Taming The Billionaire's Obsession - Chapter 73: Chapter 73
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Luke's words landed like the final, crushing blow. Furious indignation surged through Jane. 'Steal from Ella? When did I ever steal from her? Wasn't it always Ella deceiving me?'
The injustice choked her. Jane's head snapped up, tear-bright eyes blazing as they locked onto Luke's. "When did I ever steal from her?" Her voice trembled, raw with fury. "Luke, can't you see? Ella is the deceiver—"
"How many lies must you weave?" Luke cut across her, sharp as a blade. "If Ella hadn't revealed you demanded 60 thousand dollars from her on the third—precisely when you approached my grandfather for funds—I might have been fool enough to swallow your tales."
Luke's obsidian gaze was arctic, devoid of mercy. Her greed he could comprehend; this relentless scheming, however, was insufferable. 'What delusion possessed her?' he seethed internally. 'That her spectacle tonight would derail my engagement? Install her as Mrs. Drake? Ridiculous.'
"Jane." Luke's voice sliced through the air. "Remember your position. You are just a commodity, nothing more. The title of Mrs. Drake is not yours to claim." The lethal warning in his tone brooked no argument.
Luke's words froze any remaining desire to explain. A bitter, silent laugh choked her. 'How stupid I am. To imagine, even for a moment, that he might believe me.'
The sting of Luke and Ella's deception was fresh. They were allies. He'd chosen Ella long before this moment. 'More words? Pointless.' The arguments poised on her tongue withered unspoken.
This truth had been etched deep long ago. In Luke's judgment, she was irrevocably stained—a congenital deceiver. Nothing she uttered could ever shift his conviction. 'How foolish,' the bitter thought echoed. The recent thaw in their relationship had lulled her into forgetting all that.
Luke watched as the fire in Jane abruptly died. She ceased arguing. She retreated back into herself—head bowed, arms wrapped tightly around her body, refusing even to glance his way. Her sudden, profound silence stirred an unsettling disquiet deep within him.
Compelled by an unnamed impulse, Luke reached out, his fingers closing around Jane's chin, forcing her face upward. "Jane," his voice scraped harshly, "do you imagine silence is sanctuary? That you can simply—" His rebuke died unspoken.
Jane's lower lip was caught between her teeth. Her luminous eyes swam with unshed tears, reflecting utter, speechless desolation—each tear a trembling captive on her lashes.
The sight carved a deeper furrow between Luke's brows. "Why the tears?" His voice dropped, his gaze ensnared by the liquid despair in her eyes.
She was the one at fault. She breached the gala and caused the scene. Yet, confronted by her face—strikingly vulnerable, etched with a conviction of profound injustice, that unwelcome sensation coiling in his chest only tightened.
"Spare me your concern, Mr. Drake," Jane mumbled thickly, twisting her chin against his iron grip. But his hold remained unyielding.
Trapped, she felt only a deeper swell of helpless injustice. Tears of anger and despair spilled over, tracking down her cheeks, even as she bit her lip fiercely to stifle any sound.
A scalding tear fell onto Luke's hand. His expression, dark and stormy a moment before, shifted. The harsh rebuke poised on his tongue vanished. Instead, his gaze softened slightly as he said, "Hayden mentioned your foot was injured."
The injustice choked her. Jane's head snapped up, tear-bright eyes blazing as they locked onto Luke's. "When did I ever steal from her?" Her voice trembled, raw with fury. "Luke, can't you see? Ella is the deceiver—"
"How many lies must you weave?" Luke cut across her, sharp as a blade. "If Ella hadn't revealed you demanded 60 thousand dollars from her on the third—precisely when you approached my grandfather for funds—I might have been fool enough to swallow your tales."
Luke's obsidian gaze was arctic, devoid of mercy. Her greed he could comprehend; this relentless scheming, however, was insufferable. 'What delusion possessed her?' he seethed internally. 'That her spectacle tonight would derail my engagement? Install her as Mrs. Drake? Ridiculous.'
"Jane." Luke's voice sliced through the air. "Remember your position. You are just a commodity, nothing more. The title of Mrs. Drake is not yours to claim." The lethal warning in his tone brooked no argument.
Luke's words froze any remaining desire to explain. A bitter, silent laugh choked her. 'How stupid I am. To imagine, even for a moment, that he might believe me.'
The sting of Luke and Ella's deception was fresh. They were allies. He'd chosen Ella long before this moment. 'More words? Pointless.' The arguments poised on her tongue withered unspoken.
This truth had been etched deep long ago. In Luke's judgment, she was irrevocably stained—a congenital deceiver. Nothing she uttered could ever shift his conviction. 'How foolish,' the bitter thought echoed. The recent thaw in their relationship had lulled her into forgetting all that.
Luke watched as the fire in Jane abruptly died. She ceased arguing. She retreated back into herself—head bowed, arms wrapped tightly around her body, refusing even to glance his way. Her sudden, profound silence stirred an unsettling disquiet deep within him.
Compelled by an unnamed impulse, Luke reached out, his fingers closing around Jane's chin, forcing her face upward. "Jane," his voice scraped harshly, "do you imagine silence is sanctuary? That you can simply—" His rebuke died unspoken.
Jane's lower lip was caught between her teeth. Her luminous eyes swam with unshed tears, reflecting utter, speechless desolation—each tear a trembling captive on her lashes.
The sight carved a deeper furrow between Luke's brows. "Why the tears?" His voice dropped, his gaze ensnared by the liquid despair in her eyes.
She was the one at fault. She breached the gala and caused the scene. Yet, confronted by her face—strikingly vulnerable, etched with a conviction of profound injustice, that unwelcome sensation coiling in his chest only tightened.
"Spare me your concern, Mr. Drake," Jane mumbled thickly, twisting her chin against his iron grip. But his hold remained unyielding.
Trapped, she felt only a deeper swell of helpless injustice. Tears of anger and despair spilled over, tracking down her cheeks, even as she bit her lip fiercely to stifle any sound.
A scalding tear fell onto Luke's hand. His expression, dark and stormy a moment before, shifted. The harsh rebuke poised on his tongue vanished. Instead, his gaze softened slightly as he said, "Hayden mentioned your foot was injured."
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