Chapter 40: An Unwanted Rescue

Ellis had no intention of embarrassing herself further. Besides, given how Easton treated her, even if she begged him, it would be useless. Weighing her options, she accepted her fate. “I’m young. I can handle staying up all night.”

“Hello, this is the local police station. Your wife is currently in our custody. We need you to come in.”

Just before going to sleep, Easton received the call. His brows furrowed slightly. A scam? Or was Ellis pulling some new trick?

Impatient, he asked, “What’s my wife’s name? And what did she do?”

The officer immediately realized Easton suspected fraud and answered clearly, “Her name is Ellis. She violated public security regulations. My badge number is xxxxxx. If you don’t believe me, you can call 110 to verify.”

“Alright.”

Before the officer could say anything else, Easton hung up. The next second, he called 110 to confirm the badge number. Once he verified that the call had indeed come from the police station, he slowly got out of bed, his impatience growing.

Ever since her kidnapping, Ellis hadn’t stopped causing trouble. She kept testing his patience, again and again. But now that she had moved out and quit his company, there was at least one upside—he didn’t have to deal with her 24/7 anymore. No more constant messages. No more calls. For the first time since they got married, she had finally stopped lingering in his life. It was the quietest she had ever been. So quiet, in fact, that he wanted her to stay that way for a while longer.

But somehow, she still found ways to demand his attention. “When will you learn to behave?”

Muttering to himself, Easton changed into casual clothes and headed to the police station. Ellis and the others were currently being lectured by the police. They all stood there, heads lowered in what looked like obedient remorse—but in reality, their thoughts were elsewhere.

The moment Easton stepped into the station, this was the scene he saw. Maya was the first to notice him. She quickly nudged Ellis with her elbow. Ellis frowned, confused as to why Maya was jabbing her. She lifted her head—and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a tall, familiar figure. For a second, she thought she was seeing things. Easton! Hy was he here!

The question barely formed in her mind before she instinctively covered her face with both hands and shifted her position, trying to hide from the people in front of her. Unfortunately, Easton had already seen her. Her slender figure wasn’t exactly easy to miss.

Easton walked over to the group, tilting his head slightly as he addressed the officer who had been lecturing them. “Officer, hello. My name is Easton. I’m Ellis’ husband.”

Since a family member had arrived, the officer didn’t stop the lecture but signaled for a colleague to take Easton to handle the fine. Before leaving, Easton gave Ellis a long, considering look. “Covering your face? Feeling ashamed? What did you do this time?”

Ellis had already moved on from Easton. Now, everything about him just irritated her. She had a strong suspicion the police had called him here, and judging by his tone—calm but clearly laced with disdain—he wasn’t happy about it. Annoyed, she dropped her hands and faced him directly. “You’re the one who should be ashamed.”

Long nails could do serious damage. From a distance, with Ellis keeping her head down and covering her face, Easton hadn’t noticed the scratches at first. But now that she was standing up close, he could see the fresh, red marks marring her pale skin. The contrast was jarring. Realizing he was staring, Ellis immediately covered her face again. She had already lost enough dignity tonight. If Easton laughed at her on top of everything else, she might as well just die of embarrassment.

Luckily, Easton didn’t say anything about her injuries. Or maybe he didn’t get the chance, because Bree had already jumped in, pretending to be the victim.

“Mr. Easton, Ellis is too cruel. I never did anything to her, but she slapped me for no reason last time. And now, her friend crashed into my friend’s car and refuses to pay.”

Maya’s anger spiked. “I never said I wouldn’t pay! Stop lying through your teeth! The police haven’t even determined who’s at fault yet, why the hell would I compensate you now?”

Ellis couldn’t even be bothered to argue with Bree.

Jerry had never formally met Easton, but he had heard his name plenty of times and seen photos of him before. Now, seeing the real thing standing in front of him, claiming to be Ellis’ husband, any lingering thoughts he had about Ellis vanished. Instead, he felt the overwhelming urge to complain to his parents. “Here they are, serious about trying to set me up with someone this dumb.”

Looking between Ellis’ injured face and Bree, who was fearlessly trying to tattle on her, Jerry suddenly had a very bad feeling about the situation. Without hesitation, he stepped in to smooth things over. “My car can be repaired easily. There’s no need for compensation.”

Just minutes ago, Jerry and Bree had been acting like gangsters, demanding Ellis pay for a brand-new car. Now, Jerry had turned into the picture of friendliness, suddenly humble and agreeable. The drastic shift in attitude left Maya completely baffled.