After being entangled with him all night, Nina Thorne woke up with an aching back.
Every step sent a jolt of pain through her.
’Is this man part wolf or sothing?’
But when she thought about their passionate night, she couldn’t help but press her lips into a smile, a blush creeping up her cheeks and to the corners of her eyes.
She had just changed in the walk-in closet and was heading for the door to go downstairs when Justin Kane hugged her from behind.
"Mrs. Kane has been quite busy lately. Heading out again?"
Justin Kane leaned in close to her ear, his warm breath hot against the nape of her neck.
The tingling, ticklish sensation made Nina Thorne giggle, and she couldn’t help but turn her head to the side.
"In two days it’s your birthday. We can announce our marriage at the sa ti. I want to tell Grandpa myself, and I have to notify my uncles one by one."
Nina Thorne leaned back against him. The thought of their relationship becoming public filled her with an indescribable sense of anticipation.
"So you’re so busy you don’t even have ti for ," Justin Kane nuzzled her ear, his actions both clingy and teasing.
Nina Thorne laughed and teased back, "Justin Kane, if anyone else saw you like this, they’d definitely make fun of you."
Justin Kane’s arm around her waist tightened. He took in her faint, fresh scent, his voice lazy and magnetic:
"If a man isn’t clingy with his wife, he must have soone on the side."
"So you’re saying you don’t have anyone on the side?" Nina Thorne raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Of course not. I’m a faithful husband."
"Wow, you’re amazing, Mr. Kane..."
"Of course. So, isn’t Mrs. Kane going to reward ?"
Justin Kane nuzzled and kissed her neck, teasing her until she couldn’t help but let out a giggle.
His warm breath tickled her senses, and Nina could distinctly feel his own breathing growing heavy.
Afraid of being worn out again like last night, she quickly pushed his hands away.
"Mr. Kane, you need to learn so restraint."
Watching him warily, Nina Thorne took two steps back. She felt for the doorknob, threw the door open, and quickly dashed out.
At the doorway, she couldn’t resist turning back and poking her head inside. "Be careful you don’t get drained dry."
"Oh, really? Why don’t you co find out who’s getting drained dry?"
Justin Kane played along mischievously, advancing on her.
It sent her turning tail and running, laughing as she went. Her laughter was clear and lodious, her retreating figure indescribably nimble and charming.
Justin Kane followed her out quickly, calling, "Be careful! Don’t fall!"
"I knooow~"
Nina Thorne went downstairs, her voice floating up from below.
Justin Kane couldn’t help but smile, his eyes dancing with unconcealed amusent.
-
Nina Thorne went to the branch company’s security room again.
The security manager couldn’t find the other disks anywhere and apologized profusely.
"I’m sorry, Miss Thorne, we’ve looked everywhere. We really did give you all the disks last ti."
"Look again. There should be more than seven disks."
The security manager was taken aback.
"Seven disks? Wasn’t it nine?"
He looked at the junior security guards standing to the side.
But they all looked completely bewildered.
Nina Thorne sensed sothing was amiss and ordered them to check the surveillance footage of the security room itself from that day.
Before long, an unexpected figure appeared on the monitor.
"Which departnt is she in?"
Nina Thorne asked, a chill entering her gaze.
"The... Accounting Departnt."
Nina Thorne’s brow darkened.
Soon, she arrived at the Accounting Departnt and, following a colleague’s directions, went to the breakroom.
Just then, Corinne Kerr’s disdainful voice ca from inside. "It all cos down to fate. So people are completely useless, yet they’re born as rich young misses."
"And so people work hard their whole lives, only to end up working for these useless people. There’s no justice in the world."
Her colleague chid in, "What brought this on all of a sudden? Did sothing happen?"
"It’s nothing. I just saw soone I really hate a couple of days ago and it got thinking."
"A person like her, how does she have the gall to be alive? She’s so useless, she might as well be dead..." Corinne Kerr said, her words dripping with venom.
