Chapter 61 Leverage
ANNA'S POV
I turned around and walked back to where I stood, my slides crunching lightly against the gravel beneath my feet. Just as I thought — if he truly needed me, if he was really desperate, then he would do anything to beg me. Men like James always folded when their backs were pressed against the wall.
And I was more than ready to take advantage of that.
It was a good thing I brought my phone with me. Anything and everything he did now would become a weapon in my hands later. Every word, every movement, every ounce of humiliation he subjected himself to would be a huge downfall for him in the near future, right when I finally decided to attack. He thought this moment was about apology and forgiveness, but for me, it was about leverage.
“Last chance,” I said, my voice cold and controlled as I folded my arms. “Are you serious about begging, or are you just here to make mouth?”
He swallowed hard, the sound almost audible even through the thick iron bars separating us. He let out a small sigh, rubbing his palms together nervously before lifting his head.
“If I do it,” he asked quietly, “would I be forgiven?”
I almost laughed.
“Don’t push your luck,” I replied sharply. “You’re not in any position to ask for conditions. If I choose to forgive you after you do it, you rejoice. And if I don’t, then you find another way.”
I paused briefly, letting my words sink in before reaching into my bag.
Then I opened my phone camera and pointed it directly at him, my finger hovering over the record button, my movements deliberate and unapologetic. I wanted him to see it clearly. I wanted him to understand that this moment would live forever.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his eyes widening slightly as he stared at the phone.
I tilted my head, my lips curving into a faint, humorless smile. “Do you honestly think I’ll just let you beg without proof?” I said. “I’m saving this moment. The moment where James Reed kneels and begs.”
I lifted the phone a little higher, ensuring his face was fully in frame. “When I was the one begging you not to go through with Melissa, when you betrayed me and humiliated me, everyone had their cameras held high. People recorded my pain like it was entertainment. So now it’s your turn to get a small taste of that.”
His jaw tightened. “And are you going to post that?” he asked.
“If I choose to or not is none of your business,” I said calmly. “The question is, are you going to do this or not?”
For a moment, he said nothing.
He squeezed his hands into fists so tightly his knuckles turned pale. His eyes shut briefly, as if he was bracing himself, letting the weight of what he was about to do finally sink in. I could practically see the battle raging inside his head, the pride fighting desperately against fear and desperation.
The sight almost made me smirk.
He hesitated, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, before finally taking a step back. Another deep sigh escaped him, heavier than the last. Then, slowly, painfully slowly, he went down on his knees.
The sound of his knees hitting the ground echoed louder than I expected.
“Please,” he said, his voice lower now, strained. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
His gaze remained fixed on the floor, embarrassment written all over his face.
I scoffed softly. “Oh come on,” I said. “That can’t be it. Beg like your life depends on it.”
He flinched but continued, his voice shaking. “I was an idiot. I made a big mistake. Please, Anna, find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Before I could even respond, he lowered himself further, pressing his body down until his chest touched the ground. He laid flat, face turned slightly to the side, completely exposed, completely humiliated.
“Look,” he continued quickly, his words spilling out in desperation. “This is how serious I am. I don’t care if you release the video. I’ll let anyone know I’m doing this for you. A man should always worship the very ground that his woman walks on, and that’s what I’m doing. Please forgive me.”
I almost burst out laughing.
I raised one hand to cover my mouth, forcing myself to hold it in, quickly masking my expression before he could notice. My shoulders shook slightly, but I steadied myself just in time.
At this point, he wasn’t even pitiful anymore.
He was just an idiot who had chosen to disgrace himself.
So this was how badly he wanted me to help him fix the formula.
When I thought about it, it made perfect sense. Without that working drug formula, without his position at Greenleaf Med, James Reed was a nobody. Stripped of his title, stripped of his influence, he would go back to exactly where he started — nothing.
This performance, this humiliation, was just a small tap on the back for him to achieve his main goal.
What he didn’t know was that even after doing all this, he would still get exactly what he deserved.
His plans had already failed from the very beginning. He just didn’t know it yet. And when he finally found out, it wouldn’t be nice.
“Is that good enough?” he asked cautiously, lifting his head slightly to look at me through the gate. “Can I stand up now?”
This was the moment.
The moment when I had to make him believe.
I rolled my eyes slowly and stopped the recording, slipping my phone back into my hand.
“For now,” I said coolly, “you can get up.”
Relief washed over his face almost instantly. He pushed himself off the ground, standing up quickly and dusting the sand and dirt from his shirt and knees, his movements rushed and clumsy.
“So… am I forgiven?” he asked, hope lighting up his eyes. “Can things go back to the way it once was between us?”
I crossed my arms again, unimpressed.
“Slow down,” I said. “Things can’t go back to the way they were, and you know it. Once a glass has been broken, no matter how much you try to put the pieces back together, it’s never perfect.”
I paused, letting my words settle before continuing.
“For now, you’re on probation.”
His face lit up like I had just handed him the world.
“Yes!” he suddenly yelled, jumping in place, unable to contain his excitement.
I watched him quietly, slowly nodding my head just enough — careful not to let him notice. Let him believe it. Let him celebrate.
He was cheering for his own downfall and didn’t even know it yet.
And that’s when I realized something.
I always thought getting back at him would be boring, that it would be all strategy, planning, and cold calculations.
But no.
What had just happened proved otherwise.
There was a certain kind of fun you experienced when you played dumb. When you let someone think they had outsmarted you, when in reality you already knew everything, and they were just dancing along to a game you had set from the start.
I think… I’m going to enjoy this very much.