Bride of Retribution: Aloof Billionaire's Dominant Game

Her past was like a bewildering city, as if everyone was quietly telling her little bits about it, except she was the only one in the dark.

Avery Jane looked at the face that somewhat resembled Joshua Hughes’. She had no interest in dealing with him; the man’s eyes held greed and malice. She should keep a distance from him to avoid any trouble for Joshua Hughes. After all, he had a really bad temper when he got angry.

”President Hughes, if there’s nothing else, please let me pass. I have work to do,” Avery said, slightly irritated that he was blocking her way.

This man was truly different from Joshua Hughes. Joshua would never do anything so annoying, while Luis Hughes seemed to approach her with ulterior motives. Logically speaking, she was like a sister-in-law to him, so why was there no respect?

”Luis Hughes, is your job too idle, so you have time to run over here?” Avery Jane’s gaze passed through Luis Hughes and saw Joshua Hughes standing behind him. Joshua was about two or three centimeters taller than Luis, but in terms of presence, it was much more than that.

It was as if he towered over him more than a whole head. How did he come down here? Avery felt secretly delighted. Every girl hoped the man in her heart would appear when most needed, and Joshua Hughes showed up just as she thought of him. Was this what they called a shared understanding?

A shared understanding, or perhaps a kind of telepathy? Sometimes it exists, but sometimes it truly does not.

He was incredibly busy today, but just a moment ago, Emma White sent him a message; she only said Luis Hughes had blocked Avery Jane at the entrance, so he rushed downstairs. Initially, he wanted to address the issue with Emma properly, but then he thought Avery would definitely argue with him otherwise. After finally finding happiness in their current situation, he didn’t want such minor issues to ruin the atmosphere between them. So, he told Emma to report any unusual situations to him, and he would overlook them. Although Emma was somewhat careless, she was definitely a smart woman and readily agreed. Little did they know, it would soon come in handy.

”My dear brother, I was just about to invite Miss Jane for a meal. We are, after all, about to become family, and I should take good care of her.” Luis Hughes could easily sense the powerful aura behind him. Whenever Joshua Hughes was around, he naturally controlled the entire scene.

”No need. I will naturally take care of my woman,” Joshua walked over, took Avery Jane’s hand, and headed toward the elevator.

”Big brother, why the rush? I just wanted to invite Miss Jane to my wedding next month. After all, she’s an old acquaintance of Evelyn, having lived together for so many years. Could she be the bridesmaid, Miss Jane?” Luis Hughes now understood what Joshua Hughes’ Achilles’ heel was. He wanted to seize it and apply pressure so that his beloved big brother couldn’t rebound.

Besides, he didn’t want to chop down Joshua Hughes in one blow; he should slowly and incrementally cut until he was covered in wounds, bleeding painfully to death. They were brothers, the closest by blood in this world, but they were destined to become adversaries. No one could harm Joshua Hughes since he wanted to defeat him personally, let him taste loss, let him feel unimportant, let him experience the sting of humiliation. By saying this today, he had effectively declared war on Joshua Hughes, assuming Joshua wouldn’t dare act against him in the company. Luis Hughes smiled wickedly, shrugged, and provocatively looked at Joshua Hughes.

Avery Jane stopped walking alongside Joshua, frozen in place, turning back to look at Luis Hughes: ”What are you talking about?”

Her voice trembled slightly. Evelyn Yates, Lucas Yates — those names seemed so familiar, how could it be such a coincidence? Nora Thompson had told her that her deceased husband was named Wenyard Cooper, and Luis Hughes said his wife was Evelyn Yates. They had lived together for a long time. What did this mean?

Her face instantly turned a pale gray, the light in her eyes dimmed, her delicate eyebrows gently furrowed.

Joshua’s large, warm and strong hand enveloped her small hand: ”Let’s go upstairs first.” Joshua’s face was tense to the extreme, a flash of bloodthirsty menace flickered in his eyes as he stared at Luis Hughes. The muscles in his clenched fist stood out, almost audibly creaking. The atmosphere around them was tense, like a taut string poised to snap at any moment.

Looking at the woman beside him, Joshua saw her entire small face turned pale, even her lips became faint, almost bloodless. Her gaze was clear, but it carried slight frailty, ”Joshua Hughes, don’t be angry.”

