Chapter 160

Chapter 160

"Mr. Smith, why are you calling me so late? Is something wrong?"

At first, Bianca didn't recognize the voice. Then it hit her.

That was Serenity — her best friend.

But why was she on the phone with Trent?

Serenity knew perfectly well that Trent was her man. Bianca was even carrying his child. And yet Serenity still had the nerve to get close to him.

Bianca had been nothing but genuine with her, and this was how Serenity repaid her.

Bianca's chest heaved with rage, her breath coming in sharp bursts through her nose. She wanted nothing more than to storm over and confront Serenity right then and there.

But she was still living in Serenity's apartment.

Blowing things up now would do her no good.

Was she just supposed to sit back and let Serenity chase after Trent?

Bianca couldn't accept that.

She stood there with a cold expression, thinking it over for a long moment, and finally decided to call Trent directly.

If Trent's people had already tracked down her phone number, they probably knew where she was by now too.

Hiding made no sense anymore. She might as well have an honest conversation with Trent out in the open.

With her mind made up, Bianca took a deep breath and dialed his familiar number.

When an unknown number called, Trent's first instinct was to hang up.

But the caller kept at it, one call after another, and as his patience wore thin, a faint curiosity crept in.

Who had nothing better to do than keep calling him like this?

And on his private number, no less.

A thoughtful look flickered in Trent's eyes. He picked up — and heard Bianca's voice on the other end.

"Trent. Long time no see."

"You actually have the nerve to call me?"

The moment he recognized her voice, Trent stopped what he was doing.

He never expected that after running away, Bianca would one day have the guts to reach out to him.

Wasn't she afraid of being dragged back?

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted?" Bianca said with a light laugh. "You had someone send me that recording of your call with Serenity. You wanted me to do something about it, didn't you?"

She got straight to the point.

Trent said nothing.

She wasn't wrong. That had been his plan.

After all, Serenity was Bianca's friend — someone Bianca had brought into his life. So it was only fair that Bianca clean up the mess.

And once he found out that Serenity knew Bianca, he had a pretty good idea of how she'd gotten his home address.

Bianca must have let it slip.

"You caused this problem. It's on you to fix it."

Bianca went quiet for a moment at his cold words, then agreed without hesitation.

"Of course I'll fix it. But..."

She deliberately left the sentence hanging, hoping to bait Trent into asking more. But Trent had plenty of patience.

He didn't say a word. He just listened.

He wanted to see what Bianca was really after.

Did she think he was still the same man he used to be?

If so, she was very much mistaken.

Bianca waited and waited, but Trent never took the bait. She started to get anxious.

"Aren't you even curious about what I'm trying to say?"

"You're not in a position to negotiate."

Knowing how possessive Bianca was, Trent figured she'd deal with Serenity on her own without him having to do a thing.

So why would he bother negotiating with her?

He could just sit back and let it play out.

Bianca clearly realized the same thing, and quickly adjusted her approach.

"Trent, I'm not calling with any hidden agenda. I just want to sort this out."

She took a breath and softened her tone.

"I had no idea she'd set her sights on you and cause you trouble. I'm really sorry about that."

"Skip the small talk. If that's all you've got, I'm hanging up."

Trent was about to end the call when Bianca stopped him.

"Trent, don't hang up yet."

Sensing his patience was nearly gone, Bianca didn't waste any more time.

"Trent, I'm calling because I genuinely want to make things right between us. I know I didn't handle some things well before. I'm sorry."

Trent felt nothing hearing her back down like that.

"And?"

"And I think we could work together."

On her end of the line, a sharp gleam flashed in Bianca's eyes.

She'd originally planned to confront Serenity directly and tell her to stay away from Trent.

But instead of handling it that bluntly, she could use this as a way to get back in with Trent.

"You don't really know Serenity. She's relentless. When she wants something, she'll do whatever it takes to get it."

Afraid Trent might shut her down, Bianca played her trump card early.

The only leverage she had with him right now was what she knew about Serenity.

Serenity was good at putting on a front. Underneath, she was calculating and manipulative, well-versed in all kinds of underhanded tactics.

"If she figures out she can't get to you directly, she'll go after Abigail instead."

Trent had been ready to tune Bianca out, but the moment she mentioned Abigail, his hand froze over the phone.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you don't want anyone interfering in Abigail's life or upsetting her."

As she said it, Bianca felt a sting behind her eyes.

She never thought the day would come when she'd willingly help solve a problem for Abigail's sake.

Her feelings were all over the place.

"I'm hoping you can put the past behind us and work with me. I'll keep an eye on Serenity's every move and make sure she never gets the chance to bother Abigail."

Sensing Trent's patience was almost up, Bianca picked up her pace and laid out her proposal.

But Trent knew Bianca wouldn't help him out of the goodness of her heart.

Especially given that she and Abigail were hardly on good terms.

"In exchange, you'd have to support me financially."

Trent had to admit — for just a moment, it was tempting.

Just a moment, though.

What Bianca was asking for wasn't hard to manage. A bit of money, and she'd keep tabs on Serenity for him.

But what would that mean in the bigger picture?

If Abigail ever found out he'd been quietly sending money to Bianca, how would he explain it?

And even if he did explain, would she actually believe him?

He had no answers to either question, and he wasn't willing to gamble on them.

More than anything, he didn't want Abigail to feel even the slightest bit of discomfort.

Not even a little.

"No thanks."

Bianca froze when she heard his breezy refusal.

All she was asking for was a little money. She wasn't asking him to marry her. So why was he saying no?