Chapter 1268:

Brad noticed her, gave her a calm nod, and turned straight back to the woman beside him as though nothing had happened at all.

Later that evening, Kari stormed into his room without knocking.

“Brad! Who was that woman?” she demanded.

Brad had just begun loosening his tie when he heard her. He turned slowly, his eyes steady and unreadable. “A business partner,” he replied.

W𝘩а𝘁 𝘦𝘷е𝗿𝘆𝘰𝗇𝘦 𝗂𝘴 r𝖾𝖺𝗱𝗶𝘯𝘨 oո 𝘨𝘢𝗹nov𝖾𝗹ѕ.𝘤𝗈m

“Do business partners really need to sit that close?” she shot back.

Brad said nothing. He simply continued with his tie as if the question had nothing to do with him.

Kari trembled with anger, but his calm, distant manner made her feel utterly helpless. With the chip in his head, if he had truly wanted to betray her, he would have been in pain by now—or worse. Yet he seemed perfectly fine.

The second encounter took place at an exclusive, members-only bar.

Brad sat at a table with a few men while two attractive young women stayed close on either side. One of them poured him a drink, smiling brightly, her eyes curving into soft crescents.

Kari walked straight over and pulled the bottle from the woman’s hand without hesitation.

Brad looked up, a faint crease forming between his brows. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Why? Am I not allowed?” Kari snapped. “If I hadn’t shown up, would you have taken them home with you?”

After a brief silence, Brad rose and gave the other men a small nod. “Excuse me.”

Without another word, he guided Kari out of the bar.

Once they were inside the car, her composure crumbled. Her eyes turned red as she fought back tears. “Brad, what are you doing? You’re making me feel like some insecure wife who can’t even trust her own husband.”

She had always been proud and self-assured. How had she ended up like this—losing herself over a man?

But once she had fallen in love with him, she couldn’t stop the way she slowly changed.

Brad leaned back and turned toward her. His eyes were colder than she had ever seen them.

“Kari,” he said slowly, his tone measured, “I’m doing this for the future—for you and for the company. You know the meetings I’ve been attending are all with key clients.”

“You could let Sherwood handle those things!” she argued at once.

“Sherwood?” Brad repeated quietly. “How many times have you been with him?”

“That was in the past! Why are you bringing it up now?” Kari could tell he was deliberately digging into her history.

Brad said nothing. He simply turned toward the window, his expression unreadable.

“You still love Rylie, don’t you?” Kari’s voice went cold. “You say you’re jealous, that you love me—but I can’t even step into your room. We can’t even be close. At this point, a vibrator would be more useful. You won’t touch me, and you won’t let me handle it in my own way either.”

Brad’s expression hardened. Without warning, he snapped, “Pull over.”

The car braked sharply in front of an upscale hotel.

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