Taming The Billionaire's Obsession - Chapter 74: Chapter 74

Luke abandoned the confrontation and sat down beside Jane. In one swift motion, he scooped her fragile form onto his lap. His fingertips brushed against the inflamed, swollen skin of her left ankle.
"I require neither your pity nor your condescension, Mr. Drake," Jane retorted, venom threading each word. She wanted only to escape. Her damp lashes fluttered in panic as she strained against his imprisoning hold.
Luke's arm was an iron band around her waist. Reaching for the ointment, Luke took firm hold of her left foot. His eyes darkened at the sight of the swelling.
The cold thought surfaced, 'Even a pet is exclusively mine. No one else claims the right to damage what belongs to me.'
"Pity?" Luke countered, his movements deliberate as he smoothed cool ointment onto the inflamed skin. His gaze remained anchored to her tear-streaked face. "This is maintenance. Routine care for my belongings."
Jane drew a shuddering breath, teeth clenched against the visceral urge to sink them into him. 'Heartless—I knew that.' The bitter thought crystallized. 'But this...To carve me open with words while holding me like this? No tremor of guilt for setting Ella loose?'
Trembling with suppressed fury, the words burst from her. "Mr. Drake, you called me a commodity. So what if this commodity gets damaged? Just buy a new one. Don't waste your time on me."
Her voice rose, sharp with accusation. "If I'd known you and Ella were dating, I wouldn't have been stupid enough to believe you'd give me justice."
Her voice scraped raw. "This fault is mine. My pathetic credulity. If I hadn't dared hope, then perhaps this crushing weight wouldn't press down now.
"I never should have believed, not for a single second, that you would help me bring Ella to justice." Jane's voice was hoarse, the festering bitterness finally laid bare.
Fool.' The word echoed in her hollowed-out chest. The realization was a physical blow. Luke and Ella, united. 'His promise of justice—this was its fulfillment?' The bitter irony choked her.
He'd sprung Ella from custody and paraded her as his consort before the elite. 'Luke Drake. Liar. Damned, filthy liar!'
Watching Jane weep her accusations, Luke's brow furrowed. He responded, "I was unaware of the connection between you."
Not when Ella sought Harvey's aid, nor even after her release was secured, had Luke grasped Ella's entanglement in Jane's ordeal. These specifics he withheld. Jane didn't need to know that.
"In this matter, Ella erred," Luke conceded. "Compensation will be made. But mark this: Ella is my intended wife. You will stay clear of her."
"Wife?" Jane blinked, stunned, the words failing to compute. "You... intend to marry her?"
"Yes." Luke's reply was icy, devoid of inflection.
Jane stared in disbelief. Her lawful husband stood proclaiming his intent to wed her enemy. A bitter, choked sound escaped her—part laugh, part sob. "Is that so? Does she know that you're already married to me?"