Chapter 30

Upon hearing her words, he was momentarily speechless.

In his distress, his fingers unintentionally grazed her lips, his breathing ragged. “Giselle, your mouth is utterly useless for talking. Just keep quiet, and you can do anything.”

Giselle playfully nipped at his hand.

As the tension between them shifted from a heated argument to something charged with a different energy, urgent barking sounded from outside the bedroom door, followed by a male voice. “Uncle Don?”

Donovan quickly pulled his finger from her mouth and turned to see Zachary standing there.

Giselle felt a wave of discomfort and turned to ask, “Zach? What are you doing here?”

“I tried calling you several times since yesterday, but your phone was off. I got worried and decided to check in. The front door was open, so I came in. You…” Zachary glanced at Donovan and then at Giselle, who was wearing her spaghetti-strap pajamas, feeling completely bewildered about the situation and, more crucially, wondering why Donovan was present.

Fortunately, Donovan had his back turned to Zachary, sparing him from witnessing the affectionate gestures his uncle directed at Giselle.

“Uncle Don, what’s happening? Why are you at Ms. Holt’s house?”

“Oh, right.” Giselle pretended to stay composed as she spoke. “Mr. Kane’s engagement ceremony turned into a disaster yesterday, and he thinks I’m to blame. He came here to attack me. He even grabbed me by my neck and yanked my hair. You showed up just in time. I was nearly killed.”

“Really?”

“That’s enough. Get out,” Donovan barked, pushing Zachary roughly toward the exit. “Leave immediately.”

Soon, Donovan shoved and pulled the unsuspecting Zachary out of the room.

“Uncle Don, why are you so eager to get rid of me? No matter the situation, you shouldn’t just storm into a woman’s house, enter her bedroom, and handle her roughly. That’s completely unreasonable!”

Donovan remained quiet for a few moments, still dodging a direct reply.

“Let’s discuss it in the car,” he insisted, stopping Zachary from going back into Giselle’s room, eventually pushing him into the elevator and out of the building. Once back in the car, Donovan sat in the driver’s seat with a gloomy expression, lost in his chaotic thoughts.

“Uncle Don, whatever went down at your engagement ceremony, don’t involve Giselle. She’s got nothing to do with it! As I’ve mentioned, I’m interested in her now…”

“Enough!” Donovan barked, reaching his limit. “You can be with other women if you wish, but leave this one alone. You can’t be with her, not even for a casual affair.”

“Hold on, Uncle Don… Have you lost your mind?” Zach exclaimed, shocked by his uncle’s harsh words toward Giselle. “Why is it a problem if I pursue Giselle? Is it just because she’s your fiancée’s half-sister and you think it disrupts some kind of ‘seniority'?"

“What century are we living in? Who actually bothers with that now? Besides, after yesterday’s engagement mess, the deal with the Holts is pretty much over. So, I can date her openly now, right? It doesn’t affect you, does it?”

Donovan leaned back, lighting a cigarette with a look of irritation.

Through the haze, he warned coldly, “Zach, I don’t care who else you pursue. But stay away from Giselle. Don’t even think about it. If you defy me, don’t call me ‘uncle’ anymore.”

Chapter 31