Chapter 571


    Today, if Karen could actually make it to that blind date, he''d eat his own hat.


    But it didn’t cost three times to exhaust a woman. By round two, Karen was already speechless. Her


    whole body was drenched as if she''d been pulled from a stormy sea.


    "I really... can''t do this..." she rasped. Her voice was hoarse and breathless, her fiery spirit worn


    down to a mere whisper of surrender.


    Jeffrey, too, was feeling the burn of exhaustion that came from days without proper rest. But that


    didn''t stop him from teaching the woman beneath him a lesson.


    "Still thinking about that blind date?" he taunted.


    "If I say I won''t go, will you stop?" Karen wheezed, her throat as dry as a bone.


    He raised an eyebrow, "Maybe."


    "Fine, I won''t go. Now let me go," Karen managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper.


    Satisfied with her capittion, Jeffrey gave one final push, bringing their second round to a swift


    conclusion.


    He withdrew, standing to fetch a bottle of water from the trunk of the car for Karen, who was too


    exhausted to even reach for it without trembling.


    Feeling magnanimous, Jeffrey unscrewed the cap and held the bottle to her lips, "I''ll feed you."


    Karen was too spent to argue so she obeyed.


    Her phone chose that moment to ring—it was Derek.


    It was time for the blind date. He was calling to hustle her back home.


    Jeffrey watched her with an intensity that made her skin crawl.


    "Don''t you dare speak," Karen whispered threateningly.


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    "And you can’t go on that date."


    "Look at me! I''m a hot mess. I couldn''t go on a blind date if I wanted to!"


    Her clothes were a disaster, her hair a wild tangle, and her new outfit was torn beyond repair.


    Karen red at him and cleared her throat with a soft cough. But she was still hard to mask the


    roughness in her voice as she spoke.


    "Dad..."


    "Karen, where are you? It''s time. Will youe straight there, or do you want toe home and


    we''ll go together?"


    Karen licked her parched lips, hesitating, "Dad, I might not make it today."


    "What? Why?" Derek sounded puzzled.


    "I''ve got... a friend who needs me. It''ll take some time to sort out. I probably won''t be able to make


    it. Please apologize to your friends for me, and maybe another day."


    Jeffrey''s warning look cut her off mid-sentence.


    Quickly changing tack, sheughed lightly, "Let''s have dinner together another time. You and Mom


    can invite them out again."


    "You can’t get cold feet, kiddo," Derek sounded a bit distressed, then something seemed to click.


    "Wait, your friend? The guy who came by today? He came looking for you, but you weren''t home."


    "He did?" Karen nced at Jeffrey.


    He shrugged slightly with a hint of guilt in his smirk.


    "Yeah! He asked for your number, but I didn''t give it to him. Are you with him now?" Derek''s concern


    escted. "Is he bothering you? Karen, if you''re in trouble, just tell me. I''lle and get you!"


    "No, no, it''s nothing like that... I''m with him, just catching up over dinner. He''s just back from abroad


    and it''s been ages. It wouldn''t be polite to bail midway. Dad, you and Mom go ahead, I''m eating.


    Gotta hang up now."


    Without waiting for a reply, she quickly ended the call.


    Jeffrey chuckled, "Me? A ''just friend''?"


    The scent of their recent encounter still lingered in the car, and Karen had already distanced herself


    from him.


    "I''ve turned down the blind date. Can you please go now?"