Chapter119 Entanglement
The bodyguard, unflinching at Winona Sullivan’s accusation, maintained his icy, all-business demeanor. “We are here under orders to ensure your safety."
Safe? Winona wasn't buying any benevolent act from Zachary Bailey.
"I don’t need protection from anyone. Go back to wherever you came from, and stop looming at my doorstep."
During this short exchange, she noticed neighbors opening their doors to peek out at the commotion.
Still, the bodyguards remained rigid, their tone as devoid of emotion as a machine's, " Mr. Bailey said that if you don't want them around, he'd come to protect you himself."
Winona was seething. There went her appetite for dinner.
Slamming the door with such force that the walls seemed to shudder, Winona Sullivan’s face was an icy mask of fury. She fished out her phone from her purse and called Zachary Bailey. The moment he picked up, her anger erupted like a volcano.
"Zachary Bailey, call off your bodyguards!"
"They’re there for your protection," Zachary's voice was groggy, as if he'd just woken up.
"I didn't ask for it," Winona gritted her teeth.
"With the morning news out, your face is everywhere. It's only a matter of time before the wrong sort of attention comes knocking. Your place isn't safe."
She had managed to keep a lid on her temper until Zachary brought that up. Now she was livid. "Oh, like you cared about that when you leaked our photos to the press!"
There was a pause before his voice turned dark. "Who told you I did it?"
"The love of your life, obviously," Winona spat sarcastically.
Despite all eyes on them last night, Zachary had covered for Fiona so thoroughly—his precious darling. If it weren't for Fiona showing up at the auction with Zachary's invitation, the internet would never have pieced it together, nailing Fiona Clark as the ‘other woman.’
A low, restrained chuckle came through the phone.
After a moment, Zachary spoke, " The situation with the bodyguards is non-negotiable, unless you'd prefer for me to move in and protect you personally."
Winona was furious, her mind a whirlwind of anger. "Zachary Bailey, can't you act like a man and stop being shamelessly clingy? You could've buried that news last night but instead, you chose to make it public knowledge. I don’t need protection, not even in death!"
She took deep breaths, trying to clear the dizziness from lack of oxygen. "I have dinner plans. Withdraw your guards."
"They won’t stand in your way."
But he missed the point—they might not block her, but they would follow. Imagine a dinner with someone, flanked by two stone-faced bodyguards.
How could she relax in that setting?
"Zachary Bailey," she tried to sound calm, “are you jealous? Is that why you don’t want me going to dinner with Austin?”
"If that’s what you think... I can't help it," Zachary answered.
That wasn't jealousy; it was pure mockery, retaliation.
Incensed, Winona hung up the phone and flung it onto the carpet.
Before long, Rebecca Davis arrived, her makeup case in tow, repurposed from an old suitcase. As she switched her shoes by the door, she peered outside. "What's with the two bodyguards at the door?"
Languishing on the couch, Winona Sullivan replied weakly, "Some crazy stunt by Zachary Bailey."
Rebecca's thoughts on Zachary were clear; she figured he had some ulterior motives where Winona was concerned. After all, the guy was always a mystery. She'd only interacted with him a few times because of Winona, and their conversations had always been brief.
Flipping open the suitcase, Rebecca asked, "Did Austin say when he's picking you up?"
Winona, catching a glimpse of Rebecca laying out an array of cosmetics on the coffee table, tilted her head. "Why does that sound so odd to me?"
It was as if she was asking when the groom would come to whisk the bride away.
"Just clarifying. Isn't it to plan our time better?" Rebecca queried.
Winona intercepted Rebecca's hand, poised to apply something to her face. "I can do it myself."
"All this stuff is pretty good," Rebecca glanced at Winona and then back at the products. "Forget it, you probably won't use it anyway."
As Winona expertly applied her makeup, Rebecca couldn't help but ask, "So, you really have no feelings left for Zachary Bailey?"
Pausing in her sunscreen application, Winona murmured, "I don't know, but the thought of divorce hasn't wavered since it first crossed my mind. Not every divorce is about a lack of feelings. Sometimes, it’s like a discarded toy—not because it's unloved, but simply because it feels tainted."
Rebecca nodded, conceding the point.
When Austin arrived to pick her up, he was even more incognito than Winona—hat, mask, sunglasses, and a scarf around his neck, only the skin of his hands stuffed in his pockets visible.
Rebecca gawked at him, "Are you here to take Winona out for lunch or to cast her in a 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' reboot?"
Austin joked, "Since Winona's all bundled up today, I thought I'd match her style for a coordinated look." His face was hidden, so his emotions only came through in his tone.”
Austin tilted his head, "What's the deal with those two in the back?"
Winona's frown deepened, "Did Zachary Bailey get to you?"
It was worse than just 'getting to him.' The jerk had gone for blood. Last night it didn't seem so bad, but this morning the mirror revealed a face red and swollen, with bruises purpling at the worst spots.
That conniving weasel, Zachary Bailey, last night he just went for Austin's face with those fists of his!
But Austin, being a man, couldn't show weakness in front of the woman he fancied, no matter how battered he felt. "It's nothing, he's just green with envy 'cause I'm better-looking," Austin started, then winced midway. ...
Before he could finish, Winona Sullivan's hand swiftly connected with his abdomen... where just last night he had taken a nasty kick from Zachary Bailey.
She hadn't hit hard, but Austin had been caught off guard. The pain was sharp enough to draw an involuntary grunt from him.
Winona gave him a decidedly unimpressed look. "You call that fine? Have you been to the hospital?"
A hit to the stomach could easily lead to internal bleeding!
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