Chapter 17: Make Her Collapse

At this moment, the distance between the two was so close that they could almost feel each other's breath. Melinda's heartbeat involuntarily quickened, but she was suddenly pulled into Raymond's arms by his outstretched arm.

"Ah!"

Melinda exclaimed and instinctively pushed him away.

Raymond took a step back, and the back of his head hit the wall with a clear "thud."

She was startled and covered her mouth, about to apologize, but then she heard the footsteps of colleagues coming from around the corner. Helpless, she had to walk towards the conference room first, leaving Raymond holding the back of his head with a pained expression.

As soon as she sat down, Melinda glanced sideways and met Raymond's eyes, which were filled with resentment, making her heart skip a beat. She instinctively used her notebook to block her view, as if that could shield her from his burning gaze.

Why was Raymond suddenly so angry? She had just accidentally pushed him, and he hit his head, right?

Raymond's gaze had been fixed on Melinda since he entered the room. Opposite them, their colleague Tenley noticed this and was so jealous that she almost ground her teeth. She couldn't help but mutter to herself, "This Melinda keeps making mistakes but still stays in the company. The rumors outside must be true!"

"The content of today's meeting is..." Delilah's voice echoed in the conference room as she assigned tasks for the next month. However, Melinda was somewhat absent- minded, occasionally glancing at Raymond in the main seat.

After the meeting ended, Melinda was about to get up and leave when Raymond called out, "Melinda, stay. The rest of you can go." His indifferent and cold voice rang out, and everyone else quickly walked out.

Melinda reluctantly sat down, secretly wondering what Raymond wanted this time. As the conference room door slowly closed, Raymond turned around to face her. His gaze was cold, as if he could see through everything about her. Melinda couldn't help but feel a bit nervous and instinctively tightened her grip on her notebook.

"Mr. Thomas, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to earlier," she began, hoping to calm his anger. However, Raymond had no intention of letting her off. "Do you remember you owe me something?" he asked coldly.

Melinda was taken aback and shook her head in confusion. "What do I owe you?" she asked in return.

"You forgot?" Raymond's eyes darkened, burning with anger.

Melinda had really forgotten! He stood up, walked over, extended his long arm, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her against the conference table.

The sudden action made Melinda's eyes widen in disbelief as she looked at Raymond in front of her.

How dare he treat her like this in public? When his body pressed down, she instinctively leaned back, and his other hand grabbed the back of her head, pinching her chin and lifting it coldly.

"Since you forgot, let me remind you." Raymond's voice was low and dangerous, filled with undeniable dominance. After speaking, his lips pressed down hard on Melinda's soft lips. The kiss was forceful and aggressive, as if he wanted to devour her whole.

Melinda's mind went blank, and she lost the ability to think.

When she came to her senses, her first reaction was anger and shame. She used all her strength to push him away, her voice filled with fury and humiliation, "Raymond, what are you doing! You're shameless!"

Raymond just chuckled hoarsely, his eyes dark and deep.

He stared into her eyes, his gaze like looking at a rose in flames, filled with an indescribable complex emotion.

Melinda warned, "If you keep this up, I'll quit." Her voice, though angry, also revealed a hint of helplessness and powerlessness.

She knew she couldn't resist Raymond.

Raymond stared at her, his gaze deep and burning. He suddenly felt that there seemed

to be an inexplicable connection between them. Their eyes met, reaching deep into each other's hearts.

Melinda almost fled the scene.

Back in her office, she held her head, recalling what had happened earlier.

He had saved her life back then, and when she said she wanted to thank him, he said she owed him. Now it seemed Raymond had no intention of letting her off.

Melinda secretly vowed that no matter what, she would never owe Raymond a favor again. He was too dangerous! Beneath his gentlemanly exterior was a beast ready to devour at any moment.

She took a deep breath and wiped her lips in disgust.

The thought of Raymond having touched Emily and then kissing her made her feel incredibly nauseous.

At this moment, Emily was also troubled.

