Chapter 39: Blocked in the Bathroom

Elodie's POV

I turned my head and saw a man in a white suit holding a wine glass, smiling at me.

He looked about thirty, with blonde hair and blue eyes, handsome features, and a smile that carried just the right amount of friendliness—not enough to feel offensive.

I politely shook my head at him without saying anything.

But he naturally sat down on the sofa across from me and introduced himself. "Hello, I'm William, William Campbell. That scene just now was quite spectacular."

The Campbell surname wasn't unfamiliar in Chicago's high society. I remembered from the files that they were an old-money family who made their fortune in shipping, with close ties to several members of the Council of Elders.

"Thanks. I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting for Mr. Nelson? How curious. Nelson has never been interested in women. What kind of person are you, Miss Elodie, to receive such special treatment from him?"

His question was direct and offensive. That fake friendliness instantly became disgusting.

I thought of Graham's warning, thought of that mysterious York, and alarm bells went off in my head.

"That's none of your business." I stood up to leave.

But he stood up too, even reaching out to grab my arm. "Don't be so cold. I just want to be friends."

I quickly dodged his touch, disgust rising in my chest.

This presumptuous approach was exactly like Alex's.

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." I made the lamest excuse and practically fled.

I hid in the empty restroom, splashing cold water on my burning face, trying to calm down.

That Campbell guy, just like those women at the party—they all looked at me the same way, like they were evaluating an item that belonged to Nelson. Curious, probing, but with no respect whatsoever.

Just then, my phone vibrated unexpectedly in my pocket.

I pulled it out and saw it was Alex.

Why was he haunting me like a ghost?

I frowned and hung up, but he tireless called again.

I just answered it. "What the hell do you want?"

"Elodie, you finally picked up!" Alex's voice sounded heavily drunk, with loud music in the background. "Elodie, I miss you so much... Will you come back? I was wrong, I was really wrong. I swear I'll never see other women again. Please come back to me..."

His words were incoherent, full of cheap regret.

Listening to his pathetic begging, I felt nothing—no emotion, only deep annoyance.

All those tears I'd cried over him now seemed ridiculous.

"Alex, I have a boyfriend now. Please stop harassing me."

With that, I hung up and blocked his number.

I collected myself, pushed open the restroom door, and had barely taken two steps when several figures blocked my path.

Leading them was the woman in the red dress I'd splashed with champagne earlier.

She'd changed into a black dress, but her makeup still looked messy. She looked at me like she wanted to tear me apart.

"Running away? Why'd you stop?" She crossed her arms and exchanged a malicious look with the women beside her, surrounding me.

"What's your relationship with Mr. Nelson?" another woman asked shrilly. "He never brings female companions. How did you manage to get into his bed?"

I didn't want to deal with them. I just wanted to get back to Nelson quickly. "Move."

"Well, quite the attitude." The red-dress woman sneered and stepped closer. "We don't want to waste words. Give us Mr. Nelson's private contact information, and we'll let you go today."

"Dream on." I squeezed out two words through gritted teeth.

My refusal seemed to completely ignite their anger. "Ungrateful bitch!"

The red-dress woman's face darkened, her eyes turning vicious. "I want to see what's hiding under that dress that makes you worthy of Mr. Nelson!"

She reached for my dress while the other women pulled out their phones and turned on their cameras, their faces showing excited, malicious smiles. "Rip her clothes off and film it! Post it online and see how she seduces men after that!"

Fear instantly gripped my heart. I screamed and backed away, but was pinned against the wall with nowhere to go.

Just as the woman's nails were about to tear the fabric at my chest, several dark figures rushed over.

After a few muffled grunts and sharp screams, the women around me were instantly pinned down by several towering bodyguards in black suits. Their arms were yanked behind their backs, leaving them helpless as trapped birds.

The crowd automatically parted.

Nelson walked slowly from a distance. His face showed no expression, but his blue eyes were covered in thick ice, and the low pressure radiating from him seemed to drop the temperature of the entire hallway to freezing.

He didn't look at those women. He walked straight to me, took off his suit jacket, wrapped my trembling body in his arms, and asked quietly, "Did they touch you?"

I shook my head, my fingers clutching his clothes still trembling.

He raised his eyes, his cold gaze cutting like a knife across the women pinned to the ground. "Who gave you the nerve?"

The red-dress woman's face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling, unable to speak.

"Kneel. Apologize to her."

The women froze in place, as if they couldn't believe their ears.

"Why should we? What is she..."

Before she could finish, the bodyguard holding her suddenly applied force. With a "crack," the woman's screams echoed through the hallway.

"My hand! My hand is broken!"

Nelson repeated. "Kneel. Apologize."

This time, no one dared object.

The remaining women were scared out of their wits, scrambling to kneel before me, crying and shouting, "Elodie, we're sorry! We were wrong, please forgive us!"

I felt no satisfaction from revenge, only a chill.

I didn't know if it was because of how these women looked now or because the temperature had dropped.