Playing Fire with My Ice-King BOSS: V-Card for One Night, Ring Forever - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Isabelle's POV
I looked up to see a tall, imposing figure in black towering over me, and my brain completely short-circuited.
It was Jeremiah Winslet.
He'd caught Skye's hand mid-swing, his grip like a steel trap around her wrist.
His other arm had somehow wrapped around my waist, pulling me protectively against his chest before I even realized what was happening.
"You're hitting my girlfriend?" Jeremiah's voice was absolutely lethal, his eyes darker than I'd ever seen them. The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop ten degrees as he spoke, his grip on Skye's wrist tightening with each word.
"Let go of me!" Skye shrieked, clawing at his hand while her companion frantically tried to intervene.
Jeremiah completely ignored their pathetic struggles, his attention focused entirely on my tear-streaked face.
Something strange happened to his expression—the ice-cold fury melted into something almost... tender?
I was too stunned to think straight. After what felt like forever, I managed to grab his hand. "She's pregnant. Don't give her any more reasons to cause drama."
Hitting a pregnant woman would land him in serious legal trouble.
Jeremiah slowly released Skye's wrist like he was dropping something disgusting.
Recognition dawned on Skye's face as she stumbled backward, suddenly realizing exactly who she was dealing with.
"Mr. Winslet..." she whispered, all her previous bravado evaporating.
"What was that bullshit about a 'random guy'?" His voice could have cut through steel.
Skye still hadn't fully grasped how fucked she was, her rage making her stupid. "Isabelle's nothing but a whore! She was still with Conrad when she started spreading her legs for other men..."
CRACK!
The slap echoed through the entire hallway.
Jeremiah had actually backhanded a woman.
Every conversation, every footstep, every sound in that hospital corridor stopped dead.
Skye clutched her face in shock, finally understanding that he was the "wild man" she'd been trashing.
"Get the fuck out of here. If I hear your voice again, you'll regret it." Jeremiah didn't even spare her another glance, instead gently wiping the tears from my cheeks and examining where she'd hit me.
Skye knew when she was beaten and scurried away like the rat she was, covering her swollen face.
I stood there completely shell-shocked, trying to process what had just happened.
"Does it hurt?" His voice was so gentle it made my chest ache.
I tried to step back and create some distance, but his arm tightened around me.
"Did you get the test done?" Everything about him seemed softer now—his voice, his eyes, even the way he was holding me.
I couldn't meet his gaze, my heart hammering so hard I was sure he could feel it. Heat was radiating from my face down to my neck, and my hands had somehow fisted themselves in his shirt without permission.
"You need to let me go. Everyone's staring at us..."
Jeremiah slowly, reluctantly loosened his hold while Gordon—who had apparently materialized out of thin air—discretely turned away and pretended to study something fascinating on his phone.
After all that chaos, I'd completely missed my appointment. The doctor had already left for the day.
Before I knew it, Jeremiah was leading me by the hand to his car like I was a lost child.
Gordon waited outside while we sat in the back seat, tension thick enough to cut with a knife.
"How did you even know I was here?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"My aunt Sarah called. Said she spotted you in the maternity ward. After watching you nearly puke in the elevator this morning, it wasn't hard to connect the dots."
Jeremiah studied my face, which was probably bright red and completely transparent.
"If I hadn't shown up, how long were you planning to keep this from me?"
I clutched the crumpled test order, all my usual fight completely drained out of me under his intense scrutiny.
"I really did take Plan B. And we don't even know if I'm actually..." I couldn't finish the sentence.
Jeremiah's Adam's apple moved as he swallowed hard. "What if you are?"
"That's not your problem."
The words came out harsher than I intended. I pushed open the car door and stumbled out before I could say something even more stupid.
Jeremiah didn't try to stop me.
"Right. Not my problem," he said quietly, leaning back against the car and watching me walk away.
Those words—his words from yesterday thrown back at him—hung in the air between us like a slap.
Gordon slid into the driver's seat, clearly reading the mood but smart enough not to ask questions.
"She's more stubborn than a fucking mule," Jeremiah muttered.
Gordon's lips twitched, but he didn't respond.
Back in my disaster of an apartment, I collapsed onto the couch and stared at the ceiling like it held answers to my pathetic life.
I held up the test order, staring at those terrifying words "early pregnancy screening" until they blurred together, then threw the paper onto my coffee table in frustration.
"Jeremiah," I whispered his name to the empty room, my voice cracking slightly.
What if I really was pregnant?
Get an abortion and pretend this never happened?
Or follow in my mother's footsteps and raise a baby alone?
Both options made me want to throw up.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled to "Vampire Boss," staring at his number until the screen went dark.
"Belly! I know you're in there! Open this fucking door!"
Conrad's voice boomed through my apartment, slurred and aggressive.
He sounded completely wasted, his breathing heavy and erratic.
I glanced toward the door and pulled a pillow over my head, hoping he'd just go away. I'd known this confrontation was coming, just not this soon.
My neighbors were already opening their doors to see what the commotion was about.
Not wanting to give them more entertainment, I grabbed my phone and walked to the door, checking the peephole.
Conrad was swaying dangerously, and the stench of alcohol was seeping through the door frame.
Against my better judgment, I opened it, and he immediately crashed into me like a wrecking ball.
The door slammed shut behind him as his arms wrapped around me in a suffocating embrace.
"Get the fuck off me!" I tried to shove him away, but he only squeezed tighter.
"Belly, God, I've missed you so much..." he sobbed against my neck, trying to kiss me everywhere he could reach.
I recoiled like he was diseased, pushing against his chest with all my strength, but he clung to me like a parasite.
"Conrad! You're completely drunk! Don't touch me!"
I was screaming, but somehow he managed to back me toward the couch, his superior strength making resistance futile.
Conrad might not be tall, but he was built like a linebacker. I had zero chance of fighting him off—the size difference was too much.
"I heard you're fucking Jeremiah Winslet now?" His voice was thick with alcohol and jealousy.
Skye had worked fast. Probably still nursing her bruised face and ego, looking for someone else to destroy.
Conrad pinned both my wrists above my head with one hand while using the other to brace himself over me on the couch.
I couldn't move—my legs were trapped under his weight, my arms useless.
"You blocked me everywhere! Changed your number! How could you be so fucking cruel?!" He was crying now, playing the victim like he always did.
"So what if it's Jeremiah?! He's a thousand times better than you! Richer, cleaner, actually gives a shit about my feelings!"
SMACK!
The sound of his palm connecting with my face echoed through the apartment.
I stared at him in complete shock, tasting blood where I'd bitten my tongue, tears streaming down my cheeks without permission.
Conrad looked just as stunned, like he couldn't believe he'd actually hit me.
"Fuck, I'm sorry, baby, I'm so sorry..." He immediately tried to stroke my reddened cheek, his eyes filling with crocodile tears.
"Get your hands off me!" I snarled through gritted teeth, secretly managing to press call on Jeremiah's contact with my thumb.
"You still won't forgive me..."
"You don't deserve forgiveness, you piece of shit!"
Something dangerous flickered in Conrad's bloodshot eyes. His grip on my wrists tightened until I was sure he'd leave bruises, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out.
His expression shifted, becoming sickeningly tender.
I knew I was completely fucked.
Conrad's free hand gently traced my face like he was handling something precious, trying to wipe away my tears.
"Don't cry, baby. Let me take care of you. A guy like Jeremiah will never let someone like you into his world, but I will. We can disappear together, go somewhere no one knows us..."
"You're completely delusional if you think I'd go anywhere with you!" I spat, putting every ounce of venom I could muster into my voice.