She could imagine how great Joshua’s anger would be; his whole face had turned into a terrifying sight, fierce and frightening. What was worrying him? Could all those things everyone told her be true, and her faith in him was misplaced?

What she said nearly made him collapse; he had not missed the hesitation in her eyes. As Luis Hughes watched them each consumed by their troubles, he grew more smug, the thrill in his blood sparked like a rushing magma: ”We should all make time to sit down for a meal, discuss the wedding details. After all, I beat my brother to marriage; Miss Jane should definitely come. You have a lot to talk about with Evelyn.”

Avery’s long lashes trembled slightly. She looked up at Joshua and asked softly, ”Do I know that person?”

Joshua Hughes looked into her eyes, clear as water. Avery, I don’t want to deceive you, but how can I not? If I told you that Harper Johnson wanted to give Evelyn to me, so he cruelly gouged out Lucas Yates’ eyes, would you hate me then? ”Yes, I know him, but not very well.”

Joshua Hughes looked at Avery Jane, forcing himself to stay calm.

”Oh...” She tugged on his hand. ”My stomach feels a little uneasy, let’s go.” Joshua Hughes held her hand and walked towards the elevator. Before leaving, he glanced at Luis Hughes with eyes as piercing as arrows. Luis, I didn’t want this; you’ve been pushing me. If you dare to do this, you have to bear all future consequences.

She really felt a bit unwell, and once they were upstairs, she didn’t even want to eat and went to the lounge to sleep.

The entire dream felt like a terrifying marsh. She walked cautiously but still stepped into the murky quagmire, gradually sinking. The cold, wet mud covered her feet, then calves, and was climbing up to her thighs. She struggled to climb out, but sank deeper into the boundless dark gray surroundings. She reached out for something, but found nothing, only air. She knew her past memories were slipping away, the feeling so painful, like being crushed by a massive boulder, leaving her breathless.

Joshua Hughes sat by the bed, afraid to leave. Her sleep was restless, and he gently caressed her face. Suddenly, a scalding tear rolled down from her eye, falling on the clean white sheet. What had she dreamt of, to cry even in her sleep?

He gently kissed her eyelids, his warm tongue licking away her tears...

He walked to the window, picked up the phone, dialed a number, and looked at the woman sleeping on the bed with deep, piercing eyes. His slender fingers gripped the phone, lips lightly pursed, and when the call connected: ”You need to return immediately, my plan has to be moved up.”

Not only did his plan have to be moved up, but he intended to destroy it even more thoroughly. This was all Luis Hughes’ doing.

The man on the other end merely acknowledged and then hung up.

At that moment, the woman on the bed seemed to murmur as if talking in her sleep: ”Wenyard...”

Joshua Hughes’ broad shoulders shook suddenly, his handsome face pale as paper, his mind exploding with that name.

A painful sensation like being torn apart gripped his heart, a tiny fear that had always been there now raging like a blaze because of those two unconscious words, threatening to burn away his remaining sanity, almost driving him to rashly cut out Luis Hughes’ talkative tongue, just like Harper Johnson, never to speak again in this life.

His pale knuckles slowly clenched, then released. He didn’t know if this was merely her subconscious dream or if she would remember everything the moment she awakened. The constant shocks she endured, even the doctor said, this amnesia was unpredictable in recovery, but the possibility of recovery is very high.

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Beckett Wright looked at the computer records and files he had hacked into at the registrar’s office; there was no marriage record for the date Avery Jane mentioned.

Avery Jane’s only official marriage registration was over a year ago. Looking at the printed paper, how could he explain this to Avery Jane? He had to tell her, but he wanted to find a way to say it that wouldn’t hurt her. Any woman would be devastated to find out she had been living, sharing a bed, with a man claiming to be her husband, only to learn he had been deceiving her all along.

Why did Joshua Hughes do this? What kind of feelings did he hold for Avery Jane? His domineering and terrifying possessiveness towards Avery Jane was alarming, yet Avery Jane lived by his side seemingly very trusting of Joshua Hughes. They appeared to get along well, and sometimes knowing the truth can be even more painful. How should he bring this up?

On that printed document, the marriage certificate photo showed two people smiling happily, as if immersed in a honey jar. Avery Jane, what would she think upon seeing this photo?