Chapter 10
726words
This time, Tara didn’t resist.
The man was like a predator on the plains, wild and powerful, exuding an untamed energy.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before her mind began to clear. Exhausted and completely drained, she forced herself to move.
The room was too dangerous. Someone could walk in at any moment.
Tara crawled around, gathering her scattered clothes and shoes with trembling hands, and dressed herself as quickly as she could.
The man’s hair was damp, his sculpted body glistening with a fine layer of sweat that seemed to catch the light.
Tara couldn’t help but glance at him a few times. She picked up her phone, intending to transfer him some money as payment, but quickly reconsidered. Leaving behind any trace was too risky.
After a moment of thought, she removed her watch and placed it on his well-defined abs.
“This watch is worth over five million. Consider it your payment.”
The man’s face darkened instantly. He picked up the watch, sat up, and stared at her with a heavy gaze.
Afraid he might demand even more, Tara quickly bolted from the room.
“Five million for one night. It’s more than enough!” she thought.
To avoid running into Leo or anyone else, she skipped the main lobby and exited through the emergency stairwell.
Stepping out of Majestic Nightclub’s doors, she realized dawn had broken.
The streets were bustling with cars and pedestrians, the city already awake and alive.
Taking a deep breath, she descended the steps and headed toward the parking lot.
“Tara!” Leo’s voice came from behind her.
Her body froze. Slowly, she turned to see Leo walking out of Majestic Nightclub, his face dark with anger.
Nina clung to his arm, swaying with practiced elegance. She wore a silk scarf around her neck, her expression fatigued yet polite.
Flashing a faint smile, she greeted Tara. “Miss Stone, what a coincidence. Nice to see you again.”
Leo’s eyes were icy, like frozen steel.
He had blacked out from drinking last night and completely forgotten that he had called Tara.
His voice was cold as he questioned her. “What are you doing here?”
Tara, furious and amused by the absurdity, let out a sharp laugh. “Where else should I be?” she replied.
“In Wesley’s bed? Disappointed your plan didn’t work out?” she thought, her gaze piercing.
Leo’s chest burned with fury.
Tara’s disheveled hair and exhausted expression suggested she had spent the night at the nightclub.
He desperately wanted to know what she had been doing there all night, but confronting her in public wasn’t an option.
Striding over, he grabbed her wrist tightly. “We’ll talk at home.”
His grip was so strong that Tara winced in pain.
“Let go! You’re hurting me!” she protested, frowning as she tried to pull away.
Leo’s expression was dark and menacing as he growled, “Behave yourself.”
Nina stepped forward, her voice soft and coaxing. “Leo, don’t get upset. Let’s talk this through calmly.”
Suddenly, a middle-aged man holding a bucket of paint charged at them, shouting, “Nina! You shameless vixen! Have you no decency?”
Before anyone could react, he raised the bucket and flung its contents toward Nina.
The three of them were standing too close together, and the paint splattered everywhere. None of them escaped unscathed.
In the heat of the moment, Leo released Tara’s wrist and pulled Nina into his arms, spinning to shield her from the paint.
At the same time, Tara instinctively raised her arm to shield her face and turned away.
Bright red paint splattered across Leo’s back, while Tara was drenched head to toe.
Screams erupted simultaneously.
“Ah!”
Tara, Nina, and bystanders cried out in shock.
Leo, now enraged, barked at the nightclub security, “Grab him!”
Tara recognized the paint-thrower. It was the same middle-aged man she had encountered in the parking lot the previous night.
The man, now cornered, tossed the bucket aside and pulled out a boning knife, lunging at Nina with venomous intent.
“You home-wrecking slut! Filthy whore!”
Leo, having trained in basic self-defense, immediately stepped in. He pushed the terrified Nina behind him and kicked toward the attacker.
But the direction of his kick sent the man stumbling straight toward Tara.
