What she hated most in this life was men standing in front of her, saying things like that. It was always their one-sided obsession—what did it have to do with her?

Whatever she wanted, she’d get it herself. She didn’t need anyone’s charity. That kind of thing felt far too fake. Rely on a mountain, and it collapses. Rely on a wall, and it crumbles. Better to rely on herself. Judy had always kept that truth close to heart.

She wasn’t some naïve girl just stepping into society. This kind of situation wasn’t enough to scare her. Brian could hear the edge in her voice, and it felt like a thorn lodged in his chest.

He grabbed Judy’s chin, about to say something, when the noise outside suddenly broke through.

“Seriously, how long has it been? Why haven’t they come out yet?”

“What the hell is going on?”

“I saw Mr. Brian go in there too.”

At that moment, Kenneth was standing outside, going around asking what had happened. He’d barely been gone a few minutes, and something like this had already happened. After hearing several people chime in, Kenneth finally picked up a useful detail. He turned to the one who’d spoken, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “So Mr. Brian is in there too?”

“Yeah.” The person nodded without much thought. “He’s been in there for quite a while now and hasn’t come out. We don’t know exactly what’s going on, but we’re starting to get a little worried about Miss Judy.”

Given the circumstances—a man and a woman alone in a room—everyone’s thoughts had started drifting in the same direction. But Kenneth was getting restless. His woman? Since when did these people think they had the right to gossip about her?

“Is there a key?”

At that, everyone shook their heads. Kenneth lowered his head in frustration. Was he really going to just stand here and watch Judy suffer behind that door? He had already come all this way–there was no way he’d just turn around and leave. At the very least, he still wasn’t tired of Judy yet. He still enjoyed the way she made him feel.

Inside the room, Brian gripped Judy’s chin hard. This time, he didn’t hold back. He used his full strength.

“Why? Tell me why?” Brian tilted his head, leaning closer to her flawless, pale neck, while the soft fragrance on her body rushed up to his nose. But right now, he had no mind to care about any of that.

Chapter 1005

Judy frowned, trying to push Brian away. But a man this furious wasn’t so easy to shake off. He clung to her like a shadow, his eyes full of demand. It was clear–if she didn’t give him an answer, she might not walk out of there alive. Judy knew that too well.

She forced out her words. “I… I don’t know either. I did everything you told me to. Is it possible… maybe you overlooked something? And anyway, which part of my message didn’t you see?”

Brian stared at her, fuming, with nowhere to let it out. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the door was kicked open from the outside. In that instant, he yanked Judy out of her chair and pulled her into his arms, pressing a ruler from the desk against her neck.

There was no time–everything happened too fast. Neither Brian nor Judy expected it to escalate like this. Kenneth’s eyes locked onto the panic in Judy’s gaze.