CHAPTER 7: CHAPTER 7: TONIGHT, YOU’RE MINE

"Adrian?"

"You guys have fun, put it on my tab."

Before the words even landed, Adrian Grant had already carried Eleanor Winslow out of the private room with one arm.

The man wore a shirt, sleeves rolled up to reveal his strong, muscular arms, pressed tightly against the delicate body of the woman, creating a strong visual impact.

"Why do I feel that Adrian is really indulgent with Eleanor? Is it just my illusion?"

...

The door of the McLaren opened.

Eleanor was almost thrown inside.

The next moment, the man squeezed in, the seat back flattened, and the car door closed with a click.

Before Eleanor could react, a deluge of kisses fell upon her.

The man had been drinking, his body temperature scorching, making Eleanor shiver.

The man’s hot hands tore apart her dress, his actions hurried and somewhat rough.

"Adrian Grant!"

Adrian Grant lifted his eyes, meeting the watery doe-like eyes of the woman, her eyelashes fluttering as if tears would roll out the next blink, looking pitiful.

He propped himself up on the seat back behind her with one hand, knee resting on the seat, while the other hand caressed Eleanor’s face.

"Unwilling? Zia Winslow, wasn’t it you who came to seduce me just now?"

The word ’seduce’ made Eleanor feel embarrassed.

Recalling the behavior in the private room just now, Eleanor felt even more ashamed.

"It’s not... it’s not that I’m unwilling." She took a shallow breath, suppressing her grievances, shifting the focus, "You ruined my dress."

She added emphatically, "It’s new!"

"Haven’t I bought you enough new dresses?" Adrian Grant laughed angrily.

At Azurean Bay villa, there were two closets reserved just for her dresses.

"Hmph." Eleanor turned her face away, waiting for his next move.

But after a while, there was still no movement from the man.

The car was so quiet that only the sound of breathing remained.

Eleanor, suspicious, turned back to look at the man.

The man loomed over her, supporting his body, but there was already clarity in his eyes.

Adrian Grant stroked her face, piercing through her childish scheme: "Eleanor, did you think that as long as I took you tonight, I would help you rescue Jude Winslow?"

"Adrian Grant..."

Eleanor’s face instantly fell.

She did think so.

Although Adrian Grant was harsh, he wasn’t a petty person. As long as they engaged in something tonight, then the deal was as good as done.

Eleanor opened her mouth, but couldn’t argue a single point.

"Little girl, if you plan to maneuver others, you must be all in, don’t overthink it." Adrian Grant fastened his belt again.

Eleanor saw that he was about to leave, and quickly grabbed his wrist, speaking urgently:

"Adrian Grant, if it were Mia Winslow who came to you for help today, wouldn’t you agree without a second thought?"

Adrian Grant thought that his wife still hadn’t figured out the situation.

"Eleanor, if you were willing to continue being Mrs. Grant quietly, Jude would have returned home long ago."

-

Since Adrian Grant’s approach didn’t work, Eleanor planned to seek out the Preston Family next.

However, the next morning before she even set out, she received a call from the detention center asking her to pick someone up.

The young man was brought out by a police officer.

The eighteen-year-old was quite tall, with a temperament caught between youth and adulthood, his features handsome, but with a head of messy blond hair and stubbly beard, he walked with a swagger, looking down his nose at people, very much in need of discipline!

"Why did they suddenly agree to let you go?" Eleanor asked Jude Winslow in surprise.

"The Preston Family dropped the charges."

The sudden withdrawal could only be due to Adrian Grant’s influence.

Then why didn’t he say anything last night?

He even... even took a slap from her for no reason.

Eleanor couldn’t figure it out, and felt a bit guilty after hitting him.

Jude Winslow spotted Eleanor’s Mercedes G-Class not far away, and eagerly stretched his hand out to Eleanor: "Give me the keys, I want to drive!"

"Looks like you’re asking for a beating!"

