Chapter 4

I stood frozen, staring at Conrad as he convulsed on the floor. It wasn't long before the door to the guest room we were in flew open.

Simone stormed in with the family doctor and several security guards. She shoved me aside, dropped to the floor, and pulled Conrad into her arms, her voice shaking as she cried out, "Conrad! What's wrong, Conrad?"

Leaning weakly against her, Conrad raised a trembling finger toward me. "Simone… He said… as long as I die… he'll get to be your husband… I… I can't breathe…"

His head lolled to one side, and he passed out.

The doctor hurried forward and injected him with an anti-allergy medication.

Simone spun toward me, her eyes burning. It looked like she wanted to skin me alive.

"Jason Sawyer!" she shrieked. "I've been putting up with your crap time and time again out of consideration for the fact that you saved my life. I even let you move into this house and enjoy a life of luxury! How could you be so heinous as to poison Conrad?"

She strode over and slapped me across the face. The blow was so strong it snapped my head to the side, and I tasted blood in my mouth.

"I'm so disappointed in you!" she screamed, her expression furious.

Clutching my stinging cheek, I took in her outrage. My mind was racing through the possibilities. If Simone reported me to the police for attempting to harm her fiance, I'd be locked away for at least a few months. But I knew she wouldn't do it—she wouldn't want any bad press about this matter.

Sure enough, even though she was trembling with rage, she simply continued to yell at me, "You think I wouldn't do anything to you? How dare you abuse my gratitude by doing something so outrageous?"

Despite saying all that, she never did report me to the authorities. Instead, she instructed her bodyguards, "He needs to pay for this! Lock him up in the basement! No one is allowed to check on him without my permission!"

The bodyguards came up to me and grabbed me. I couldn't stop them from hauling me out of the guest room.

The basement was cold and damp, the air thick with the smell of mildew and dust. After shoving me inside, the bodyguards locked the metal door and left.

Sometime after midnight, I calmly reached into my pocket.

Simone must have been too blinded by anger to remember that she'd made me her live-in assistant. On the very day I moved into this villa, the butler gave me the spare keys to all of the rooms in this place so that I could coordinate whatever household work needed doing.

This was the perfect opportunity for me. I pulled out the keys and quietly unlocked the basement door.

Avoiding the security cameras, I climbed over the back wall of the compound and, with great difficulty, snuck out of the luxurious neighborhood.

The moment I breathed free air again, I nearly threw my head back and laughed.

To hell with Simone, the domineering CEO of Parker Group, and her snake of a fiance. I wasn't going to entertain their shenanigans any longer!

I rushed to the private hospital on the outskirts of the city. Ava was still awake, sitting up in the hospital bed as she stared out the window.

Hearing a knock, she stood up warily. But when she heard my voice, she yanked the door open.

The moment she saw me, with my body covered in dust and my hair in complete disarray, her eyes reddened. She threw her arms around me and held me tightly.

"Darling… You've suffered so much." Her voice quivered as she continued to squeeze me hard.

We wasted no time in hiring someone to drive us back to Faircove that very night. No one could hold us back anymore. We were finally free.

…

Back at Valley Heights, the sky was just starting to lighten. Simone had sat up all night in her study, and she now had the dark undereye circles to show for it.

Conrad's allergic reaction had long since subsided, and she'd already finished dealing with the avalanche of work emails waiting for her.

Her eyes fell to the document on her desk titled "Confidential Compensated Relationship Agreement", and her lips curled into a confident smile.

As she toyed with her custom fountain pen, she leisurely asked Tori, "How are things down in the basement? Has Jason admitted his mistake yet? Did he spend the whole night reflecting on his actions and demanding to see me?"

Tori was busy racking her brains for an appropriate answer when Simone waved her off with a dismissive huff. Her eyes flashed with smugness as she declared, "Oh, forget it. It's good to let him suffer for a bit. I don't want him using the debt of gratitude I owe him as his excuse to act all petty and jealous in front of Conrad again."

She got up and grabbed the agreement. With Tori in tow, she went down to the basement, her eyes bright with anticipation.

"Jason, I know you only lost your head for a moment, and…"

Alas, when the bodyguard opened the heavy metal door, Simone's smile froze. She was greeted by the echoing silence of an empty room. Her heart clenched, and terror like no other washed over her.