Since the incident with the hickey, she had been in low spirits. Just then, her phone rang; it was Elsie calling.

Emily frowned. She hadn't confronted Elsie about the last incident yet, and now Elsie was reaching out first. However, she had more pressing matters on her mind, so she agreed to meet Elsie.

An hour later, at a music bar, "Emily, I think you're getting more beautiful," Elsie began, breaking the silence.

She was afraid Emily would blame her for not handling things well and didn't want to lose Emily as an ally.

"Really? What do you want?" Emily said indifferently, not in the mood for small talk. "Actually, that incident wasn't entirely my fault. I did my best, but who knew... sigh!" Elsie knew she couldn't avoid it, so she took the initiative to speak.

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"Did your best? You made me lose face. I thought we could get rid of that bitch in one go, but now I..." Emily said through gritted teeth.

Elsie pretended to be concerned, "What happened?"

Emily didn't want anyone to know she had been snubbed by Raymond, so she coldly said, "It's none of your business."

"Connie, that idiot, keeps visiting Melinda's bastard child," Emily continued angrily. Elsie was more interested in something else.

"You said Melinda's son is how old?" she asked curiously.

Emily immediately took out her phone and showed a few photos. "Look, I secretly took

these at home last time. I don't know who his father is, but he's so tall."

Elsie took the phone and looked at the photos of Sam. Her pupils suddenly dilated,

and her mind went blank. "Doesn't this child look a bit like someone?"

"Who?" Emily raised an eyebrow.

"Emily, don't get mad. I'm just guessing," Elsie said cautiously.

"Spit it out. I don't have time for your nonsense. I have plans to go shopping," Emily rolled her eyes and sneered.

"Raymond!" Elsie said in a low voice.

Sure enough, Emily's voice immediately rose, "What? Are you crazy? What nonsense are you talking about? Have I been too good to you?"

Emily was about to get up and leave.

Elsie quickly stood up to explain.

"Emily, there's software now that can compare two people's photos and automatically determine their similarity. I can do it now, and you can see if I'm talking nonsense." "Really? There's such software?" Emily was surprised. She hadn't heard of it, so she sat back down.

Elsie smiled obsequiously and nodded.

"You have a photo of Raymond, right? Give me one, and send me a photo of Melinda's son. I'll show you."

Emily immediately took out her phone and sent the photos to Elsie's WhatsApp.

After a long five minutes, the system showed a 90% similarity.

Emily's hand trembled, and her phone almost fell to the ground.

"No, no, it can't be. How could it be him that night five years ago? We clearly found Derek Morris, a male escort from Serenity Club. Elsie, this software is useless."

She didn't admit it, but the more she looked, the more scared she became.

Oh my God! How could Melinda's son, Sam, look so much like Raymond?

Did Melinda quietly give birth to the child from that night abroad?

Her face turned pale as paper, and her eyes flashed with resentment and jealousy.

Melinda! How much have you hidden from me?

Emily left the music bar in a daze.

No, she couldn't just sit and wait! She had to find a way to be with Raymond and have

his child. Only then could she have the power to fight Melinda.

At that time, Melinda's son Sam would be nothing, and her son would be the heir to

the Thomas family's business empire!

This thought reignited Emily's fighting spirit. She vowed to become Mrs. Thomas and make everyone look at her with new eyes.

However, Melinda was like a thorn in her side, making her uneasy.

Every time she closed her eyes, she dreamed of Raymond's cold and disdainful look. These dreams made her wake up from nightmares, drenched in cold sweat. "Melinda, I won't let you ruin my plans," Emily said through gritted teeth, her eyes flashing with malice.

Just then, Elsie sent a message.

Emily's eyes lit up, and she immediately called Elsie.

"Hello, Elsie."

"Emily, Melinda is hard to deal with, but we can start with her son, Sam."

Elsie's voice was sinister and cunning, "Find a way to get Sam to your house, then pretend to take him out to play. A child Sam's age is bound to be mischievous. If he accidentally gets lost, it's normal. Melinda will go crazy."