Chapter 123
"After carefully placing her in the back seat, he reached to unbutton her remaining wet blouse.
Cassie instinctively resisted, her eyes flickering with shyness.
“Don’t move, let me check on you.” With one hand, Joseph pinned her arm down, and with the other, he forcefully unbuttoned her shirt to reveal skin as white as milk, now marred with bruises from the assault, a sight too ghastly to bear.
Joseph felt a twinge in his heart; his face ashen with anger.
Cassie, however, couldn't concern herself with his feelings. She felt humiliated and was acutely aware of how unsightly her injuries must look.
“Are you done looking?” she said, struggling to maintain her composure, wincing in pain with the slightest movement.
“Calm down.” Joseph Hernandez quickly discarded her damp top and enveloped her in his sweater and coat.
Her sharp intake of breath as he touched her bruises made it clear her injuries were painful.
“Does it hurt?” he said, his voice laced with a mix of frustration and care, “Remember this pain, and learn from it.”
So she wouldn’t carelessly wander off again – he intended to teach her that staying by his side was the safest place for her.
But Cassie took his words as a reminder of the pain of being betrayed. She clenched her teeth and stayed as still as possible, bearing her discomfort in silence.
Joseph seemed somewhat satisfied that she took his words to heart.
Stepping out, he reopened the rear door and said to Laura Miller, “Sit in the back, take care of her. I’ll drive.”
...
The car wound through the city's streets in the early morning bustle.
Regaining some of her spirit, Cassie glanced at Laura Miller and whispered with a puzzled look, “How did you get him to come save me?”
Laura Miller rolled her eyes at her sister with visible irritation. ""Sis, do you have any idea who you've crossed? You've managed to piss off the Anderson family. In this town, there's not a soul in Madison who can bail you out—not even the likes of David or Arthur Lewis. That's why I had to reach out to Joseph Hernandez.""
""So he got Noah Collins to help?"" A light bulb went on in Cassie's head.
Laura snorted in disbelief. ""Please. You think Noah Collins would cross the Andersons for you? You're not his wife, Cassie."" She wanted to knock some sense into her sister's head.
""Do you realize how incredible your husband is? Joseph Hernandez is the top-notch lawyer, a legend in his field. Countless nobles and tycoons have paid through the nose to have him represent them, but he's never been impressed by any of them. He's that arrogant, that untouchable.""
Cassie was speechless.
What?
She hesitated before asking in a timid voice, ""Am I still in a jail cell? I must be hallucinating from the desire to be rescued, right?”
With no sympathy, Laura pressed a finger gently but firmly into Cassie's bruise, eliciting a sharp response.
It all seemed too real, like a dream. Just days ago, Cassie had boldly declared in front of Joseph that he was ""just a lawyer"" and that her own earnings were nothing to scoff at.
No wonder he had looked at her with barely concealed scorn. She cringed at the memory. Who gave her the audacity to say such a thing?
""But why would he agree to help me?"" Cassie's mind raced. She had definitely burned bridges with Joseph Hernandez; it made no sense for him to come to her aid.
Laura coughed nervously. ""At first, he didn't want to. But I... I might have told him that you're absolutely crazy about him, that you only left because your love was too much to handle and you couldn't stand his coldness..."" She repeated the same lines she had fed Joseph earlier.
Cassie's jaw dropped."
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