Chapter 56
James got the picture and leaned back in his seat with a chuckle. “Hop in, don’t make me say it a third time.”
Kristin’s fingers were nearly raw from her nervous picking. She glanced down to make sure her clothes were clean before carefully opening the back door.
“Sit up front,” James gestured.
Kristin pondered for a moment before settling into the front seat.
James didn’t say a word and drove Kristin to the mall.
“Get out,” he instructed as they arrived.
Kristin stayed put. After a long pause, Kristin finally spoke up. “I… I’ll go back.”
“Do you think I’ve had you around for three years to play nanny or maid?” James had to stifle a laugh.
Kristin remained silent.
“Come on, whether or not I go for a paternity test depends on if you can follow directions,” James resorted to a threat, as nothing else seemed to work.
Kristin was stubborn, only responding to this kind of talk.
She got out of the car and followed James inside.
Entering the elevator, Kristin instinctively tucked herself into the farthest corner, eyes fixed on the walls.
The elevator reached the ground floor, crowded with people entering the mall.
James reached out and pulled Kristin in front of him, frowning slightly.
Kristin stood rigid among the crowd with a trace of fear in her demeanor.
Crowds terrified her.
After years in prison, Kristin developed severe psychological issues.
Any person facing great trauma and change would inevitably show some stress response.
Kristin feared enclosed spaces, crowds, and being squeezed among people. Her breathing. became labored, sweat forming on her forehead.
James glanced down at Kristin. He towered over others, but Kristin was nearly swallowed by
the crowd.
“Let’s go.” he said.
Kristin had become much more docile than she was five years ago. She followed James
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obediently like a soulless marionette.
As they walked, James had an epiphany about what had changed in Kristin.
Her eyes once shimmered, bursting with life. Now, they were vacant, hollow. It was as though her spirit had been depleted, leaving only an empty shell behind.
A twinge of regret clenched James‘ hands.
Five years ago, he could have helped Kristin, but he didn’t.
In fact… he wanted to see her stripped of her pride.
“Get her a SIM card with her ID and send it to IF, James called his assistant, leading Kristin into a phone store.
The prices on the phones were steep, Kristin kept her head down, not daring to look.
James wasn’t into shopping, never buying stuff unless he had to.
Yet, Kristin seemed to be his one exception.
“Can you handle this one?” he asked in a low voice.
Kristin stood far away, looking up at him briefly, then fell silent.
“Come here!” James took a deep breath.
Kristin, fearing his anger, edged closer.
Five years off the grid, she might not know how to use a modern smartphone. She was out of
touch with the world.
“No… I can’t,” she confessed, shaking her head, then pointed to the simplest phone she could find, a model typically used by seniors. “I can use this one.”
James let out a chuckle. He wasn’t typically someone who was prone to laughter, but Kristin had always been an exception to that rule.
“Don’t embarrass me, I’ll teach you.” He picked up a phone, grabbed Kristin’s wrist, and led her
out.
Kristin wanted to pull away.
“Don’t you want to get a hang of it first?” James asked, looking at her.
Kristin stayed silent.
“Whoa, isn’t that… Mr. Bryce!”
James took Kristin into a high–end boutique, and the display assistant lit up upon seeing James. “Mr. Bryce, why didn’t Linda come with you?”
Linda was a little starlet James had kept around in the past, known to everyone in the circle.
Chapter 56
She used to prance around with her nose in the air, taking pride in her three–year stint with James.
James darkened his face and instinctively glanced at Kristin, who looked back, withdrawing her wrist from his grasp.
Kristin needed to stay clear–headed that men like him were all the same without exceptions.
To them, a woman was just a fleeting plaything, nothing more.
The display assistant, realizing the faux pas, covered her mouth in panic. “Mr. Bryce, I didn’t mean…”
“Take her to try some clothes,” James said irritably, massaging his temples and flipping through a magazine on the sofa.
“Who’s the plain girl Mr. Bryce brought today? He never brings anyone here willingly, and he even held her hand.”
“That girl looks so timid like a country bumpkin. Did Mr. Bryce change his taste? He’s over those proud swans now?”
Kristin changed in the fitting room, overhearing the gossip outside.
The tailor measured her and whispered, “What’s your relationship with Mr. Bryce?”
Kristin said nothing.
“You’re pretty, stand tall with confidence. Mr. Bryce likes girls with grace, like those who’ve danced since childhood,” the tailor suggested.
.Kristin paused, still silent.
“Linda’s been with Mr. Bryce for three years, and he ditches that haughty princess for a maid?” The chatter outside continued.
Kristin didn’t respond and didn’t care about being looked down on. What mattered was not interfering with others‘ relationships.
Slipping into a white dress the assistant had brought, Kristin emerged from the fitting room.
James watched Kristin for a long silence.
Truth be told, she had changed drastically. The sparkle was gone.
As Kristin looked at herself in the mirror, she quickly lowered her gaze, not daring to recognize the reflection.
She was a stranger to herself, unfamiliar and frightening.
“That’ll do.” James nodded.
The assistant went to find more clothes for Kristin, asking her to wait on the side.
“Who’s Linda?” Kristin asked, looking up.
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If she turned out to be James‘ girlfriend, then Kristin would have to turn down his request.
She wasn’t going to destroy others‘ love.
“You care?” James looked at Kristin.
Kristin shook her head, replying, “If you have a girlfriend, I’m not going to be your mistress.”
“Mistress?” James chuckled. “You sure think highly of yourself.”
Kristin looked down and fell silent again.
“I don’t have a girlfriend, James clarified.
Linda was definitely not a girlfriend, at most a fancy peacock kept around for amusement.
Kristin remained silent.
“Mr. Bryce, your SIM card.” The assistant rushed in and handed the SIM card to James.
James put the SIM card into his phone, turned it on, and started activating it for Kristin.
“Come sit here, I’ll show you how to use it,” James said, patting the spot next to him.
Kristin hesitated for a moment, then sat down.
The assistant looked at Kristin in astonishment. Wasn’t she… the little receptionist from that
club?
Had she hooked up with their Mr. Bryce already?
Impressive.
–“Nowadays, it’s all about facial recognition,” James patiently explained to Kristin.
Kristin watched the phone intently. When the facial recognition went through, she looked at James, surprised and a bit shocked.
Phones these days were so amazing.
James caught Kristin’s eyes. For a moment, he was lost in thought.
In that instant, it seemed as if there was a light in them.
“To make calls and use WhatsApp, it’s all here. I’ll help you set up an account.” James said patiently.
Kristin listened attentively.
The assistant stood by, seriously shocked.
“Mr. Bryce…” The assistant hesitated for a long time but decided to talk business first.
While Kristin went to try on clothes, James frowned and spoke. “What is it?”
“The president of the FitzGerald Group from Silvergrove City, Rhett, is coming to Crescendo
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Town earlier than expected. He needs your help to find someone,” the assistant quickly explained.
“Find someone? Who?” James was genuinely curious. Who could be so important that Rhett, the ice block of a millennium, would come looking personally?
“A woman.”
