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    I found Nichs'' advice quite reasonable because that was exactly what I was experiencing. However, his presence felt oppressive.


    ended r


    I hand toward him, and he just raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What are you doing, Mrs. Hawk?"


    His dark expression now was a far cry from the man who had asked me to take him home under the streetlight two nights ago.


    I awkwardly withdrew my hand and stood up. If he had nced down, he would have seen the hideous state of my newly grown thumbnail. Despite our many intimate encounters, he had never noticed these details.


    I took a deep breath to push aside my turmoil before asking him, "Nichs, can I see your phone?"


    He was taken aback by my words. His stern expression was tinged with a hint of contempt as he said, " Get straight to the point, Ariana."Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    I nodded. "udia said you''re nning to use my naked photos to ckmail me. I want to check your phone to see if there are any photos of me."


    For a brief moment, Nichs'' face showed an unsettling flicker of unease. It was so fleeting that I almost missed it, but mywyer''s instinct told me that he might not have deleted those photos after all.


    Nichs instinctively defended himself. "Ariana, how can you use udia of such things? This is not a pleasant subject. You''re talking about naked photos like it''s an everyday topic."


    Iughed. "You asked me to get straight to the point, but now you don''t believe what I''m saying."


    Nichs sneered. "I don''t entertain lies."


    I met his gaze calmly. "Nichs, if you n to use those photos to threaten me, I''m not afraid of you. I just hope you''ll reconsider because I don''t want someone like you to taint my past." "Past?" Nichs''s expression darkened, and a flicker of confusion crossed his face.


    I silently traced his features with my gaze. Our rtionship was indeed a thing of the past, and my affection for him was something from a long time ago.


    I decided not to focus on this issue. "Nichs, I promise not to pursue udia any further. Can targeting Neal?"


    you stop


    Nichs'' dark eyes were filled with a storm of emotions. As he pulled me into his embrace, he gripped my chin to force me to look up at him.


    "Ariana, you lower yourself to beg me not to target Neal and im our rtionship is a thing of the past."


    He smirked. "Who is your present then? And what if you target udia? Has she lost a hair because of you? Mrs. Hawk, are you trying to y a con game?"


    1 pped his hand away. The pain in my heart made my voice tremble. "Nichs, don''t assume everyone


    shares your twisted mindset. And don''t you think using your status to target Neal is crossing the line?"


    I deliberately continued to provoke him. "Or are you jealous? Do you still love me?"


    At once, Nichs'' face turned darker than a stormy sky. He tightened his grip, causing me to cry out in pain, but he still didn''t let go.


    After a long pause, he finally spoke. "I''ve never cared about you. Don''t tter yourself. If I wanted to deal with you..


    He paused, pulled out his phone, and dialed Beth right in front of me.


    Looking down at me, he spoke clearly to the person on the other end of the line. "Acquire Brenda Thompson''spany." 212