Soon after Christina entered the Steele residence, Gideon's punishment fell upon her. “You finally decided to come, huh?”

“Didn’t you ask me to come?” Cristina replied.

As a father, Gideon never felt Cristina's respect or admiration for him. Enraged by her words, Gideon violently threw a cup at her.

The cup didn't hit her, but it broke into pieces right near her feet.

A small fragment flew out, leaving a cut on Christina's soft and beautiful hand, with crimson blood oozing out.

As if she couldn't feel anything, Christina didn't even frown. Her tone was still as impassive as ever when she said, “You called me back home just to throw this tantrum? Now that you have vented your anger, I will leave.”

Then she turned to leave without any sign of hesitation.

“Enough, Gideon. Don't worry and forget the main thing — Miranda interrupted, having already enjoyed the spectacle for long enough.

"Stay there!" Gideon suppressed his fury, remembering the main objective of summoning Christina home.

Christina stopped midway.

“I heard Nathaniel divorced you?”

Christina turned around and replied, “Yes.”

Her determined tone made Gideon's blood pressure soar. “You insolent girl! Come back to the Hadley residence right now! I don't care how you do it, but you're not leaving the Hadley family!

The Hadley family were a cash cow that the Steele family had to control as they knew they would be wiped out in Hallsbay if it wasn't for the Hadley family.

“Do you think I’m so stupid for agreeing to go to hell twice?” Christina found Gideon's orders amusing.

“Christina, you know our family can’t survive without the Hadleys,” Miranda said, almost pleadingly. She never liked Christina, but given their interests, she knew that her pride came second.

“What does this have to do with me? I'm not a Steele,” Christina stated clearly. Since Gideon betrayed her mother, she decided to cut all ties with the Steele family.

Seeing that Christina was ruthless and seemed to care less about the Steele family, Miranda tugged at Gideon's sleeve and suggested him with a look.

“Okay, then I'll call and terminate financial support for your mother's medical treatment,” Gideon said, finally resorting to attacking Christina's weakest point.

Sharon fell ill a few years ago and needed a large amount of money every day for her treatment. Gideon repeatedly used her as leverage to coerce Christina into doing what he wanted.

They knew for a fact that Christina could never afford Sharon's expensive medical treatment, so coercion always worked perfectly.

However, this time, Christina shrugged her shoulders and raised an eyebrow as she said, “Who do you think Nathaniel is? A gullible nobody? Someone you can play with over and over again?

Gideon and Miranda's faces fell.

The Hadleys wanted Emilia as their daughter-in-law. However, Miranda couldn't bear to marry her daughter to an ugly, supposedly gay man. She drugged Christina and sent her to the Hadleys.

"I don't call. Find out for yourself,” Gideon insisted.

Christina rolled her eyes inwardly. "I can not do. Nathaniel kicked me out of the Hadley residence, so I can't go back there unless he personally comes to take me.

Her heart leapt with joy as she said this, for she knew that Nathaniel would never appear at the Steele residence.

However, her happiness was short-lived.

The next moment, a housekeeper rushed into the room, looking strangely nervous.

"Sir. Steele, Mrs. Steele, someone from the Hadley family is here.

“The Hadley family?”

Christina, Gideon and Miranda were equally surprised.

They gaped at the housekeeper, who added, “Mr. Nathaniel Hadley is here to escort Mrs. Steele home.

“Nathaniel Hadley?” Christina's mouth remained open in shock as she looked at the housekeeper for confirmation.

Unfortunately, the housekeeper nodded in affirmation.

Damn!

Christina cursed her chatty mouth for jinxing herself.

The arranged marriage between the Steele and Hadley families lasted three years, but not a single Hadley visited their home.

Now, seemingly out of nowhere, the groom himself was at the Steeles' door.

Gideon and Miranda's shock turned to joy when they learned that Nathaniel was by Christina's side.

Gideon said, “Invite him in!”

"I'm already here." While Christina was still confused, a male voice came from outside.

The speaker displayed a rich baritone and seemed self-assured but somewhat distant at the same time.

A second later, an extremely handsome man appeared in his field of vision.

Christina visibly stiffened when she met his gaze.

Rumors painted the Hadley family heir as a horribly disfigured man who stood no more than five feet tall.

He couldn't be further from the truth. He was so handsome that it was impossible to take your eyes off him.

He wore a tailored suit that flattered his tall figure. In a few steps, he was right in front of Christina.

Christina stammered, “A-are you Nathaniel Hadley?”

Nathaniel's unrealistic appearance was just the tip of the iceberg. To her horror, she was beginning to realize that he was the man from the hotel the night before.

Something flashed in her eyes. His cold gaze swept over Christina, and once satisfied that he had found the correct person, he replied, “That's 'husband' for you.”

His response left Christina breathless.

Meanwhile, Miranda was on the verge of a breakdown. Isn't he supposed to be an ugly monster?

The only person moved by Nathaniel's visit was Gideon, who was all smiles as he invited the guest into his home. “Please come in, Mr. Hadley.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’m here to take Christina home,” Nathaniel replied coldly.

What the hell is happening?

Christina finally snapped out of her shock-induced trance and asked, “Aren’t we divorced already?” Her actions perplexed her to no end.

Her gaze flashed dangerously before he said, “The divorce agreement has been annulled. You're still Mrs. Hadley.

Christina did a poor job of hiding her bewilderment.

Still, with Gideon and Miranda hanging around, she had no choice but to follow Nathaniel to his car and leave for the Hadley residence.

The silence in Nathaniel's Lincoln limousine was suffocating.

Once they were away from the Steele residence, Christina shouted, “Stop the car!”

The driver instinctively hit the brakes and parked the car on the side of the road.

Christina promptly opened the door, ready to escape.

Nathaniel clasped his hand around her wrist with lightning speed and asked, “Where are you going?”

Confused by the question, Cristina responded naturally: “Home!”

“We haven’t reached the Hadley residence yet.”

When Christina realized he wasn't joking, she raised an eyebrow and challenged, “You can't think you can treat everyone like a pawn just because you're a walking Adonis. Is this fun for you or something?

Her behavior was irritating. She quickly wriggled out of his grasp and tried to run out of the car.

“Yes,” Nathaniel replied to the grumpy woman beside him. After a brief pause, he effortlessly pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to the side of her ear. “Especially last night. That was really fun.”

Lewd scenes flashed through Christina's mind at the mention of last night. She turned red as a tomato.

She gritted her teeth, but couldn't stop herself.

“You psychopath!”

The driver held his breath in fear, surprised by her audacity. No one ever reprimanded Nathaniel to his face.

Nathaniel's expression barely changed. He pulled Christina further into his embrace and ordered, “Start the car!”

The car took off despite Christina's protests and struggles.