Scattered on the Wind

Morgan shoved him away hard, her voice tight with suppressed exhaustion and disgust. “I said, I’ve been really tired lately. I don’t want to.”

Rejected again and again, Jake’s expression darkened slightly. However, seeing how pale she looked, he swallowed his irritation in the end.

His tone relaxed. “Alright. Then get some sleep.”

The next morning, when Morgan woke up, she was stunned to find that Jake had not disappeared early like he usually did; he was still there.

“Why are you still here?” she asked.

“If not here, where else would I be?” Jake smiled naturally and leaned over, trying to pull her into his arms again. “I made you, my love, upset yesterday. I took the day off to make it up to you. Okay?”

Morgan instantly understood everything. Dean must have dumped the responsibility of comforting her entirely onto his younger brother because he could not be bothered to pretend anymore.

A sharp pain stabbed her chest. She was about to say it was not necessary, but Jake did not give her the chance. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

“Didn’t you always want to do that ‘one hundred things couples must do together’ thing with me? Today, I’ll do them all with you.”

He did not allow her to refuse. He dragged her out, moving from one place to another, from watching a movie to wandering through an amusement park, and eating desserts, checking off every activity that looked sweet and romantic on the surface.

They dragged it out until nightfall, where he took her to an upscale private club.

“Have a drink and relax a little.” Jake settled her onto the sofa inside a private room. “I’ll get us more drinks. I’ll be right back.”

After he left, only Morgan remained in the room. She leaned back against the sofa, exhausted. All she wanted was for everything to end as soon as possible.

Suddenly, the private room door was slammed open. Several men reeking of alcohol stumbled inside, and when they saw Morgan, their eyes lit up immediately.

“Well damn! There’s a girl in here too, and she’s not bad at all.”

“Come on, have a drink with us. How much for a night?”

“I’m not–” Morgan jumped to her feet in panic, her face turning pale as she tried to explain.

“Don’t play innocent,” one of them sneered. “Everyone who comes here knows what this place is for.”

They did not believe her. Laughing obscenely, they surrounded her, and someone even turned around and locked the door.

Morgan retreated in terror, struggling and calling for help. However, she was only a woman and was powerless against several drunk men. As they tore her clothes off, despair drowned her whole.

Just as she thought it was truly over…

“Bang!”

The door was kicked open from the outside. Jake stormed in, fury written all over his face. When he saw what was happening, his eyes instantly turned bloodshot. Like an enraged panther, he charged in without hesitation. His blows were ruthless, fists and kicks landing one after another as several men went down in moments.

However, he was still outnumbered. In the chaos, someone grabbed an empty bottle and swung it straight at Morgan.

“Watch out!” Jake roared as he lunged forward, shielding her completely beneath his body.

The bottle smashed hard against the back of his head, shattering instantly. Blood poured down at once. He let out a muffled groan, his expression turning even more vicious, before he spun around and sent the attacker flying with a brutal kick.

At last, the club’s security and management arrived, quickly bringing the situation under control. Jake staggered, all his strength gone, and collapsed into Morgan’s arms. Staring at the blood still flowing from his head, Morgan’s mind went blank. Her hands trembled as she called for an ambulance.

That night, she stayed at the hospital. By early morning, the nurse gently urged her to get some rest.

“The patient is stable now. He’ll wake up soon. You should get some sleep.”

Exhausted, Morgan nodded. Halfway down the hall, she realized she had left her jacket in the room and turned back to get it. Just as she reached the door, she heard Jake’s voice from inside. He seemed to be on the phone.

“I’m fine. I’m not dead.”

The person on the other end said something, and Jake snorted.

“Obviously. If I didn’t stage that whole hero-saving-the-damsel act, how else would I get her to sleep with me again?” He clicked his tongue and said, “She’s great in bed. Fair skin, soft waist, and most importantly… she sounds exactly like Hazel in bed. I love it. It’s like I’m sleeping with Hazel.

“Do I like Hazel? Of course I do.” He laughed quietly. “But my brother likes her too. What can I do? Steal her? Forget it. Hazel likes my brother. They’re in love. I’ll just stay on the sidelines. As long as my brother hasn’t dumped her yet, I’ll sleep with this one as many times as I can.”

Outside the door, Morgan’s world was shaken. Her entire body went ice-cold.

As it turned out, the terrifying, life-or-death rescue last night had been a performance he orchestrated himself just to make it easier to sleep with her again—to use her as a substitute for another woman. She had thought that, at the very least, there had been a shred of sincerity in the way he protected her. However, the truth was, it was all just a cruel joke, one worse than Dean’s cold indifference.

Clamping a hand over her mouth to keep from sobbing out loud, Morgan staggered away from the hospital.