GoodReadCome Home With Me Just as Raegan was about to call Mitchel for the third time, she hesitated and chose to send a text instead.
"Honey, are you free right now?" She rarely used that endearment, but Mitchel liked it whenever she called him that.
Feeling buoyed by their candid conversation last night, Raegan figured being a little sweet would not hurt.
She imagined Mitchel might be tied up with work but would smile when he saw her message.
Nearly half an hour had passed since she sent the text.
Still, no response came.
Raegan found herself glancing at her phone more often than she would like to admit.
It was like having a rock in her shoe, and her focus kept drifting back to her phone.
At last, her phone buzzed.
She eagerly checked, only to find a message from Nicole, asking if she wanted to hit the town for drinks.
Figuring a night out was better than stewing in her own thoughts, Raegan agreed.
Without further ado, she asked the driver to drive her to their agreed-upon destination.
Nicole and Raegan decided to meet up at South River Club, a swanky venue known for its blend of caffeine and nightlife.
Once inside, they opted for a small, private room.
While one sipped juice, the other indulged in wine.
Nicole had been having a relatively peaceful time for the past two weeks.
Because of the death of the grandfather of Jarrod's fiancée, Jarrod's wedding had to be postponed for three months.
Jarrod was wrapped up in comforting his grief- stricken fiancée, leaving him with no time to stir the pot with Nicole.
In the last two weeks, Nicole had other reasons to be happy as well.
Her dad was on the mend, and her family business had weathered its roughest patch.
Sure, they were still in debt, but things were looking up.
Although her life was getting better, Nicole was concerned about Raegan.
"So, how are you doing with Mitchel? I've heard you two are lovey-dovey these days.
Am I going to be a godmother soon or what?" Nicole had been keeping an ear to the ground.
She hadn't heard much about Mitchel and Lauren getting together lately, which led her to think that Lauren was not causing a
ruckus anymore.
At the thought of this, Nicole felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
Her best friend had loved Mitchel for a whole decade, after all.
If things were going well for Raegan, Nicole would be over the moon.
After pondering for a moment, Raegan finally broke the news.
"You're gonna be a godmother soon.” Nicole's eyes widened in shock.
"Wait, you're actually expecting? How far along are you?" "About three months.” "And you kept this from me for that long? What,
do you have a new BFF or something?” Nicole feigned indignation.
"No, it's not like that.
1 wanted to make sure things were stable first," Raegan explained.
"And what about Mitchel? How's he taking the news?" Nicole curiously asked, keen to gauge his reaction.
"He..." Raegan recalled the scene last night when Mitchel had lovingly placed his hand on her stomach and asked why their little
one had not started moving yet.
"He's ecstatic.” Then, out of nowhere, Nicole burstinto tears.
"Oh my...” "Hey, what's wrong?" Raegan coaxed Nicole.
Nicole enveloped Raegan in a hug and sobbed..
"I'm just so happy you found your happiness.” Nicole believed that at least one of them should lead a happy life.
Tears welled up in Raegan's eyes.
She returned Nicole's tight hug and swore, "You're going to find your happiness, too.
No way you're missing out on that.” "Okay..." Both women let the tears flow for a little while in each other's arms.
Eventually, Nicole stood up and said, "Listen, you're expecting now.
You're practically more precious than a national treasure.
Don't stay up late.
You should go home now." Just as Nicole ushered Raegan out of their chamber, they saw a familiar face in the corridor.
Raegan froze.
Her eyes landed on Matteo who was standing at the entrance of another chamber.
It seemed he was equally stunned when seeing her, but he quickly recovered.
He bowed his head and offered a greeting.
Raegan walked over and asked, "Is Mitchel in here?" Matteo paused for a second and nodded.
"Is he busy today?" Raegan pressed.
With Matteo's forehead glistening with sweat, he answered, "Yes, Mr.
Dixon is quite occupied." Just then, the door to that chamber swung open, and a waiter wheeled out a dining cart.
A woman's voice floated out.
Raegan's ears pricked up at once.
She knew the voice all too well.
It was Lauren's.
Before Matteo could intervene, Raegan pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The chamber she entered was the most luxurious one in South River Club.
It was awash in opulence, from the floor blooming with rare flowers to the SWAROVSKI crystal chandeliers that graced the
ceiling.
Even the pillars were sheathed in gold leaf.
A large LCD screen blinked, "Celebrating the Little Princess Lauren's Birthday." Center stage was the birthday girl herself,
bedecked in a diamond-studded gown.
Gone was yesterday's glum face, replaced by a smirk of sheer self-satisfaction.
The chamber was so bustling that nobody noticed her existence.
