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Chapter 246 Argument
Chapter 246 Argument
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“Since she doesn’t want anything to do with your family anymore, you will sign the papers today. You will promise to leave her alone. You will let her change her address and ask nothing about it so she can finally live her own life.”
Anneliese’s voice filled the room with iron strength. Each word landed like a hammer, leaving no room for negotiation. Every syllable demanded one thing: Jessica must break free from the Johnsons completely.
Marcus‘ face darkened until it seemed carved from shadow. If Joel and Zane had not been sitting on either side of Anneliese like silent sentinels, he would have already reached for her neck.
His jaw clenched until the muscles jumped. His breath hissed through his teeth before he finally spoke, each word sharp as ice.
“Anneliese, you really have changed. Look at you now. Becoming Jonathan’s wife has made you bold beyond reason.”
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His voice dripped with sarcasm. He reminded her of the helpless orphan she once was. Now, because of Jonathan, she had the gall to speak to him like an equal.
Anneliese’s lips curved into a sharper smile. She twirled a lock of her long hair between her fingers with the air of someone who owned the room.
“Of course I have changed. My husband loves me, protects me, and spoils me. Jess is family to me, which makes her family to him too. And my husband would never allow anyone to harm his family.”
Jessica lowered her head. The tension in her shoulders eased, melting away like ice under the
sun.
Her lips twitched with an involuntary reaction.
She had never realized Anneliese could act so naturally. The way she called Jonathan her husband sounded so smooth and natural that it could have been scripted by life itself. No one would guess their marriage was a mere arrangement.
That was exactly why Anneliese had come today. She carried Jonathan’s name like armor, using it to intimidate Marcus. She had to appear inseparable from him, inseparable in both love and power.
Then reality hit. Zane and Joel were Jonathan’s closest brothers. Every word Anneliese said.
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Chapter 246 Argument
could be reported to him. A slow blush climbed her checks.
When she saw the men staring at her with amused shock, shame clenched her chest.
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She forced herself to stay composed, lowered her gaze, and lifted her cup with calm, sipping as if nothing had happened.
Joel was completely caught off guard.
Last month, when he first saw Anneliese at the teahouse, she and Jonathan had acted like
strangers.
Now they were not just married. They looked like they could not bear to be apart.
It was painfully obvious. Jonathan had a history with married women. He had pursued her even before her divorce from Zacharias.
“Marcus, you cannot force something that does not exist. That is true for family and for love. As Ms. Sweeting has shown her refusal to return to your family, you must stop pushing her. If you go too far, you will only embarrass yourself.”
Joel knocked lightly on the table. His words carried persuasion, but underneath the polite tone was a quiet threat.
Marcus felt pressure closing in from every side. He had never been forced into a corner like this. Jonathan alone was untouchable, and now both the Johnsons and the Shaymans were pressing him from every direction.
He tightened his jaw, his eyes locking on Jessica with a weight that could crush.
“This is your choice. Being a Johnson gives you everything. You never worry about money. You live in a mansion, drive luxury cars, and never work a day in your life. Life outside is harsh and cruel. Look at what you have now. Look at what you eat and wear. Nothing compares to what you had at home. People only give because they want something back. Queenie, you will do well to behave.”
Marcus had seen her apartment. Tiny, cracked, and worn. Her furniture was broken, her closet empty of decent clothes. And her job was nothing but lowly. Cheap.
He hated her stubbornness, that unbreakable core no suffering had ever dulled.
Yet that defiance drew him. It made him want to drag her back under his control.
“Queenie, you will do well to behave.”
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Chapter 246 Argument
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His voice, always warning and low, slipped into her mind like a shadow crawling through walls.
It carried every memory of darkness, blood, hunger, and relentless pain.
Jessica felt the chill of his gaze. Her fists clenched tight, but her body shivered as if every fiber ached under his presence.
Anneliese noticed the change. She turned, but Zane had already moved.
“Tea.”
He set a steaming cup of tea near her hand.
The warmth touched her cold knuckles. She flinched as if waking from a nightmare. Her eyes lifted to meet his without thinking.
Zane offered a soft smile. It was calm and gentle, like morning light cutting through storm clouds. It did not burn. It did not blind. It was the perfect touch to push back the darkness.
Jessica parted her lips. Her voice came barely above a whisper.
“Thank you.”
Her fingers, stiff from tension, finally relaxed. She wrapped her hand around the cup, though she did not drink.
The heat slowly spread through her, calming her shivering body. She drew a steady breath and reached into her bag, pulling out a neat stack of papers.
