Chapter 156 Falling for Her?
Zachary leaned in, kissing her lips, his hand tracing down her spine to rest on the small of her slender back.
Winona, facing the encroaching closeness, opened her mouth and bit hard into his lip, the metallic taste of blood spreading in her mouth.
Zachary inhaled sharply, releasing her, but before she could push him away, he seized her right index finger and pressed it against the biometric lock. After a couple of beeps, the door unlocked.
He lifted her effortlessly, her body pressing against his as she wrapped her legs around his waist out of necessity.
Once inside, Zachary set her down on a console table by the entryway. The whole sequence took mere seconds, and Winona had no chance to protest before her sweater was being peeled off by Zachary.
Now, more than ever, she felt the vast gap in physical strength between herself and Zachary.
He tilted her chin up, a teasing smile on his lips. "Did you enjoy that bite?"
Winona Sullivan was cornered, forced to meet his gaze, her eyes blazing with fury as she glared at Zachary Bailey.
Zachary, unfazed by her hostility, even seemed more amused by it, his usual cold smirk warming to a genuine smile as he teased, "Just wait, it'll get better."
He was so close, his body pressed against hers, leaving no room for any movement that Winona wouldn't acutely feel.
The wall was at her back, Zachary's tensed frame in front, nowhere to go. Her legs were trapped against his waist, disabling any form of resistance.
Fuming with both anger and frustration, she began, "Zachary Bailey…"
Before she could finish, his lips, stained with blood, found the tender skin of her neck. He didn't bite, but the skin tingled painfully under his forceful kiss, indicating the pressure he exerted.
Winona, sensitive to pain, recoiled from Zachary's roughness, curling her toes in discomfort.
Whether he sensed her pain or had some other reason, when he pulled her back into his embrace, Zachary changed his approach. The kiss softened, became lingering and gentle, his tongue lightly teasing her skin, ticklish.
Winona, eyes wide open, rested her chin on his shoulder, limp and unresponsive as a dead fish: "Zachary Bailey, have you fallen for me?"
"Regretting the divorce and now you're trying to draw me back with this despicable tactic?" she accused him bitterly.
Silence.
"You get jealous seeing me with Matthew and the others, don't you?"
Mentioning Matthew Watson was deliberate; he was not just Zachary's good friend, but his brother-in-arms. A bond like that meant a little extra care and consideration.
Zachary's kissing ceased, and he lifted red-rimmed eyes to Winona with a soft chuckle.
He didn't reply to her accusations, but his laugh said it all — he found her words absurd, delusional.
He straightened her disheveled clothing, the lust on his face fading to his usual refined composure. "About those rumors of my 'impotence', you're going to clear that up with a statement," he instructed, masking any concern over the sensitive gossip that would bother any man.
Zachary Bailey stooped to pick up his jacket from the floor, making his way to the door, when Winona Sullivan pulled out the card Rebecca Davis had given her. "There's one hundred and thirty million on this. The PIN is my birthday. Adding the amount I previously paid back, I still owe you one hundred and twenty million. I'll pay you back as soon as possible."
His footsteps paused, and he turned back to look at the card in Winona's hand, then raised his eyes to meet her gaze. Her eyes were resolute, a clear sign she intended to set boundaries between them.
He stared at her for a long moment, his Adam's apple bobbing in silence before he finally took the card without a word.
Winona dug into her bag and produced a freshly written IOU, hastily scribbled in a cab on her way back, not realizing it would come in handy so soon. She called out to Zachary again, "Sign this, please."
Zachary, already on edge, was none too pleased to be stopped again and again. His patience reached its breaking point. He snorted at the proffered IOU, "You think I'd strong-arm you for the money?"
"Even brothers settle accounts clear," she replied. "I'm aware Mr. Bailey is wealthy and wouldn't bat an eyelid over such an amount, but I'm not. What if you forget about tonight's transaction? I'd be at a loss. So, let's just follow the procedures, it's safe for both of us."
Inside, Winona thought: What if he denies it later?
He snatched the IOU from her hand, pulled out a pen he always carried, and signed his name forcefully, "Remember tonight's events clearly, then."
Winona blinked in confusion, realizing they were not on the same page.
But the door had already closed before her.
His presence still lingered in the room, assertive and invasive.
Touching her neck, Winona winced at the burning sensation. She hopped down from the shoe cabinet and made a beeline for the bathroom sink.
The marks on her neck from his kisses were red, with some even starting to bruise.
After stripping down and taking a thorough shower, Winona rubbed the kissed areas meticulously with a bath towel, emerging with her skin red and raw from the abrasion.
She blow-dried her hair and headed to her home office, planning to catch up on backlog during her days off. This year, she intended to visit her grandfather's grave since it had been several years she couldn't because of her uncle and aunt.
Before turning her phone on silent, Winona checked it one last time. As the main figure of the incident, Fiona's fate had stirred up more chaos rather than calming the waters. Fans were furiously tagging Winona, demanding explanations, pleading not to tarnish their idol's pure image. Her private messages were flooded with insults.
No one had the guts to confront Zachary Bailey; instead, they only dared to pick on someone they perceived as weaker, like Winona Sullivan.
Winona quickly scrolled through the comments. Most of them accused her of being an adulterous woman, telling her not to drag Fiona and Mr. Bailey through the mud. The general consensus was that had it not been for her seductive schemes to trap a man through the media, Fiona would've been Mr. Bailey's rightful partner and she, merely the mistress, even going as far as to say that she tried to lure her own brother-in-law.
The determination fueled by money was swiftly overwhelmed by a wave of rage. Leaving the studio, Winona left the studio, sat cross-legged on the sofa with a cold chuckle, and began browsing through Fiona's comment section. Fiona's replies, likely coached by a PR expert, struck a self-deprecating tone that nevertheless twisted public opinion against Winona, painting her as the one who broke up a perfect match.
In a flurry, Winona sent a scathing package to several high-profile bloggers: the divorce papers, hearing transcripts, recent photos from the night before, and snaps of Zachary taking Fiona to the hospital. She highlighted the reasons for their divorce in red and attached a head-turning headline: “To all those who insulted me today, may your husbands be ‘just friends’ with their exes.” She even splurged on a trending spot on social media for good measure.
Once done, she turned off her phone, opting for out of sight, out of mind.
The upcoming storm was no longer her concern.
If Fiona wanted a show, she'd give her one.
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