Web Fic
Chapter 275
Chapter 275
Chapter 275
Gwendolyn slept soundly on the plush futon, her long hair spilling onto her skin, just barely covering her body.
It was a tease of shadows and light
Howard’s gaze was deep, sweeping across her form.
She had been drinking, her skin flushed with a rosy tint. For some reason, he thought of a blooming crab apple tree, alluring and vibrant. He glimpsed the darkest and most persistent desires of his heart, an uncontrollable longing.
His eyes lowered as he pulled out a dusty easel from the closet, his slender fingers twirling a charcoal pencil. Smooth lines began to take shape on the paper..
His body was burning, the agitation unbearable.
His piercing gaze devoured every inch of her skin, every shade of color, every detail etched into his memory.
In the ruthless privacy of his mind, he replayed over and over the things he hadn’t carried out in reality.
The n
night grew old, and the sounds of the pencil scratching against the sketch paper ceased.
Howard draped a woolen blanket over Gwendolyn, then quietly stopped out of the studio to answer the vibrating phone. “Hello”
“Mr. Chadwick, it’s Quentin.” Quentin had worked tirelessly to track down “Grace,” finally persuading her to hack the network and delete those photos and videos.
Perhaps Howard’s insistence on finding a female hacker was a testament to his possessiveness over Mrs. Chadwick.
“Grace has erased all the backup videos. But she found traces of copies being printed, they’ve been leaked.”
Howard’s face darkened: “Copied traces?”
Quentin hurried to show his loyalty: “Tm following the leads to find them, I’m sure it won’t take long.”
“Mhm,” Howard responded curtly.
As soon as he hung up, his phone chimed with a new message. He switched to the messaging app, where Selina had sent a photo.
He opened it.
The chat showed a photo of her in a revealing nightgown, sheer and seductive, though lacking the curves to pull off a truly seridunt allure.
Selina said, “Howie, do you like my new nightie?” Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
Howard regarded it with cold detachment.
Selina sent several more photos, showcasing her long legs and her cleavage, which she tried to emphasize, all exuding a certain
tawdriness
Howard saved the images with icy indifference, then warned her.
“The footage from the hidden cameras has been deleted by someone I hired. Don’t use such tactics again, or you’ll face my full wrath. Also, hand over the printed copies you made, or your photos will end up on billboards across Bayridge City”
He blocked her and deleted her from his contacts.
At the Hamilton residence, in the princess–themed bedroom. Selina saw Howard’s message, frantic to explain but greeted by a red exclamation mark.
The sender is no longer in your contact list
Howie had blocked her!
Anger made Selina stomp her foot. She checked her phone for copies of the videos and photos, only to find they had vanished. Nervously biting her nails, she realized she had mailed the printed photos to that old lady in the countryside. How was she supposed to get them back?
Jealousy raged within her. Why did Howie fancy a country girl?
As she gnawed anxiously on her hand, a violent argument erupted downstairs, with the sound of things being smashed jolting Selina. Clutching her phone, Selina crept out of her room and hid in the shadows of the second–floor corridor to listen.
In the living room, tensions were high.
Eve swung her walking stick at Magnolia, her voice filled with distress: “idiot! Just when your brother was starting to bounce back, you
09:35
had to go and push Gwendolyn into resigning!”
Magnolia defended herself, her voice tinged with hurt: “I didn’t think she’d overreact like that!”
She had panicked at the time. But her pride wouldn’t let her stoop to appease a young girl.
“Even a clay figure has its pride. You hurt her grandmother, leading to her hospitalization. How could she not strike back?”