Raegan's eyes landed on Lauren, who was arm-in-arm with Mitchel.
She watched as Lauren spooned up a piece of cake and guided it toward Mitchel's lips.
"Come on, just feeding him a cake like that is so boring,” a man beside them suddenly hooted.
"Mitchel threw this grand birthday party for you.
Show some gratitude! Feed him mouth-to-mouth|”" "Mouth-to-mouth! Mouth-to-mouth!" the guests echoed.
Lauren cast a coy glance at Mitchel.
As he was not objecting, she picked up a piece of cake between her teeth, clearly intending to transfer it to Mitchel’s mouth.
The air was thick with cheers and whistles.
As that piece of cake inched ever closer to Mitchel’s mouth, Nicole uttered in annoyance, "Seriously? She's the shameless home
wrecker, and she's so proud of it? Ugh.
This is disgusting.” Nicole grabbed Raegan's hand, urging her to leave.
But Raegan had other plans.
"Mitchel," Raegan called.
The room suddenly went eerily silent, and every head swiveled toward the intruder all at once.
Ignoring the sea of puzzled faces, Raegan took a few steps toward Mitchel and said, "Come home with me." Mitchel merely shot
Raegan a fleeting glance and looked away as if the woman before him was a complete stranger.
Raegan's mind went blank.
She could not understand how the man who had held her so closely and called her honey could turn so icy overnight.
The room stayed silent.
All eyes were on Raegan, but she did not care.
"What's...
What's wrong?" Raegan whispered in disbelief.
She thought something must have happened, or he 7 wouldn't be like this.
Their recent connection and lovemaking could not have been a charade.
For an unexplainable reason, Mitchel merely ignored her.
Suddenly, someone broke the awkward silence with a snicker.
"Who's this chick? You must've entered the wrong room." "Are you trying to land a sugar daddy at South River Club? You
must've spent a lot to get in here." Today's party was a spur-of-the-moment affair.
Lauren organized it to make sure everyone knew she was still Mitchel'’s apple of the eye.
She had invited all the famous guys and trust fund babies from Ardlens.
Once the birthday party wrapped up and word got around, she would resume being the envy of Ardlens ‘ high society, the Murray
family's prized daughter, and the girl protected by Mitchel.
Many of these wealthy partygoers had side flings, so they naturally lumped Raegan into that category.
And now, their comments grew increasingly derogatory.
Nicole had had enough.
She moved forward, took Raegan's hand, and urged, "Come on.
Let's get out of here." However, Raegan was not budging and just locked her misty eyes onto Mitchel.
The crowd grew more and more curious by Raegan’s gaze on Mitchel.
"Look, sweetheart, this guy is way out of your league.
He's not someone you can hook up with.
Why don't you entertain me instead? I might just make it worth your while tonight," one partygoer sneered.
The room burst into laughter.
"Count me in,” someone else chimed in.
Raegan had an undeniable allure.
Even without makeup, she outshone those who were dolled up.
Her eyes, a vibrant shade of blue, looked submissive when she made eye contact.
But the way she lifted her eyes was almost seductive.
What a stunner she was.
The cruel comments from the crowd stung.
However, Mitchel seemed deaf to them, and he did not even intervene when they belittled Raegan.
Furious, Nicole balled her hands into fists.
Just as she was about to douse the crowd with her wine, someone grabbed her wrist.
"Miss Lawrence, do you think this is a place where you can act like an uneducated woman?” The cold, familiar voice sent a chill
down her spine.
Nicole turned her head and found Jarrod glaring at her, his eyes twinkling like the devil's.
Jarrod yanked Nicole away.
She struggled to get out of his grip but to no avail.
Some of the wealthy attendees recognized Jarrod and knew who his fiancée was.
As they watched Jarrod whisk Nicole away, they began to categorize Raegan as that sort of woman.
One guest suddenly grabbed Raegan's hand and smirked.
"Sweetheart, your friend chose a nice man.
Come with me, and you'll get everything you want.” "Why should she go with you?" another man grumbled.
“Listen, darling, I can offer you twice what he can." Raegan yanked her hand back and commanded, "Get lost!" Mitchel gazed at
the man who grabbed Raegan's hand earlier with piercing eyes.
Annoyed, the man lifted his hand to slap Raegan.
Just then, Lauren intervened with a smile.
"Mr.
Blair Acosta, please do me a favor.
This woman is an acquaintance of mine." At her words, Blair relented, although his eyes remained predatory as if he were sizing
But she was still not certain about Mitchel's feelings toward Raegan and did not want to make a fool out of herself.
It would be safer for her if she acted all high and mighty.
Raegan's gaze never left Mitchel.
