###Chapter 15: Possessiveness
Nina Wainwright followed Zachary Hawthorne all the way to the parking garage.
But before she could even speak, he grabbed her hand and pinned her against a car.
Zachary Hawthorne gripped her jaw, his dark eyes blazing with a terrifying fury. "Nina Wainwright, I thought I made myself perfectly clear last time. Do you have trouble understanding me?"
Nina Wainwright’s body tensed, her face turning pale. "I already explained to you..."
"Explained? You were only explaining things to defend him." Zachary Hawthorne gave a mirthless smile, the chill in his eyes freezing.
The hard metal of the car dug painfully into her back. She struggled uncomfortably and whispered, "You’re hurting me."
"I haven’t even started yet. What are you crying out for?" Zachary Hawthorne said, then grabbed her by the neck and crushed his lips against hers. His other hand began to roam.
Realizing they were in a public parking garage, Nina Wainwright was flooded with a sense of humiliation.
She shoved Zachary Hawthorne hard. "Zachary, don’t go too far! There are cameras everywhere! You might want to put on a show for people, but I don’t!"
Zachary Hawthorne stumbled back a step, the fury in his eyes hot enough to burn a person to ash.
He stepped forward, grabbing Nina Wainwright’s face. "Isn’t this how we always are? You’re scared now? Scared your little lover will find out about our relationship?"
"I told you, we’re just friends!" Nina Wainwright glared at him.
Zachary Hawthorne leaned closer. "Then what are you afraid of? At home, we’ve done it by the window, too. Didn’t you enjoy it? Getting shy now?"
Nina Wainwright never imagined he would bring something like that up.
It wasn’t that she liked doing it by the window. It was because she knew he liked it. So even though she was shy, even though she was scared, she would always comply.
Furious, Nina Wainwright tried to slap him, but Zachary Hawthorne caught her wrist.
The cold, thin smile vanished from the man’s eyes, replaced by a bone-chilling coldness and a murderous aura.
He roughly shoved Nina Wainwright into the car.
RIP—
As he tore her clothes to shreds, he killed her heart as well.
This time, she didn’t cry. She just numbly endured his punishment.
She didn’t make a sound the entire time.
Halfway through, Zachary Hawthorne seemed to lose interest. He grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. "Nina Wainwright, do you really want a divorce?!"
Nina Wainwright’s hair was a mess, her eyes devoid of light. "Go and be with whomever you like. Just please, let me go. I’m not your sex toy."
"Sex toy... Hah!" Zachary Hawthorne had always thought he was quite considerate of Nina Wainwright when it came to their sex life.
He liked things to be thrilling; she was shy.
That was why he’d replaced all the glass with one-way mirrors and always did his best to please her in bed.
"You clearly have no idea what a real sex toy is," Zachary Hawthorne tossed out coldly, grabbing his clothes from the side and putting them on.
Wearing his suit jacket, Nina Wainwright was pulled from the car.
And came face-to-face with Adrian Pemberton, who was standing not far away.
She didn’t know how long he had been standing there, but given her disheveled state, she knew that as a man, he didn’t need to guess what had just happened in the car.
Nina Wainwright wasn’t afraid of him knowing.
But it shouldn’t have been like this. For Zachary Hawthorne to do that to her in the car, and then force her to face Adrian Pemberton...
It was clearly just to humiliate her.
Zachary Hawthorne rested a hand on her shoulder and leaned in, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Still want to divorce me and be with him?"
A chill ran through Nina Wainwright, and her lips wouldn’t stop trembling.
Shame churned within her.
She clutched the jacket tightly, unable to say a word.
Zachary Hawthorne turned his head, his gaze casual. "Nina Wainwright, answer me. Do you still want to?"
"That’s enough," Nina Wainwright said, her voice hoarse. "What do you even take me for?"
By the end, her voice was trembling violently.
Zachary Hawthorne’s eyes were cold. "What do *you* take *me* for?! You’d do anything to fill the bottomless pit of your parents’ debt!"
Nina Wainwright’s chest heaved with anger.
’Is he saying I’m with Adrian Pemberton for money?’
"Zachary..." she began, the word a struggle.
Before she could finish, a whimsical, childlike ringtone sounded.
Zachary Hawthorne took out his phone and answered it casually. He walked a little distance away, his voice gentle. "Luna, what’s wrong?"
It was a gentleness she had never seen from him before.
The many explanations Nina Wainwright wanted to give were now stuck in her throat, unspoken.
Her heart felt heavy, suffocated.
While Zachary Hawthorne was talking to Luna Sterling, she slipped away into a dark corner of the garage.
Her clothes underneath were torn to pieces, and she was draped in a suit jacket filled with Zachary Hawthorne’s distinctive scent.
She walked alone for a long time before finally stopping.
A ringing phone pulled her from her thoughts.
Nina Wainwright snapped back to reality.
She numbly picked up her phone. Seeing it was a call from Adrian Pemberton, the tiny flicker of hope in her heart was instantly extinguished.
’How could I have forgotten? Whenever Zachary Hawthorne gets a call from Luna Sterling, he leaves. He wouldn’t even notice I was gone.’
Pressing the answer key, Nina Wainwright spoke, her voice terribly hoarse. "Is something wrong?"
"Can I come and take you home?" Adrian Pemberton’s voice was much gentler than usual.
Tears instantly welled up in Nina Wainwright’s eyes. Her throat and mind felt as if they were stuffed with cotton.
She couldn’t get a single word out, only choked sobs.
Like a small, wounded animal.
"Just say you’re willing, and I will appear," Adrian Pemberton continued.
Through blurred, teary eyes, Nina Wainwright looked around but couldn’t see him.
She wiped away her tears and said apologetically, "I’m so, so sorry you had to see me in such a terrible state. My marriage is a disaster. I must be a joke to you."
"Nina, everyone makes wrong choices sometimes. This isn’t your fault, and I would never laugh at you," Adrian Pemberton said gently.
Nina Wainwright sobbed, "I want to go home."
Adrian Pemberton stepped out from behind a tree.
Even though he was so far away that Nina Wainwright couldn’t see his face, she could feel an aura of sadness surrounding him.
Adrian Pemberton walked over to her. Seeing her looking so helpless with the tip of her nose red from crying, his heart ached. "I’ll take you home so you can take a shower."
Nina Wainwright just hummed in assent, her eyes downcast.
Adrian Pemberton adjusted the suit jacket draped over her, his tone gentle. "If you’re dressed like this next time, you can’t just run off on your own. What if you run into a bad person? No matter how much you hate Zachary Hawthorne, you have to force him to take you somewhere safe first."
His sincere words brought a moment of warmth to Nina Wainwright’s heart.
"Thank you," she whispered, grabbing onto Adrian Pemberton’s sleeve.
Adrian Pemberton helped her into a taxi.
They drove all the way to Oakhaven Community, where he took Nina Wainwright to his own apartment.
While Nina Wainwright was showering in the bathroom, her phone rang.
It was from an unknown number.
Adrian Pemberton took the phone outside the bathroom door and pressed the answer key.
"I’m here to take Miss Wainwright home. Tell her to come down," Silas Sinclair’s cold voice came through the phone.
"Which home is that?" Adrian Pemberton’s voice was detached. "Mr. Hawthorne’s home?"
"That’s none of your concern. Just pass on the message," Silas Sinclair said coldly before hanging up.