Chapter 17 Backbone

Yvonne endured the pain in her body and turned around, seeing Elijah standing not far away, like a savior.

The slim man dragged the creepy man into the car and drove away.

Elijah rolled up his sleeves and asked in a calm voice, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thank you for saving me." Yvonne didn't find her shoes and sat on the ground in defeat.

"No need to thank me. This makes up for you giving me a ride to the hospital," Elijah said lightly.

So that's how it is.

"Well, from now on, we don't owe each other anything," Yvonne said disdainfully, feeling a dense pain in the soles of her feet.

While making a phone call, Elijah turned back to the spot where Yvonne had clashed with the creepy man.

He quickly retrieved Yvonne's lost shoes and placed them beside her, bending over.

"Thanks." Yvonne's voice choked as she helped herself up, leaning against a French plane tree.

Elijah noticed that she was about to leave. "Wait a moment, the police will come soon to collect your statement."

"You called the police?" Yvonne felt Elijah was making a fuss over nothing.

"When personal safety is threatened, there's no other choice but to call the police." Elijah's gaze was profound. "I had someone check the license plates of those two; they're fake."

Suddenly, Yvonne recalled that the creepy man had mentioned someone paying them. Could it be that someone who didn't like her hired people to deal with her?

Yvonne first thought of Grace, then Susan.

If those two men weren't random criminals, then she would still have trouble in the future. Calling the police was the wisest choice.

A cold sweat broke out on Yvonne's back as she sat on the ground, leaning against the French plane tree, feeling annoyed as she reached out to Elijah. "Give me a cigarette."

Elijah stared at her and softened his tone a little. "You've offended someone?"

"Besides Grace, I can't think of anyone else." Yvonne wanted Elijah to feel guilty, so she didn't mention her conflicts with Susan.

"Let the police handle this matter," Elijah said. Soon, the sirens of the police car grew closer.

Two police officers took Yvonne's statement and told her to wait for news before leaving.

Yvonne got in Elijah's car, still trembling with fear.

As they were about to reach the rented community, Yvonne struggled to speak to Elijah. "Mr. Harper, before everything is cleared up, can I stay at your place?"

Elijah frowned. "There's nothing to be afraid of, I have already filed a report."

"I feel like I've been targeted. Until the assailant is caught, I don't dare to stay alone." Yvonne clutched her bag tightly, feeling helpless. "If you hadn't shown up in time, they would have dragged me into the car. Who knows, I might have been killed and dismembered by now."

"I'm not used to living with others," Elijah refused directly.

Yvonne had already anticipated his response, but she stood her ground. "It's precisely because you ended your partnership with Grace that she blames me for everything. You have to take responsibility for my safety."

"You can go back to the Brooks family." Elijah pointed out a road for her.

She sneered, "You want me to walk into the lion's den?"

Annoyed, Elijah rolled down the car window. Yvonne, without a coat, sneezed.

The car entered "Sunshine Community," where Yvonne lived. Elijah didn't relent, and Yvonne refused to get out of the car.

After a while, Elijah frowned and said, "You can stay at my place, but regardless of how things progress, you must move out within a week."

"I knew Mr. Harper had the softest heart!" Yvonne snapped her fingers with a smile, but then her expression turned gloomy again. "What if those two scumbags are ambushing us in the hallway?"

Elijah decided to turn off the car and entered the elevator with her.

Yvonne packed her things in the room while Elijah waited outside the door.

Elijah didn't have a smoking habit. He could go without a cigarette for two or three days. But since meeting Yvonne, his mood often became inexplicably irritated, and when he was irritated, he wanted to smoke.

While waiting for Yvonne at the elevator, he smoked three cigarettes in a row.

Yvonne came out with a suitcase and asked with a smile, "When did you become such a heavy smoker?"

Elijah didn't respond and pressed the elevator button.

They returned to Rhode Hills, and Elijah found a bedroom farthest from the master bedroom for her.

Yvonne was very satisfied because this room was more than twice as big as the one she rented, and the best part was it had a well-lit small balcony.

She put her clothes from the suitcase into the wardrobe and placed daily necessities in the bathroom that Elijah rarely used.

Elijah sat in the study, unable to focus on the scroll spread out before him.

His attention was somewhere else. All he could think about was Yvonne moving freely in his house, wearing slippers, and flipping her long hair...

It wasn't until he heard the sound of running water from the opposite bathroom that he convinced himself to close the study door.

Just as his mind began to calm down, Yvonne's knocking sounded, "Mr. Harper, I cut my foot on a stone, can I borrow your first aid kit?"

Elijah closed his eyes and pressed his forehead with his hand.

"Mr. Harper, if you don't open the door soon, I'll come in!" Yvonne's voice was like a little hammer, pounding Elijah's heart into chaos.

Elijah opened the door and saw Yvonne.

She put on a pink cartoon nightgown, with her wet long hair cascading down, her bare face radiating an exquisite and stunning beauty.

"I..." Yvonne was interrupted by Elijah. "The medicine kit is in the bottom cabinet of the foyer."

