Chapter 26
Henry's hand never came down.
He still needed Joanna to apologize to Chris—he couldn't damage her face right now.
Looking at the frail woman in the hospital bed, he suddenly softened his tone. "You're getting more and more disobedient. Seems like you don't want your mother to have it easy anymore. Don't forget, I'm her husband. I can stop her treatment anytime."
"You!" Joanna trembled with anger. "She's your wife, but she's my mother, too!"
Henry sneered. "So what? She's completely useless, just lying in the hospital costing money. There are way too many people in this world who can't afford medical treatment!"
Joanna looked at him painfully, once again recognizing her father's coldness.
In the Jones family, her brother Chad was reckless, her father Henry was cold-blooded. Only her mother, Sandra, had ever shown her warmth.
Joanna wasn't about to let some disease take her mom away, so as long as there was even a shot at saving her, she'd blow every last dime she had.
Before, she thought that even if Henry wouldn't pay, he should at least hope for Sandra's recovery.
But now, Joanna understood—only she and her mother truly cared for each other and wished each other well.
"What do you want?" Joanna asked numbly.
A million? She could make that in one more surgery, but she wasn't about to just hand it over to Henry. Once Henry knew she had cash, he'd be back with his hand out every day.
Henry poured her a glass of water. "Don't rush, have some water first. Let's talk this through."
Joanna knew exactly what he wanted—just money to fix whatever trouble Chad had gotten into.
She took a sip of water and was about to speak when she saw the wicked smile on Henry's face. "You little brat, remember to serve Mr. Cooper well later!"
Joanna tried to say something, but her head felt dizzy, and her body started to burn up.
Her bag fell to the floor. Henry picked it up, pulled out her phone, and sent a message to Chris: [Hilton Grand Hotel. Room 1408. I'm waiting for you.]
After sending it, Henry covered Joanna's mouth and dragged her to the nearby hotel.
This time, Henry had learned his lesson—he found the closest place, giving Joanna no chance to escape.
Joanna tried to struggle but couldn't muster any strength. Everything started becoming hazy.
She was thrown onto the bed, then Henry closed the door and left.
Henry didn't notice that Joanna's phone kept ringing because it was on silent.
Angelo heard that Joanna had taken leave to care for her mother and wanted to call to check on her. When he couldn't get through, he grew uneasy.
"Track Joanna's phone location," Angelo told his assistant.
Meanwhile, Chris saw the message, and the tightness in his chest finally eased.
Sure enough, this woman had learned to behave and wanted to apologize.
But why not come back home? Why meet at a hotel?
Chris glanced at his upcoming schedule—Cynthia was supposed to present about the design competition.
Sure, it was a big deal for the company, but he'd rather watch Joanna grovel.
So Chris called Matthew over. "Have Cynthia send the design proposal to my email. Cancel today's meeting. I'm going to see Joanna."
"Yes, Mr. Cooper."
After Matthew relayed Chris's message, Cynthia was so angry that she wanted to tear up her designs.
Joanna was ruining her plans again.
She had planned to show Chris her design work and mention how incompetent Joanna was, making Chris continue to see her as a better woman than Joanna. She never expected Joanna to actually reach out to Chris first!
Weren't they about to divorce? Had Joanna changed her mind?
The more Cynthia thought about it, the more upset she became. But by the time she tried to stop Chris, he was already gone.
Chris arranged his work and rushed to the hotel.
As soon as he entered the room, he smelled a heavy fragrance. The woman on the bed was writhing, her clothes half undone.
The heated scene immediately reminded Chris of their past intimacy.
His throat burned as he walked to the bed. "Joanna, what game are you playing? Think seducing me will make me forgive you?"
Joanna didn't respond. Only when he got closer could he hear her fragmented murmurs.
In this situation, Chris couldn't hold back.
He took off his suit jacket and leaned over her. "Joanna, you asked for this! Since you're willing to apologize, don't ever mention divorce again. I'm gonna knock you up, and then you're staying home with the baby. And no more of this career bullshit!"
Joanna was out of it, only aware that Chris felt cool against her burning skin.
She reached out and wrapped her arms around Chris's neck.
This made Chris even more certain that Joanna regretted the divorce and came to win him back.
Delighted, he buried his head in Joanna's neck.
The physical contact excited him more as he began removing their clothes.
Before he got halfway, the door was suddenly kicked open. A dark figure rushed in and punched Chris in the face.
"Joanna!" Angelo called out. Seeing the person on the bed unresponsive, he knew she'd been drugged.
Furious, he saw the clothes on the floor, grabbed Chris by the hair, and hit him hard. "You drugged her? Chris, you know she doesn't like you anymore, so you use this despicable method to force her back to you?"
Chris, caught off guard, recognized the man's voice and got angry too. "I'm her husband. As my wife, what we do is legal!"
Angelo punched him in the stomach again. "If she's unwilling, it's marital rape. I've already called the police!"
"You care so much about Joanna—do you like her? Do you know we're married? You're the homewrecker who should be going to the police station!"
Chris's words made Angelo pause.
Chris jumped on the opening and swung back. Just thinking about this bastard sniffing around Joanna made his blood boil, and he put everything he had behind each punch.
After they fought for a while, Angelo finally used his height and fierce punches to knock Chris out.
Security immediately came and took him away.
Angelo didn't bother treating his own wounds and went to check on Joanna.
Joanna didn't realize it was a different person. Her hands kept searching for something cool. When she touched Angelo's face, she kissed him. "Give me..."
Her breath tortured Angelo until fine sweat appeared on his forehead. He didn't dare look. "You've been drugged. You're not thinking clearly. I'm taking you to the hospital."
Joanna struggled, seemingly very unwilling.
Her arm brushed against Angelo's abdomen. The tall, strong man's body instantly tensed up.