Chapter 17
Jeremy stood there in a daze, looking hurt.
All this time, Lexi had always been the one taking the initiative. Now that he finally made a move, she called it sexual harassment.
The assistant outside didn’t dare hesitate any longer. He quickly called for security, and they escorted Jeremy out.
Jeremy had just sat through an entire afternoon of being dragged through the mud. Once the shareholders of Frey Group found out he lost the deal, they tore into him, one after another. The whole thing lasted three hours, with the shareholders blasting him nonstop.
After finally shutting his laptop, he rubbed his temples, exhausted.
He had built Frey Group from scratch, with no powerful family backing him. That was why the
shareholders took it out on him every time something went wrong. But back when Lexi was still around, she always bore the brunt of that pressure alone and never let it reach him.
Now that she was gone, all of it landed squarely on him.
He murmured with his eyes closed, “Lexi…”
Suddenly, a pair of hands gently began massaging his temples from behind. He opened his eyes abruptly.” Lexi! Is that you?”
But as he turned, he found that it was Tricia. His expression instantly stiffened, and he asked in an icy voice, “What are you doing here?”
Tricia bit her lip, looking aggrieved. “Jeremy, I heard you were in Juville working on a deal, so I thought I’d come help. The doctor said the baby’s not very stable, and I figured I could get checked out at one of the hospitals here.”
She thought bringing up the baby would make him soften, but he just let out a cold laugh. “Then get rid of it.”
She froze, pulling her hand back and frowning as she looked at him. “Jeremy, that’s… that’s a joke, right?”
His eyes were sharp and cold. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
Panic flashed across her face. That baby was her last bargaining chip. She had planned to use it to marry him, and there was no way she could let it go.
“Jeremy, you’re still hung up on Lexi, aren’t you? But she’s divorcing you! She doesn’t love you anymore! I’m carrying your child. You have to take responsibility!”
His words had shattered her mask, and she couldn’t fake it anymore.
He looked at her with nothing but scorn as he grabbed her chin. “Do you think using a baby to threaten me is going to work? I don’t even want you, so why the hell would I want your kid?
“I only helped you back then for old times’ sake, but you used my sympathy to manipulate me. Do you think pulling the old ‘baby trap’ would work? You think way too highly of yourself.”
He flung his arm and sent her crashing to the ground.
She stared at him in shock. It was like he’d become a completely different person. Still, she didn’t give up on trying to smear Lexi.
“Even if you don’t love me anymore, that doesn’t mean you should love her! Have you forgotten that you were drugged by her that night? And she drugged me, too. How could you share a bed with a woman like that? What if she tricks you again?”
She should’ve kept her mouth shut. The second she brought that up, he completely lost it. He raised his hand and slapped her so hard she hit the floor again.
His eyes blazed with fury as he yanked her up by the hair.
He retorted angrily, “Weren’t you the one who drugged me? Didn’t you also drug yourself that night? Lexi never laid a finger on you. It was you who tried to ruin her again and again. If it weren’t for your games, she and I would never have ended up like this.”
She gasped, her whole body trembling. “You… You knew?”
