###Chapter 34: Giving In
Nina Wainwright knew he was starting to settle scores.
The tenderness he had just shown was only temporary.
"I’m not going to look for work at hotels anymore. I’ll find something else." Nina Wainwright looked away, her profile set in a stubborn line.
Zachary Hawthorne scoffed. "Nina, I told you, you can’t do this. If you keep looking for work like this, when are you ever going to make two million?"
Nina Wainwright didn’t speak, but her hands, clenched at her sides, tightened.
’He sabotaged my job, and now he has the nerve to turn around and say I can’t do it? I could have avoided everything that happened today. Isn’t he the one who forced me into this corner?’
But Nina Wainwright was also grateful that he had rescued her in time tonight.
"Nina, why don’t you rest for a couple of days," Zachary Hawthorne said, stepping forward. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his tone becoming gentle, just like it used to be.
Nina Wainwright’s head still throbbed a little from where she had hit the table, and she didn’t want to argue with him, so she agreed.
Not long after they got in the car, Nina Wainwright leaned against the window, drowsily drifting off to sleep. Suddenly, Zachary Hawthorne’s arm circled her waist.
It wasn’t like they had never done it in the car before... but right now, Nina Wainwright felt a little resistant.
Zachary Hawthorne captured her lips in a kiss, not giving her a chance to refuse. His hands were already working their mischief on her body. He knew every one of her weaknesses, and in no time, Nina Wainwright went pliant in his arms.
"Don’t..." she murmured, her voice soft as she fell back onto the car seat.
Silas Sinclair had already flattened the seats and raised the partition. He had parked the car in a deserted garden and gone off to have a smoke nearby.
Zachary Hawthorne kissed her, his voice muffled. "You’ve been away from home for so long. Didn’t you miss your husband?"
His voice was incredibly seductive when he whispered sweet nothings. Overwhelmed by his relentless movements, Nina Wainwright couldn’t help but wrap her legs tightly around his waist. She pleaded softly, "Gently... Someone might see."
"When I think about what might have happened to you tonight if I’d been any later, I can’t be gentle." Zachary Hawthorne had been holding in his anger. He hadn’t shown it before, but now was the time to truly punish her for her disobedience.
Nina Wainwright was tormented by him in the car, again and again.
After he turned her around to face away from him, she grabbed Zachary Hawthorne’s hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Zachary... I can’t take it anymore. I’m so thirsty..."
Her throat was raw from crying out.
"Are you still going to run around?" Zachary Hawthorne asked, biting her shoulder.
Nina Wainwright winced in pain. "No... I won’t. Please, no more."
Zachary Hawthorne didn’t listen to her, but he did grab a bottle of water from the side, twist open the cap, and give her a sip.
When it was over, Nina Wainwright was wearing only his jacket, utterly exhausted. She sat in his lap, drowsy and half-asleep.
The car drove to Avelon Residence, and Zachary Hawthorne carried Nina Wainwright, who was still wearing only his jacket, straight into the house.
Nina Wainwright fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, she was woken by the sound of a ringing phone.
It was her phone... She opened her eyes and saw it on the nightstand. She stared blankly for a moment, guessing that Silas Sinclair must have retrieved it from the hotel. She scrambled up, saw that the call was from Adrian Pemberton, and immediately answered.
"Hello...?" The moment she spoke, she realized just how hoarse her voice was.
Nina Wainwright felt a little embarrassed.
Adrian Pemberton didn’t seem to notice. He just said urgently, "Your father was out for a walk today and got beaten up. You need to get to the hospital now. It’s serious. Brace yourself."
Nina Wainwright’s heart sank. She immediately hung up and got up to find some clothes.
Her own clothes were gone, but Nina Wainwright couldn’t be bothered with that now. She grabbed an outfit Zachary Hawthorne had bought for her in the past, changed, and rushed to the hospital.
As soon as she arrived at the hospital, she went to the emergency room.
Mrs. Wainwright had a gauze bandage wrapped around her head, with blood still seeping through it. Her clothes were also stained with blood.
When she saw Nina Wainwright, she merely glanced up coolly before looking away again.
But Nina Wainwright could still see the disappointment in her eyes.
"Mom..." Nina Wainwright called out in a low voice.
Mrs. Wainwright completely ignored her.
Adrian Pemberton finished what he was doing and came over. Seeing her standing there with a deathly pale face, he pulled her aside and said in a low voice, "Just use the card I gave you."
The words had barely left his mouth when a group of people, both men and women, approached them.
The moment Mrs. Wainwright saw them, she scrambled to her feet in terror and hid behind Adrian Pemberton.
Nina Wainwright immediately stepped in front of her mother, shielding her. "You want money? I’ve got it!"
’If I don’t say something, they’ll definitely start hitting people again.’
’Besides, this is a hospital. Dad needs to rest and recover. I can’t let them cause a scene here. If they do, we might even get kicked out.’
Adrian Pemberton chimed in, "She’s already got the money. There’s no need to be so aggressive."
"I can pay back the money, but you’ve put my father in the hospital twice. That’s a score I have to settle with you!" Nina Wainwright said, facing the crowd. Although she was afraid, she voiced the anger in her heart.
"In that case, why don’t you pay back the whole three million, debt and all? We’ll even cover your dad’s hospital bills. How about that?" the leader of the group said. "We came prepared today, with the loan contract!"
Adrian Pemberton whispered to Nina Wainwright, "I don’t know what tricks they pulled, but they actually managed to get a legally binding contract."
Nina Wainwright’s hand went into her bag, her fingers gripping her phone tightly. She had no intention of using Adrian Pemberton’s money.
’Besides, they’re demanding the principal and interest. Adrian’s money isn’t enough.’
"Just take out the card and give it to them," Adrian Pemberton said softly. "Give them something for now. It’ll at least calm them down."
Nina Wainwright was about to take out her phone to call Zachary Hawthorne, but just then, Silas Sinclair pushed through the onlookers and walked in. "Let me see the contract," he said, his expression cold.
The leader handed the contract to Silas Sinclair.
Silas Sinclair gave it a quick glance, then said, "Everyone, I am Mr. Hawthorne’s assistant, Silas Sinclair. I’ve looked at this contract. I need her, and all of you, to come with me to a quiet place so we can handle this matter through the proper, legal channels."
"If you’re paying, of course we agree!" the man said at once. He shot a cold glare at Nina Wainwright. "Putting your father in a nice hospital like this, a few hundred a day, and you say you have no money! Dropping a hundred thousand on surgery just like that, and you still say you have no money? Got the guts to go for a walk, but not the guts to pay your debts, is that it!"
"Alright, if you want your money, then cut the crap!" Silas Sinclair said impatiently.
Silas Sinclair glanced at Nina Wainwright, his gaze then sweeping over Adrian Pemberton, who was standing beside her. Only then did he say politely, "Miss Wainwright, please come with me."
"Please take care of my mom for me," Nina Wainwright said, turning her head to Adrian Pemberton.
After she had taken two steps, Adrian Pemberton grabbed her hand. "Are you really going to use his money? If you do, you’ll have no choice but to go back to him."
"Actually, I planned to use his money from the start. I can’t drag you into this. Forget it... Maybe this is just my fate." After speaking softly, Nina Wainwright gave him a small smile.
From a distance, Silas Sinclair watched them. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but seeing Nina Wainwright’s dejected expression... ’It must be about the card,’ he thought.