an excellent mood.

"Oh, right. After tonight, everyone in our circle will know you cheated first. You were the one who brought ten men to our marital home to party it up and screw around. You betrayed our marriage. Our divorce has nothing to do with Carrie."

Hearing that made Tabitha finally lose all hope in Jordan.

To let Caroline marry into the family with a spotless reputation, Jordan had never once considered leaving Tabitha a way out. He wanted to utterly destroy her, to make sure everyone saw her as nothing more than a cheap slut any man could have.

He wanted to grind her into the dirt until she had nowhere left to run, to turn her into a docile little puppet that only did what she was told.

"They're all your type. Do whatever you want—just make sure everyone's alive when you're done. Don't let things go too far." Jordan pinched Tabitha's cheek with a smile, his tone almost indulgent.

Tabitha's hair stood on end. That last sentence didn't sound like it was meant for her at all. It sounded like it was meant for the men.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Take good care of Mrs. Gill… Wait, no. She's Ms. Rhodes now."

Tabitha shook uncontrollably and struggled nonstop, but her resistance meant nothing to those hulking bodyguards.

"Jordan, I'll hate you for the rest of my life!" she shouted.

"Hate is all that's left between us anyway, Tabitha," Jordan growled.

The lead male escort's tone was playful and dripping with forced flirtation. "Don't worry, Mr. Gill. We'll follow your orders and show Ms. Rhodes a good time."

The respectful words were for Jordan, but his gaze glinted with calculation as it slid over to Caroline, who sat on the couch with a hand on her pregnant belly.

Their gazes met in the air.

The man dipped his head slightly, his eyes clearly telling Caroline everything was in place and nothing would go wrong. That put her at ease.

Jordan hooked a finger under Tabitha's chin, sounding almost exhilarated. "Then stop standing around. Take Ms. Rhodes to the bedroom."