His Pathetic, Worthless Affection

I stayed in the restroom stall for what felt like an eternity, until my phone began to buzz insistently.

It was the hospital.

"Miss Sterling, your brother has developed sudden complications and needs emergency surgery. We need a payment of one hundred thousand dollars immediately, or we can't proceed."

One hundred thousand dollars.

For the woman I once was, it was the price of a handbag. For the woman I am now, it was a matter of life and death.

I burst out of the restroom. Rhys was presenting Chloe with a massive diamond engagement ring, drawing gasps of admiration from the crowd.

I ran to him, grabbing his sleeve.

"Rhys, please, I need one hundred thousand dollars, right now! Noah needs surgery!"

Rhys frowned, shaking my hand off his sleeve.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, making a scene here?"

Chloe giggled beside him. "Gen, you have to pick your moments. Rhys is proposing."

"Rhys Prescott, it's a life! It's Noah! He used to adore you!"

Rhys paused.

Then, his expression grew even darker.

"He's a Sterling. What does he have to do with me? It would be better if all of you just died."

He turned his attention back to the ring, tossing a comment over his shoulder.

"Our arrangement doesn't cover charity. And tonight, you've done nothing but piss me off. You get nothing."

"What do I have to do? I'll do anything for the money."

Rhys turned, his gaze falling to the floor where one of his cufflinks had "accidentally" dropped.

"You want to please me? Get on your knees and pick it up."

His cufflink was still perfectly fastened on his cuff.

He was humiliating me.

But Noah was on an operating table, waiting.

I didn't hesitate. My knees hit the cold marble with a hard thud.

The room filled with gasps and muffled sneers.

My hand trembling, I picked up the cufflink and held it up to him.

"Mr. Prescott, here."

I looked up at him.

Rhys looked down at me, a complicated emotion flickering in his dark eyes.

He took the cufflink and, without a second glance, tossed it into a nearby ice bucket.

"Too bad. Now I'm in an even worse mood."

With that, he wrapped his arm around Chloe and strode away.

Leaving me kneeling on the cold floor.

I bolted from the banquet hall, sprinting out into the pouring rain.

Suddenly, I collided with a hard chest.

"Careful."

A pair of strong hands steadied me.

I looked up into a cool, intelligent face, his eyes sharp behind gold-rimmed glasses.

I had no time for his face. I tried to push past him.

"Move! I have to save someone!"

But the man didn't budge, handing me a payment receipt instead.

"I've already paid for Noah Sterling's surgery. You can pay me back slowly."

I froze, my mind a complete blank.

"Who are you?"

"Julian Croft. The lawyer handling the Sterling family's bankruptcy, and also your current creditor's representative."

He took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the rain from my face.

"Miss Sterling, you may be a debtor, but you don't need to debase yourself for a scumbag like him."

I stayed at the hospital all night. My brother was out of danger.

When I returned to the apartment the next day, it was already noon.

I was wearing the suit jacket Julian had lent me, which carried a faint scent of mint and tobacco.

As I pushed open the door, a tense atmosphere hit me.

Rhys sat on the sofa, a mountain of cigar butts at his feet.

When he saw the men's jacket on my shoulders, he exploded.

He rushed over, ripped the jacket off me, and tore it to shreds.

"Genevieve Sterling, you have some goddamn nerve! The moment you crawl out of my sight, you go find another man to sponsor you?"

His eyes were bloodshot as he spat the questions of a madman.

"Who is he? That Julian Croft? When did you two get together?"

He snatched a letter opener from the table and slashed the expensive jacket to ribbons.

"I didn't! He saved Noah!"

I lunged forward to save the jacket; it wasn't mine to let him destroy.

Rhys slammed me down onto the coffee table, which was still littered with ice buckets and glasses from the night before.

The sharp edges of glass dug into my back. I gasped in pain.

"Saved Noah? Or are you just addicted to selling yourself? You'd sleep with any man for that half-dead brother of yours, wouldn't you?"

Smack!

With all my strength, I slapped him across the face.

Rhys's head snapped to the side, a red handprint blooming on his cheek.

He slowly turned back, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek, his eyes dark and murderous.

"Genevieve, you dare hit me?"

I was breathing heavily, tears finally blurring my vision.

"Rhys Prescott, you can insult me, but you will not insult Noah! And you will not insult the man who helped me!"

It was the first time I had fought back since our reunion.

That slap shattered the last shred of civility between us.

He suddenly laughed, a chilling, unhinged sound.

"Good. Very good. Since you've suddenly grown a backbone, let's see just how strong it really is."