With tears welling up in her eyes and her nose turning red, she choked.
"Did you forget what you promised me last night?” Mitchel finally met her gaze, and a sneer tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"You can't actually believe what a man says in the heat of the moment, can you?” All of a sudden, Raegan's face turned deathly
pale.
She trembled like a leaf, and she looked fragile and lost among the crowd.
Mitchel had eyes not just distant but filled with revulsion as if she was something disgusting.
Worse still, the crowd cast a contemptuous glance at her, silently screaming how utterly ridiculous she was.
Raegan felt she was an ugly clown in a twisted carnival.
She was drowning in humiliation and anger.
With a shaky voice, she managed to say, "I understand.
I'll leave now." Her voice sounded dry and hoarse as if scorched by the harshness of the moment.
Mitchel seemed taken aback.
It seemed like something had clenched his heart, leaving him short of breath.
Although Raegan's face remained ghostly pale, she mustered a feeble smile.
“I'm sorry for the intrusion.” And with that, she walked away.
Throughout the ordeal, her eyes had brimmed with unshed tears, which she refused to let fall in such a filthy place.
Everything about this place made her skin crawl.
Her departure left the room in a hushed state, the joy of the party clearly disrupted by the uncomfortable scene.
"Women like her often misunderstand things after a few nights together.
Don't worry, Mitchel.
Next time I'll introduce you to women who are gorgeous and less problematic,” Blair said, trying the enliven the atmosphere.
"Though | have to admit, she was really something.
I've never seen anyone as pretty as her without makeup.” Mitchel glanced at Blair and asked with disdain, "Your last name is
Acosta, correct?" Everyone in the room was eager to cozy up to the Dixon family.
When Blair heard Mitchel ask his family name, he was so thrilled that he almost fell to his knees.
He thought he had flattered Mitchel just now.
At this moment, he bowed respectfully and introduced himself, "My surname is Acosta.
My full name is Blair Acosta.
My father is the chairman of Peace Pharmaceuticals." When he finished speaking, he extended his hand, wanting to shake
Mitchel’'s to show some respect.
Mitchel reached out his hand and grasped Blair's wrist the next second.
Crack! The crisp sound of a bone getting broken echoed in the room.
To everyone's surprise, Blair collapsed, writhing and howling in pain.
Mitchel stepped forward, stepped on Blair's broken hand, and crushed it hard.
Blair's shrill scream made people's hair stand on end.
"Get him out of here.
I never want to see him again,” Mitchel commanded.
Immediately, two bodyguards rushed forward and hauled Blair away as if he were a sack of trash.
The onlookers breathed a collective sigh of relief, thankful they had not crossed Mitchel.
However, they could not put their finger on what had offended Mitchel.
Lauren's face clouded over.
While the others had no idea, she knew exactly why Blair had met such a gruesome fate.
Blair had grabbed Raegan's wrist.
That was the sole reason Mitchel had turned his hand into a useless lump of flesh.
A wave of fury washed over Lauren.
She could not believe that messing with Raegan's paternity test was not enough to cast Raegan out of Mitchel’s life for good.
What did this woman have that kept drawing Mitchel in? After exiting the club, Raegan felt like she was ina trance.
What had just happened was as unreal as a dream.
She found it hard to swallow.
Suddenly, her friend Nicole came to her mind, so she decided to give her a call.
When Nicole picked up, she guiltily explained that she had left first and reminded Raegan to take care on her way home.
Raegan was relieved to know that Nicole was alright.
After hanging up, Raegan absentmindedly roamed the streets like a walking dead.
The way Mitchel looked at her kept haunting her mind.
Why was he so cold and distant all of a sudden? Was it fun breaking her heart over and over again? Did seeing her hurt bring
asense of satisfaction to him? As Raegan drifted along the road, her thoughts were suddenly shattered by a “beep” behind her.
An electric scooter zoomed by.
When Raegan dodged it, she happened to trick, which sent her stumbling.
The scooter's rider did not even stop for a second and just muttering "bad luck" as he sped away Raegan looked at her scraped
knees and elbows.
She felt no pain, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Out of the blue, a handkerchief appeared before her eyes.
Raegan was stunned for a second.
She looked up and saw a familiar face through her blurry eyes.
A cocktail of emotions flooded her.
In a fit of anger, she stood up and kicked the man in front of her.
"I hate you! I hate you! How could you do this to me? You promised to be good to me! You're a fucking har, you bastard!" In her
emotional outburst, her cuts bled even more, staining the man’s clothes.
"Hold still," the man commanded and scooped her up into his arms.
Raegan raised her head and focused her eyes on the man's face.
It took her a few seconds to realize she had mistaken him for Mitchel.
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