"Thank you." Yvonne gave Elijah a heartfelt smile and turned toward the living room.

Elijah's calm heart became restless once again. He stayed in the study for the whole night.

The next day was Saturday, and both of them didn't have to go to work.

Yvonne slept until eleven in the morning and heard Elijah talking on the phone in the study as she went to the bathroom.

"'WIN' cannot do without me. I won't go back to the Harper Group. If you can't handle it, you can consider selling some shares..." Elijah's voice was not loud, but with the study door open, Yvonne could hear it clearly.

What good fortune. Another chosen one who is waiting to inherit the family business!

Yvonne still had lingering fears about what happened last night and had no plans to go out. After washing up, she remained in her sleepwear without putting on makeup.

There was nothing to eat in the dining room and kitchen, and the fridge only had two boxes of milk.

Yvonne's stomach protested loudly, and she symbolically knocked on the doorframe of the study. "Mr. Harper, what should we eat for breakfast?"

"I rarely have breakfast. There's cereal in the cupboard, you can manage with that." Elijah's words drove Yvonne crazy.

No wonder he gets stomach ulcers even after drinking a bit of beer. He often skips breakfast!

Yvonne asked, "It's already lunchtime, what are you planning to eat?"

"I have a lunch appointment, you don't need to worry about me," Elijah replied.

Yvonne ordered pasta from her phone and went to the kitchen to boil some water.

There was black tea on the shelf in the dining room, so she brewed a pot.

Elijah came out of the cloakroom dressed in an impeccable suit, without a wrinkle on his shirt.

Yvonne guessed that he must be going to a rather important occasion on this Saturday.

"If you need anything, call me," Elijah said before leaving.

Yvonne, like a mosquito, replied with a "Sure."

The door closed, and Elijah's footsteps disappeared into the distance.

Yvonne sat on the small balcony in the bedroom, holding a cup of black tea. The autumn breeze blew, bringing a chill with it. She put on her coat.

From here, she could see Flower Lake in the distance, shimmering like a silver ribbon, curving and winding.

She kept thinking- was it Grace or Susan who was secretly causing trouble?

Her phone rang, it was Anthony.

Yvonne didn't answer, and Anthony kept calling. After a few more rings, she added Anthony's number to the blacklist.

She wouldn't even consider getting involved with a married man because that would be another woman's lifetime.

The phone rang again. It was an unknown number with a "food delivery" notification. Yvonne thought it was for her pasta, so she hurriedly answered.

"Yvonne, let me finish speaking!" It turned out to be Anthony.

Yvonne scolded, "Can you stop contacting me?"

"Yvonne, marrying Abigail was not my choice. Please give me three years. I will fulfill my promise to you after that." Anthony took a deep breath. "I will never bind my life to a woman I don't love."

"Anthony, listen carefully, you betrayed me. I will never spend the rest of my life with a man who betrayed me!"

After Yvonne finished speaking, she blocked this number as well.

Yvonne felt a dull pain in her heart and sat on the ground, her mind in chaos.

The takeout arrived, and after finishing it, Yvonne went to the nearby supermarket to buy a lot of fresh ingredients, filling up the once empty refrigerator.

She didn't plan to go out in the next few days.

Because it wasn't a workday, there wouldn't be any progress regarding the attack until those two scumbags were caught. It was better for her to be cautious.

After tidying up the room a bit, she opened her laptop and started working.

Hannah sent a voice message through Whatsapp, and Yvonne immediately answered the call.

Both of them were usually busy. Even though they lived in the same city, they rarely had the chance to meet, and their conversations mostly relied on their phones.

Yvonne first asked about Oliver's condition, and Hannah said he had been discharged from the hospital and returned to school. Then she said mysteriously, "The scumbag called me."

Yvonne was speechless.

Hannah said, "He wanted me to tell you to wait patiently for him for three years. After that, he will leave his current marriage, hand over the company, and then leave the Collins family."

"He's insane!" Yvonne found it unbelievable.

Anthony had three older sisters, and he was the only son of the Collins family. Last year, Grandpa White completely handed over the company to Anthony.

Anthony had a heavy burden on his shoulders, and yet he said he would do all that in three years!

"He really said that," Hannah sighed. "It sounded somewhat sincere, but whether you wait for him or not, the decision is yours."

Yvonne's head ached, and she used her free hand to rub her temple. "Tell him that when he chose Abigail Watson, it was the end for him and me! No one will wait for him. Let him give up on that idea!"

"Good for you!" Hannah praised. "I'll make sure to convey every word without missing any."

Yvonne asked about Hannah's job progress, and Hannah said she should have the results by next month at the latest.

Hannah was also a recent university graduate this year. She had worked in real estate sales for three months before passing the teaching recruitment written exam at Winslow High. Now, she was preparing for interviews, and the pressure was high.

The two talked for nearly an hour until Yvonne's phone entered the shutdown countdown and the call ended.

Yvonne heard some movement in the living room, Elijah had come back.