Rosemary was taken aback, "What?"
Harvey said, "Mrs. Templeton, you bettere over.” And with that, he hung up.
Rosemary, frowning. listened to the busy tone on the other end of the line. Meadork Retreat was Maxwell''s turf, and if something went down, it
definitely wasn''t him in trouble. So, it had to be someone else.
She flung the door open and stepped out; the usually chill bodyguards snapped to attention and gave her the once-over.
Rosemary said, "I gotta head back to Meadork Retreat."
Half an hourter, when she walked into the vi, the bloody mess inside left her frozen in shock!
She couldn''t believe that the bodies scattered on the living room floor, barely breathing, were the same jerks who had spewed filth at her in the
parking lot and tried to snap some nudes.
One of them was on his knees, banging his head on the floor in desperation. Even with the thick carpet, his forehead was battered, his face a bloody
mess.
"Mr. Templeton, we honestly had no clue who was behind this. It was an acquaintance who hooked us up. and we got paid through them too. All we
were told was to snap some pics of Ms. Chambers."
Having seen this man''s brutal streak, he didn''t dare utter the words “nude photos”.
The air conditioning was on in the living room, Maxwell''s coat was casually thrown over a sofa, and he was just in a ck shirt and trousers, sleeves
rolled up to his elbows. His usually crisp clothes were all wrinkled now, giving off an air of a devil-may-care rogue
Rosemary couldn''t tell if he was sttered with blood, dressed in ck from head to toe, but he looked ne different from his usual self - still the posh
and graceful scion of a wealthy family, nothing like the vicious thugs ready to kill at a moment''s notice.
But the thick scent of blood in the air was making her head spin.
"Maxwell, what are you doing?"
Harvey, seated on a nearby armchair, saw Rosemary and stood up to leave, "The nearest hospital’s a twenty-minute drive. If we rush them now,
these guys could survive a half-month stay. Any more dys and they''re going straight to the crematorium."
Rosemary''s eyebrows twitched, and looking at the people on the floor who could hardly groan, she turned to the bodyguards who followed her back
"Get them to the hospital, quick."Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.
But the bodyguards nced at Maxwell, hesitated, and didn''t move.
Rosemary couldn''t help but raise her voice, and gave Maxwell an earful in front of everyone, "Maxwell, are you ignorant of thew? Assault is a one-
way ticket to jail, and with your hot temper, you''d be beaten into a half-paralyzed mess in no time!”
Finally, Maxwell''s mask-like indifference showed a crack. his deep eyes looked at her, his voice low and restrained, “You don''t know what I''m doing?"
Even if she was clueless, it was clear as day. Her anger subsided a notch, and she said through gritted teeth, "Maxwell, I''ve already called the cops.
Let them handle this mess. Don''t meddle. Let thew deal with it as it should.”
"What do you think they''ll do?" He scoffed at her naivety, "The surveince is silent. From the footage. these guys didn''t even touch your clothes. At
best, it''s harassment, not even indecent assault. They''ll be let out after a few days in detention.”
He stared her down. his shiny ck shoes stepping on one of the men''s hands. The man, who had been lying motionless, almost unconscious, let
out a scream.
Rosemary even heard the sound of bones breaking!
Maxwell''s face was void of emotion, unfazed by the gruesome scene unfolding around him. Rosemary grabbed his shirt to pull him away, "Have you
last your mind?!"
In three years of marriage, she had never seen him so bloody, so brutally cruel. Although he was always aloof, he was a gentleman of manners,
never resorting to violence.
Yet, Maxwell spoke calmly. "I''m just standing up for you. Those thugs daredy a hand on you."
His demeanor was calm, but the scene was too violent, too bloody. Rosemary felt behind that indifference was a ferocity that could tear a person to
shreds.
This had to stop, or these men wouldn''t make it.
"I don''t need it." Rosemary bit back, "Maxwell, with things between us as they are, you shouldn''t have to do this for me. I don’t want to get tangled up
with you over this."
If he ended up in jail for avenging her, they''d truly be tied together till death did them part. She wasn''t desperate enough to want him behind bars over
a divorce certificate.
Even though her marriage to Maxwell wasn''t great, if she found the right person in the future, she''d consider it. She wanted a clean break, no loose
ends.
"I can handle my own battles: I don''t need to outsource.”
At that, Maxwell''s gaze turned unprecedentedly cold, “Hogan fights for you and you''re over the moon, ready to throw yourself at him. I do it and I''m
just clinging to you?"
Rosemary frowned: why drag Hogan into this? What mattered now was that Maxwell was doing something dangerous; he was being irrational!
She looked at the bodyguards again, this time with amanding tone, "As Mrs. Templeton, I order you to get these men to the hospital, now."
The bodyguards exchanged nces, but their training kicked in and they quickly moved the injured men to the car outside. Before they left, they even
closed the door behind them
With the sound of car engines fading, Rosemary finally breathed a sigh of relief. Unable to stand the sickening stench of blood in the living room any
longer, she turned to leave.
But Maxwell suddenly grabbed her, "With our rtionship, we shouldn''t get tangled over this? Then tell me, what is our rtionship now?"
Rosemary sensed something off in his words, “Let go of me first.”
Without waiting for her response, Maxwell continued, "Let me tell you what our rtionship is."
As he spoke, he yanked her wrist, throwing her onto the sofa. Before Rosemary could fight back, he was upon her, pinning her down.
Justa moment ago, she wasn''t sure
if Maxwell-had gotten any blood on
him, byfnow, as he got up close-and
ersonal, the stench of blood hit her
ke afreight train, way stronger than
the-scent lingering in the living room
air.
= 0
The hand she-pressed against his
chest also encountered a sticky
dampness. The smell was so “
overpowering it made Rosemary''s”
stomaéh do somersaults. She ￠>
couldé t take it and turned herface
away, only to catch sight ofa huge
bféodstain on the carpet,
All her life, shed yed by the rules,
except for th asional ps she
traded with Stacey during their = =>
spats. She d neverid eyes on such
a graphic scene. Instinctively, Ker
bodyctensed, and she tried teback
away. _” S
o
There was only one thought in her head: to put as much distance between herself and Maxwell, this blood-soaked madman, as possible!
But his arm barricaded her in from the side, trapping her tightly. His hand gripped her chin roughly, yanking her face to look straight at him.
Then came that fierce kiss, overwhelming, like a storm. stealing away all her breath.