Chapter 15

Jean fell back on the settee. She put her hand to her throat and coughed violently, with traces of tears in her eyes.

She tried to get up from the settee. But her vision went dark, and her body tumbled forward.

Just as she thought she would hit the floor, she fell into a wall of muscles.

A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her up with ease.

She looked up and saw Etan’s unconcerned face. “Thank you,” she said.

She tried to pull away, but his grip on her was too strong.

Anne gritted her teeth. She was jealous of Jean. Was Etan not fastidious? So how come he touched Jean while was apathetic toward her, no matter what she did to please him? He even frowned at her whenever she tried to get close to him. Yet, he allowed himself to touch Jean.

“What perfume do you use?” Etan asked.

That was quite a personal question.

While his face remained expressionless, he stared at Jean with a burning desire in his eyes.

He smelled a scent on Jean—the familiar scent that made his heart flutter.

That question startled Jean for a second before she replied spontaneously, “I use none.”

“Is this why you were pretending all this while—to seduce Etan? Just in case you forgot—you are just a social-climbing whore,” Jason snapped.

Anne’s heart skipped a beat. She cursed Jean in her mind as she pulled Jean away from Etan.

“Are you all right, Jean? I am sorry. It is all my fault.”

She then turned to Jason angrily. “You have gone too far, Jason. How can you treat Jean like this?”

Jason shot her a disdainful look. He would only listen to Etan. Who was Anne to tell him off? She must have thought too highly of herself. She could be here only because of Etan.

Anne was stared down by Jason’s piercing eyes. She bit her lip and did not dare to repeat a word.

Jean felt a fire burning in her throat.

Pushing Anne away, she pulled her clothes back up on her shoulders. She then got to her feet and headed for the door.

But Jason raised his leg to block her from leaving. “Have you got my permission to leave?”

“Drink this, and I will let you go.”

Jean picked up a bottle. Just as she was about to smash it on Jason’s head, Anne rushed over and stopped her. Her eyes reddened as she said, “We are best friends, and I am on your side. But you have caused so much trouble here, and that would only make my life difficult. As much as Etan loves me, I can’t face him if you continue to be so unruly.”

Jean felt insulted.

She caused trouble for Anne?

She looked away, shook off Anne’s hand, and glanced at the glass of whiskey. “You had better keep your word.”

She pushed Anne’s hand away, grabbed the entire bottle of wine on the table, and poured the content down her neck.

She drank so fast that the wine spilled out of the corners of her mouth, flowing down her neck and getting into her clothes.

Everyone else watched on and was stunned.

As the wine in the bottle became empty, everyone was silenced.

Jean was no ordinary woman. She was unpredictable and would never follow the script that everyone else had in mind.

She would not beg or cry. Even if she were humiliated or trampled upon, she would not bow her head.

She looked frivolous, but deep down, she was proud.

After downing the entire bottle of wine, her cheeks flushed. But she remained upright. The bottle dropped from her hand and rolled up under Etan’s feet.

“Is this good enough?” She snapped.

Jason’s lips twitched. He could not describe how he felt right now.

Jean pushed him away and strode out.

He looked on, raising his hand, wanting to call out to her.

But he did not do that. Instead, he grabbed his hair in frustration.

She was a savory woman who had an attitude. He freaking liked her.

In contrast, these women around him were all pale as water, without the slightest taste.

He wondered why Jean had stayed under his radar until now.

Anne pretended she was worried about Jean. “I am sorry, I have got to check her out.”

Jason was restless, pacing back and forth in the room. He then sat back down, slumping back into the settee beside Etan, and said no word.

Etan glanced at the empty wine bottle at his feet. A light of desire flashed in his eyes when he saw the faint lip print on the mouth of the bottle.

Jason suddenly sat up and said in all seriousness, “I can’t shake this woman off my mind, bro.”

Etan sneered at him.

“Don’t you think she is seductive? She is strong, like spirits,” Jason said.

As Etan’s cell phone rang, he ignored Jason, got up, and left.

As soon as Jean left the room, she rushed into the washroom and puked her guts out.

Anne patted Jean on the back. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. A little compromise will go a long way.”

Deep down, she wished those men to rape Jean on the spot.

Whenever she thought Jean would buckle under humiliation, she would come out of it stronger.

Jean had savage survivability. It was as if nothing could crush her.

“It is not my fault. Why should I have to give in?” She looked up and saw her reddened eyes in the mirror.