"If you have the gall to be alive, why wouldn’t anyone else?"
Nina Thorne stepped into the breakroom, followed by the head of security and the junior guard who had given her the disks that day.
Corinne Kerr looked up at the familiar voice.
She froze when she saw Nina Thorne, and the coffee cup in her hand fell onto the table with a clatter.
"What are you doing here?"
Corinne Kerr stood, her voice trembling.
Nina Thorne’s lips curled into a cold smile. "You seem scared to see . Is it because you’ve done sothing to feel guilty about?"
Corinne Kerr’s eyes darted away. "Stop spouting nonsense."
She moved to leave.
As she passed Nina Thorne, her arm was grabbed and she was pulled back.
The female colleague didn’t know Nina Thorne’s identity and tried to stand up for Corinne.
"What’s wrong with you? Why are you pushing her?"
Hearing the commotion, other colleagues outside got up from their desks and looked toward the breakroom.
"This has nothing to do with you. Get out," Nina Thorne said, shooting the colleague a look.
The female colleague looked at her, then at the security guards behind her, and found the situation strange.
"What are you trying to do? You’re not going to hit , are you?" Corinne Kerr felt a growing unease and was anxious to leave.
"I have nothing to say to you. Move."
This ti, Nina Thorne didn’t hesitate, stepping in front of her to block her way.
She held out her hand. "Give them back to ."
Nina Thorne’s gaze was frigid, devoid of any warmth. It was downright chilling.
Corinne Kerr was terrified, but she feigned composure.
The female colleague, apparently on good terms with her, ca to her defense. "Who are you? Security, why did you bring this person up here to cause trouble?"
"Hurry up and take her away! Don’t disrupt our work here!"
Nina Thorne ignored her, her gaze fixed on Corinne Kerr. "Do you want to end up at the police station, or are you going to hand them over quietly? Your choice."
The head of security said sternly, "The surveillance footage caught you taking two of the disks. You’d better cooperate and hand them over."
"Otherwise, we’ll have no choice but to call the police."
The junior guard pointed her out. "I recognize you! You were the one who ca to the security room that day and sent away. I can’t believe it was to steal the disks."
Hearing this, Corinne Kerr’s face turned deathly pale, and panic flickered across her features.
Nina Thorne said coldly, "Ready to hand them over now?"
Corinne Kerr could no longer keep up her pretense. Her expression crumbled as she begged, "They’re... they’re not with anymore. Nina Thorne, can you let go?"
Nina Thorne was stunned for a few seconds, then pressed, "Who did you give them to? Don’t tell it was Serena Kane."
Corinne Kerr closed her eyes in despair and nodded.
’It really was Serena Kane.’
Nina Thorne frowned.
Before she could speak, Mark Lockwood’s furious voice rang out, "How outrageous! To dare to steal from the company."
As he finished speaking, Mark Lockwood appeared in their line of sight.
"As of today, you’re fired! Take her away and hand her over to the police."
The female colleague was utterly astonished and didn’t dare to make another sound.
’That was close.’
’I almost got myself into trouble.’
Corinne Kerr frantically grabbed Nina Thorne’s hand, bowing low as she pleaded, "Nina Thorne, let go. I can’t go to the police station, and I can’t lose this job..."
"Please, just let go, okay? I’m begging you."
Corinne Kerr’s tearful voice didn’t evoke a shred of sympathy from Nina Thorne.
She shook off her hand and said coldly, "I can overlook all the things you’ve done with Serena Kane over the past few years, but you never should have touched those disks!"
’That was her last hope.’
’Without the disks, how could she find the person who saved her life?’
"No, Nina Thorne, it had nothing to do with ! Serena Kane made do it! Let go..."
"It wasn’t my fault! It really wasn’t my fault, Nina Thorne!"
The head of security dragged her away without another word. No matter how much Corinne Kerr begged, Nina Thorne’s expression remained icy.
