CHAPTER 85: CHAPTER 85: CAUGHT! HOLLY CROWE’S HUSBAND IS BLAKE SINCLAIR

Holly Crowe walked out of the private room and took the elevator downstairs.

As soon as she exited the elevator, she saw a familiar figure flash by the far corner of the corridor, then enter the elevator on the opposite side.

She immediately followed and, seeing him enter a private room, she pushed the door open without hesitation.

Inside, the room was filled with smoke. Zion Pence sat in the center of the main sofa, chatting and laughing, one leg crossed over the other.

Her sudden entrance brought the noisy room to an instant silence, all eyes focused on her.

Zion Pence looked startled at first upon seeing her, but his expression quickly turned into one of delight, "Holly? What brings you here?"

The men beside him started making ambiguous noises when they realized it was a woman who had entered.

Holly glanced around at the ill-intentioned gazes, her expression darkening.

Zion Pence’s face turned serious as he waved at the others, "Everyone out for a bit, I have personal matters to handle."

Once the others had left with smirking faces, the private room door closed, leaving just the two of them.

The air was terrifyingly tense.

Holly got straight to the point, "Zion Pence, tell me, was it you who impersonated me and rejected Miles Quill’s study invitation email, then deleted it?"

Zion Pence’s face froze, "Holly, what’s gotten into you today? That was ages ago!"

His eyes were evasive, shifty: "Where did you hear all this nonsense? It’s been so many years, why bring it up? We were so good back then, how could I do such a thing..."

He spoke as he tried to step closer, trying to act nostalgically.

Holly loudly stopped him, "Look at me and answer!"

Zion Pence denied, "How could I do such a thing? You were hesitant at the time, but I always supported you going. When you weren’t selected, I even comforted you. Do you not remember?"

Ha!

So comfortable with lying.

Holly stepped forward, shoving a screenshot of the email from her phone in his face, "Is this not your doing?!"

Faced with undeniable evidence, Zion Pence’s complexion changed instantly.

A flicker of panic crossed his eyes, "Where did you get this from? I clearly..."

He stopped mid-sentence but it was already too late...

Holly: "So you’re admitting it! Lily Collins told me everything. She gave you the invitation letter, but you never told me about it! You even treated people to meals to make sure they didn’t mention it in front of me. How could you be so shameless!"

"Shameless?"

Zion Pence’s expression completely changed, "Yes! I did it, so what?!"

He practically yelled it out, "But who the hell was it for? It was all for your own good! Holly, don’t be ungrateful! Brelond is so far away, did Miles Quill really plan to take you? He was just casually fooling you, and you believed him? I stopped you for your own protection!"

"Protection?"

As if hearing the biggest joke ever, Holly’s tears erupted, "What right do you have to make decisions for me? That was my dream, and you know how much effort I put into that opportunity! What right do you have to refuse on my behalf?"

"Can dreams feed you? You think going to Brelond would have made you a success? Made you a master artist? Dream on! You only have a tiny bit more talent than ordinary people! Let me tell you, the world has no shortage of talented people!"

He stepped closer, his words full of disdain: "Success depends on not talent, but resources, connections, capital! If you go there, knowing no one and unable to speak the language, and with just a little money, what can you achieve? Wouldn’t you just come back in disgrace?!"

Every word of his was full of belittlement and negation, he used the most venomous language to prove how "right" his decision was back then.

"Staying by my side is your most sensible choice! I can give you a stable life, a respectable identity, isn’t that a hundred times better than chasing that illusory dream? I was afraid you’d suffer, afraid you’d be deceived! I loved you! How can you not understand my good intentions!"

Listening to his distorted logic, Holly was trembling with anger, she swung with all her might and gave him a fierce slap.

"Smack!"

The crisp sound of the slap echoed in the room.

Zion Pence’s face immediately displayed a clear five-finger mark, he clutched his face, his gaze turning dark and terrifying.

"You have no right! Zion Pence!" Holly shouted.

"You have no right to decide my life! You ruined seven years of my youth, and that wasn’t enough; you ruined my dream! You trapped me by your side for seven years, making me work like a horse just to satisfy your pathetic need for control! You disgust me!"

"I have no right?" Zion Pence laughed with a sneer, holding his face.

"And your husband who runs that sad little flower shop does? Without me, do you really think you can reach something higher? What can he give you other than a bunch of flowers? Do you think sticking with someone who runs a flower shop will understand your so-called hobbies? It’s all just novelty; can he give you a good life?"

"Let me tell you Holly, a woman like you is nothing without a man! You’ll never achieve anything! Not going to Brelond back then was the luckiest thing in your life, otherwise, who knows where you’d be picking up trash now!"

"Zion Pence, you bastard!"

The grievances accumulated over seven years exploded at this moment, she grabbed a wine bottle nearby and hurled it at him.

Her chest heaved violently, nearly suffocating her.

Zion Pence was enraged by her attack and grabbed her wrist.

Holly struggled free with force, stumbling into a tall chair behind her, a dull pain shot through her lower back.

"There will be retribution for you! Zion Pence! You will pay for this!"

She didn’t want to hear another word from this madman, turned and stormed out, pulling the door open.

Holly was dizzy, not looking where she was going, and after just a few steps, she crashed into a solid chest.

The familiar scent of cedar enveloped her, she looked up, her tear-blurred eyes meeting a pair of cold amber ones.

It was Blake Sinclair...

Five minutes earlier.

The Elysian top floor VIP suite.

Shane Yates opened the door and immediately saw Blake Sinclair sitting in the center of the sofa, while Holden Lancaster beside him was howling into a microphone.

He clicked his tongue, poured a glass of wine, and approached Blake Sinclair, "Where’s your wife? Still not up here?"

Blake Sinclair looked at his phone, frowning slightly, "She said she was shopping with Celia."

"Shopping?"

Shane Yates exaggeratedly raised an eyebrow, "Then the woman I saw in the lobby just now who looks exactly like her, was she a ghost? My eyes aren’t that bad, are they?"

Blake Sinclair suddenly looked up, "What did you say?"

Holly didn’t expect to run into Blake Sinclair here, "You... what are you doing here..."

As she spoke, there was a commotion behind her.

Zion Pence came out, tugging at his tie.