Eleanor slapped his palm with a ’smack!’ "Driving without a license can get you detained for up to fifteen days. Have you grown too fond of detention center meals?"

Jude Winslow sullenly fell silent.

Everyone in The Winslow Family pampered him, except Eleanor!

"Jude Winslow, you’re already eighteen. The criminal law in our country views you equally, so I hope you’ll think about the consequences before acting on impulse next time. Besides, the girl you and Young Master Preston fought over is already engaged."

Jude Winslow pouted, grumbling discontentedly: "I didn’t hit the Preston boy for that woman."

"Oh? Then who was it for?" At the opportune moment of a traffic light, Eleanor turned to look at the person in the passenger seat.

Jude Winslow hesitated as he looked at her, then quickly turned his head: "None of your business!"

-

When Eleanor and Jude Winslow entered, the atmosphere in the living room was especially heavy.

Mr. Winslow, Eugene, sat on the sofa smoking with a worried expression, and nearly ten cigarette butts filled the ashtray in front of him.

Mrs. Winslow, Yvonne Vance, nearing fifty but well-maintained to look not a day over forty, seemed particularly haggard these days from worrying over her precious son.

Mia Winslow was sitting beside her, continuously comforting Yvonne Vance.

"Dad, Mom," Jude Winslow spoke up.

The three Winslows froze, Eugene and Yvonne Vance were the first to joyfully walk over, showering him with care and concern, hearts aching for him.

Mia Winslow stood a few steps away, just like Eleanor, appearing solitary at that moment.

"Eleanor, didn’t you say earlier that you couldn’t do anything about Jude’s situation, but didn’t you still manage it?" Mia Winslow suddenly remarked.

Yvonne Vance’s face turned cold: "All said and done, Eleanor wasn’t committed enough before, causing Jude to suffer for more than half a month!"

"Eleanor, Jude is your own brother!" Eugene hinted with veiled reproach.

"Dad, you know about the situation between Adrian Grant and me, still not as good as my sister. If my sister had gone to Adrian for help from the start, Jude might have been back long ago." Eleanor deflected skillfully, throwing the blame back at Mia Winslow.

Eugene suspiciously looked towards Mia Winslow.

Before he could question, Yvonne Vance hurriedly said: "Eugene, Adrian is Eleanor’s husband, how could Mia ask him? That would be inappropriate."

She was unwilling for her own daughter to lower herself!

Eleanor raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Auntie, so you do know Adrian is my husband? Then why does my sister call him at any chance? It’s no wonder my husband and I have been married for three years, yet aren’t as close as he is with my sister."

"Mia, is this true?" Eugene’s icy gaze shifted to Mia Winslow.

He placed great importance on Eleanor’s marriage with Adrian Grant, not allowing anyone to disrupt it, as Adrian was a top-notch son-in-law!

"Dad, I didn’t... It’s just that my hand was injured, as you know, the medical team is all from Adrian, so I needed to inform him." Mia Winslow, shocked, clenched her fingers tightly.

Was Eleanor mad, speaking so straightforwardly!

Eugene cast a ’you better be’ look at Mia Winslow.

Mia Winslow turned her eyes, just in time to meet Eleanor’s gaze.

Eleanor’s smile was poised and elegant, but deep in her eyes, there was only ridicule.

"Dad, getting Jude’s situation settled, we actually owe much to Grandma Grant, who intervened and mediated." Eleanor began today’s serious matter.

Grandma Grant was Adrian Grant’s grandmother, the matriarch of the Grant Family.

"Grandma Grant went through great lengths for Jude. Next month is her birthday, and there’s a jade string that belonged to my late mother, which I want to give her as a token of our gratitude from The Winslow Family."

"Good!"

To win the favor of Old Madam Grant, Eugene was very pleased, instructing the servants to fetch the jade string from the collection room.

Yvonne Vance and Mia Winslow’s faces changed immediately upon hearing this.

Soon enough, the servant returned, flustered: "Sir, there’s no... no jade string in the collection room!"