Mark Lockwood looked at Nina Thorne, his previous anger gone, and asked with a concerned expression:
"Nina, are those disks very important? I’ll make sure she hands them over, no matter what. Otherwise, she can forget about ever working in this industry again."
Nina Thorne couldn’t figure out Serena Kane’s motive at the mont, so she didn’t go into detail with him. "It’s alright, Uncle. I can handle it."
Afterward, she told her uncle about the birthday party before leaving the company.
’She had to find Serena Kane and get so answers.’
Going to such lengths to oppose her made it hard not to suspect that they were deliberately hiding sothing.
As she started the car, she called Serena Kane.
"So you’ve finally decided to call ?" Serena Kane answered the phone, her laugh full of hidden aning.
’Obviously, she’d been expecting her call.’
"Give the disks."
Nina Thorne cut right to the chase, wasting no ti on pleasantries. "Serena Kane, I don’t care what you’re trying to do. Hand them over."
Serena Kane chuckled smugly. "I don’t know what you’re talking about, Nina Thorne..."
A layer of frost seed to envelop Nina Thorne. "I think the public would love to see a story about a forbidden romance within a wealthy family. An uncensored, high-definition version, at that."
Fury erupted from the other end of the line: "Nina Thorne, you’re shaless!"
Nina Thorne’s expression was cold. "I learned from the best."
"Fine. If you want the disks, co find at The Zenith Club."
Serena Kane finished speaking through gritted teeth and hung up with a sharp CLICK.
anwhile, Justin Kane was at the club, having arranged to et with Seth Lawson and Shawn Sinclair to tell them about his birthday party.
Seth Lawson had the biggest reaction. "Alright, Kane! About ti you made it public."
Shawn Sinclair gave a refined smile. "Congratulations. Your wish is finally coming true."
Justin Kane sank into the black sofa, his eyes as dark as night but holding an obvious hint of a smile.
"The wait was worth it."
He gestured with the glass in his hand, and the other two picked up their glasses. They clinked them together and drank.
After finishing his drink, Seth Lawson put down his glass and raised an eyebrow. "But I heard April Graham ca to the company looking for you a couple of days ago. What are you going to do about her?"
Shawn Sinclair’s expression was calm. "Her situation is indeed tricky. You should handle it carefully. Don’t let Nina get her heart broken."
"I’ve already explained it to Nina Thorne."
Justin Kane’s words were stunning.
The two of them exchanged a surprised look, gesturing for him to continue.
Just then, the door was pushed open, and April Graham stord in. "Justin! I called you and you didn’t answer, I ssaged you and you didn’t reply, I went to your company and you avoided ..."
"What, are you trying to abandon now?"
She strode to the table, ignoring the other two n, her questioning gaze fixed on Justin Kane.
Justin Kane’s brow darkened when he saw her.
"Will you ever stop?"
April Graham said righteously, "Justin, have you forgotten what you promised ?"
"If you don’t make things clear with , I’ll go straight to Nina Thorne! I’ll let her know she’s the other woman!"
Seth Lawson’s and Shawn Sinclair’s expressions changed slightly.
Justin Kane’s expression turned grim, the air around him suddenly becoming bitingly cold. "Try ."
"Fine, then I will."
April Graham t his gaze without fear and said indignantly, "I’d also like to see if she can handle it after she learns the truth!"
With that, she turned and left the private room.
"Kane," Seth Lawson looked at Justin Kane with a worried expression. This could get ugly.
Even the refined and gentle Shawn Sinclair’s expression changed.
The muscles in Justin Kane’s jaw tightened, a cold, harsh light glinted in the depths of his eyes, and his face was like a gathering storm.
「At the sa ti.」
Nina Thorne arrived at The Zenith Club, stepped out of the elevator, and headed toward the VIP rooms.
She was walking down the hallway from one end, just as April Graham was erging from the other...
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