Bride of Retribution: Aloof Billionaire's Dominant Game

Joshua Hughes stared coldly at the greedy, hypocritical, vicious woman in front of him, as if he were looking at a poisonous snake.

He wanted to pull out this poisonous snake’s fangs, so she would never again be able to hurt Avery Jane. Avery was such a simple, clean, stubborn girl; what crime had she committed, what debt did she owe, what justified this woman repeatedly, again and again, ruthlessly trying to kill her? All she wanted was to make Evelyn sit in the position of Mrs. Hughes. But in his heart, that position could only belong to one person. The moment he thought of what had happened in the dark, thought of what Avery had gone through in the Yates Family, he felt an unprecedented disgust. Even though some things had indeed started because of him, the Yates Family had still put on the most ridiculous family farce right in front of him. And now this woman actually had the nerve to talk righteous and proper to his face, saying her daughter had been taken advantage of for nothing. Now, whenever he remembered those one or two times he’d slept with Evelyn, he felt like he’d become one of those most disgusting men.

In the past, although the women sent to his bed each had their own agenda, at least none of them had exposed such an ugly face to this extent. But Evelyn and the entire Yates Family made him feel sick. He also felt sorry for Avery—how had she managed to live in that kind of family? Just how much did that man named Lucas Yates love her, to have such charm that he could keep her in a family like the Yates?

Harper Johnson clearly saw the coldness and disgust in Joshua Hughes’s eyes; her heart gave a hard thump. ”I want to see Avery Jane. She can’t just act like this every time she sees the Yates Family. The Yates Family was good to her; they raised her for several years. All these things started because of her, and now she just hides like this—what is that supposed to be?”

”Clatter....” With a huge crash, the ashtray on Joshua Hughes’s desk exploded on the edge of the sofa where she was sitting, almost shattering into pieces. Harper’s words had completely enraged Joshua, stabbing right into the weakness he feared most, the one that hurt the most. The mere thought of going to find Avery was enough to make cold sweat break out all over him.

Harper had never seen anyone’s anger become so terrifying. Her whole body trembled; cold sweat seeped out of her forehead in fear.

Joshua Hughes slowly walked over, his long fingers curling into a tight fist. The stabbing pain in his eyes and the blazing fury burning there turned his gaze bloodshot and terrifying. Fine blood vessels slowly surfaced in his eyes, making them look like the eyes of a Beast.

”Get out. Don’t ever come to discuss anything with me again. Get lost.” His hoarse voice rumbled out from his chest overflowing with rage, leaving no room for negotiation. ”If you dare go looking for Avery, I’ll rip the Yates Family out by the roots. For now, tell your precious son to wash his ass clean and get ready for prison.” Since he was going to cut ties with the Yates Family, then he’d cut them even cleaner. There was no need to learn anything from this disgusting woman’s mouth. He could investigate the answers himself; it would just cost a bit of time.

”Joshua Hughes, don’t be so full of yourself. You like that little bitch, but she doesn’t necessarily like you. You think our Evelyn is only after your money. But Avery Jane isn’t, right? She’s just after your money too. The one she’ll always love is Lucas Yates. You’ll never understand...” Harper stammered in fear, shivering as she spoke. She had no idea how she’d managed to piss Joshua off again. She had clearly only come to ask him for a favor, to let the Yates Family off the hook. So how had it all turned into this? The more flustered she got, the more she spoke without thinking.

Joshua Hughes’s eyes were blood-red, his thin lips pressed so tightly together they were almost a straight line. He looked like he’d suffered a devastating blow. He didn’t need anyone to remind him; he knew very well that this was a slice of the most beautiful time he had stolen from heaven. Yet this woman had ripped his wound open in such a naked, brutal way that he could practically see the scar in his heart bleeding all over again.

”Get out...” Joshua clenched his fists. Pain burned in his desolate gaze as he rasped out the order.

Still in his office, he dialed the number in his hand. ”Avery, come up. Right now.” He wanted to see her—he needed to see her, desperately.

”Are you insane? I’m at work right now. I still have several files to send to other departments.” Her voice on the other end of the line wasn’t loud, but he could hear that she was trying hard to suppress her emotions. Through the phone, he could almost picture her pouting in annoyance.