Chapter 18

Anne was anxious when she returned and did not see Etan in the room

The thought of Etan bumping into Jean unsettled her.

She breathed a sigh of relief when he finally returned.

As Etan sat down, she moved closer to him with an apologetic look. "I am sorry, Etan. It was my fault. Please don't blame Jean—she just has a bad temper, a little spoiled being surrounded by guys. Otherwise, she is really nice."

So the underlying message was, Jean was an easy woman, while she was a well-mannered, fine lady.

"I know." Etan gave a perfunctory reply. His phone vibrated in his hand. He took a look and got to his feet.

"I have something on. Someone will send you back later."

Anne saw the impatience in his eyes. She quietly gritted her teeth, but maintained a gentle smile on her face. "It is okay. Go ahead. I can take care of myself."

Her fingernails sank into the skin of her palms as she thought of the way Etan looked at Jean just now.

Jean was a threat to her. She would not have peace of mind unless she removed this obstacle.

She heard a ding on her phone. It was a text message.

'I know your secret. Come to Grand Hotel 1530 if you don't want to have your secret exposed.'

Her phone dropped from her hand.

'Is Grand Hotel not the hotel I set Jean up in? Who is this person? What secret? Could it be that someone has found out about it?'

Jean opened her eyes the next morning.

She looked around and sat up abruptly when she found herself lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room.

The room decoration was minimalistic, but everything looked exquisite.

She looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing a white nightdress made of an extremely soft fabric.

She panicked. She remembered she passed out outside Club Elegance last night. Did someone pick her up?

She did not feel any discomfort, which meant she was not sexually violated.

Whisking the velvet quilt away, she got out of bed. She headed for the door, opened it, and ran out barefooted.

As she came downstairs, she saw Etan sitting in the living room with casual wear on. She was stunned. How could it be him?

Etan lifted his head and saw her stunned expression. "You are awake," he said.

The long but fluffy hair, snow-white nightgown, and that groggy look on her face made her look like a little princess in an ivory tower.

She was like a well-behaved, good girl.

Just that the bruises on her neck caused by Jason last night were hard to miss.

She looked warily at him. "Why am I here at your place? Wh-Wh-What did you do to me?"

Etan put down the newspaper. "I saved you yet again last night. What did you think I would do to you? I thought you didn't even mind about this?"

Club Elegance was his property, and he had his eyes and ears on everything that happened there.

He rarely did this, but this time, he had shown extraordinary kindness by bringing her back to his home.

That also was to prove something.

He felt disgusted whenever he came close to any women, including Anne, whom he thought he had slept with.

But Jean…

He glanced at her feet, which were a little meaty but cute, white, and tender.

'So tiny, probably can't fit in my hand,' he thought.

He gave the forty-something woman behind him a glance.

The woman got the hint and left. A minute later, the woman came back with a pair of salmon pink slippers. She bent down and placed them in front of Jean's feet.

"Put this one, Miss Mitchell. The floor is cold."

The slippers had two little hair balls on the insteps.

"Thank you," Jean whispered.

She immediately turned back into a hedgehog again as soon as she faced Etan.

"I don't mind, but not if it is you."

"You seem to be very hostile toward me."

"Neither have you treated me in good faith," she said with a sneer.