Flustered and enraged, she tried to snatch the phone from Damian Fairchild's hand, but the sudden movement caused the blanket wrapped around her to slide completely off.
The brilliant, intense midday sun coated her... alluring body in a lingering golden sheen, making her look unspeakably seductive.
Damian Fairchild's gaze darkened, and he tossed the phone aside.
He cupped her jaw with one hand and gripped her waist with the other, lowering his head to kiss her deeply. Seraphina Quinn couldn't evade him in time, and his lips claimed hers.
The vast difference in strength between them meant she stood no chance of resisting him...
Besides, deep down, she had never stopped thinking about him. Now that he was alive, she felt... even more... a glimmer of hope.
And so, it took only a matter of... seconds for her initial reluctance to melt into a passionate response to his kiss.
As their passion deepened, Seraphina Quinn's fingers clutched the collar of Damian Fairchild's robe, her eyes, flushed at the corners, gazing up at him.
"Damian Fairchild... can we... get back together?"
The man stopped kissing her and lifted his head.
In stark contrast to the passion flushing her eyes, his own jet-black pupils held not a single trace of desire.
Seraphina Quinn's fingers clenched. "...If you don't want this, then don't touch me..."
Damian Fairchild looked at her indignant expression and said with a mocking smile:
"It seems Miss Quinn is quite satisfied with my kissing. Or could it be that after years with countless lovers, your body has become so... accustomed to being serviced that even the slightest touch makes you unbearably desperate?"
SLAP—
A deafening slap echoed through the air.
Seraphina Quinn had put all her strength into it, and the force of the blow snapped Damian Fairchild's face to the side.
She shoved him away and scrambled off the bed, completely naked. As she bent down to pick up the now-tattered black dress from the foot of the... bed, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her back onto the mattress.
He was on top, she was beneath him.
She could clearly see the raging fury in his eyes, along with other, unreadable dark currents.
Seraphina Quinn struck first:
"Mr. Fairchild, I don't play shameless games. You just hate that I tossed you aside like a dirty rag, don't you? You just feel like I trampled all over your male pride until it was worthless, right? You just want revenge, don't you? Fine, come on! The Quinn family is nearly wiped out anyway, and I lost the will to live long ago. You might as well give me a quick death. I'd actually respect you more for it..."
She paused, taking a deep breath.
"But for a man to use his power to humiliate a woman... that's just low. I'll say it again: if you have no intention of getting back together, then just kill me. If you won't even do that, then you go your way, and I'll go mine..."
Before Seraphina Quinn could finish, the man let out a low tsk.
He pushed his tongue against the inside of his reddened cheek, then clenched his jaw before speaking in a slow, deliberate tone:
"Miss Quinn, the Quinn Family is on the brink of extinction, yet your temper is as untamed as ever. A bankrupt heiress, so destitute she was nearly sold off to an old man, wants to lecture me about shame? When you were wrapped up in my arms, kissing me and begging to get back together, did you ever stop to consider who I am now? Did you think I was just some all-powerful financial magnate? Couldn't I also be a husband? A father?"
At his words, Seraphina Quinn's eyes widened. They were so bloodshot with disbelief, they looked as if they might actually start bleeding. "You're married?"
Damian Fairchild pushed himself up and got off the bed.
He leisurely smoothed out the wrinkles on his robe, his gaze utterly cold as it landed on Seraphina Quinn.
"Miss Quinn, as far as you're concerned, I've been a ghost for five years. Is it so strange that I'd get married in that time?"
Seraphina Quinn was furious:
"You're married, and you still come on to me? Damian Fairchild, you... fooling around with me... what about your wife? Don't you feel you've wronged her?"
Damian Fairchild looked down on her condescendingly.
"I have wronged her. Which is why I'll have to ask Miss Quinn to be a little more discreet. Don't let anyone find out you're my secret mistress. Otherwise, if word gets back to her and she gets upset, I'm afraid I won't be able to forgive you."
Seraphina Quinn was shaking with rage.
She felt that if she had a knife in her hand right then, she would stab him to death without a moment's hesitation.
'When the news of his plane crash first broke, she'd sold the heirloom her grandmother left her just to afford a professional team to salvage his body.'
'And now, just to protect his gravesite, she had to endure Steward Jordan's daily contempt. She was being so damn pathetic!'
'He didn't deserve any of it!'
"Damian Fairchild, I would rather die than be anyone's mistress—especially yours!"
Seraphina Quinn's stance was crystal clear!
Damian Fairchild seemed utterly unconcerned, as if she could never escape his clutches no matter what she did. He remained calm and composed.
His voice was cold. "The authorities are already on their way to Quinn Manor to seize the property. If you don't want to be left without a roof over your head in Aurelium, you'll go wash up now."
Quinn Manor was important to Seraphina Quinn, but she would rather lose the house than endure Damian Fairchild's humiliation.
"The Quinn Group is bankrupt. It's standard procedure for Quinn Manor to be repossessed. I accept my fate."
She was resigned to her fate, with nothing left to lose.
At this, Damian Fairchild clearly lost the last of his patience. "Seraphina Quinn, do you still not understand your position? You have no right to 'accept your fate.' Do you understand?"
Seraphina Quinn bit down hard on her lip.
Seeing that she didn't move an inch,
"Five years ago, a fire in Quinn Tower killed your parents. Your older brother died in a car accident while trying to save you. After this string of tragedies, even your brilliant uncle couldn't escape a prison sentence. From that point on, the Quinn Family fell into rapid decline. Have you ever considered whether these were all accidents, or if someone orchestrated them?"
Of course, she had wondered.
But now, with her own back against the wall, how could she possibly have the energy to dig into that cold case?
Her mouth opened, but it was a long moment before any sound came out. "What are you trying to say? I don't believe you would help me!"
Damian Fairchild sneered. "At least you know your place. Of course I won't help you for free."
Seraphina Quinn: "What do you want?"
Damian Fairchild: "My wife has liver failure. A broad database search shows that your liver is a near-perfect match for hers. I've consulted with doctors. You only need to donate one-fifth of your liver to her. That's all it would take to save her."
He paused. "So, whether you cooperate or not is your choice."
A tear-streaked smile broke across Seraphina Quinn's face.
'And here she'd thought he'd saved her from Harold Sharp out of some lingering affection for her.'
'But it turned out he just wanted her cut open, to have her liver carved out to save his... wife.'
The pain was so sharp that Seraphina Quinn could barely breathe. Only after she bit her lip until the skin broke did she slowly regain some composure.
"So this is the real reason you came back for me, isn't it?"