Ch. 31..40

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 31

Soon after that, the assistant standing behind Matthew said in a slightly anxious tone, “Mr. Lane, the caller said they have information about your sister but we don’t even know if it’s true. We’ve been waiting for so long but he’s still nowhere to be seen.”

Matthew didn’t speak but squinted.

His youngest sister went missing ten years ago and the Lanes had tried everything they could to find her. Now that he had finally got some information, he rushed over from Emperion.

He had to find his sister even if it was false information!

Hesper was tired from walking around but she didn’t want to go back and face those people, so she picked a cafe and ordered a coffee so she could rest. What she didn’t notice was that there were two sketchy men sitting behind her seat.

One of them tapped her shoulder. “Miss, I think you dropped some money.”

”

Hesper looked down and saw a hundred dollars, but she only had a few dollars in cash, and the rest were on her phone.

“That’s not mine.” However, it was too late. The moment she looked away, the other man had dropped a pill into her coffee.

The white pill immediately dissolved in the hot drink and Hesper took a sip without suspecting anything.

The men looked at each other and smirked.

A few minutes later, Hesper started sweating. “What’s going on? Why is it suddenly so hot?”

The air conditioning was on, but she felt as though she was on fire. It was getting hotter and she was feeling more and more flustered.

When she got up to leave, the two men immediately followed her.

“Are you alright, ma’am?”

Hesper realized what was going on when she noticed the men. It was probably them!

“I don’t know you. Please don’t follow me!”

Hesper shouted at them while walking toward a crowd and trying to call her emergency contact.

She set it up before; Rickard was her only emergency contact.

“Pick up!” Hesper begged, but the call went unanswered.

The men were getting closer and closer to her and she had no time to make another call. She immediately screamed. “Help! Someone is following me!”

Passersby looked around and the men immediately started acting. They stood next to her and said, “Please. don’t throw a tantrum here. I won’t force you to have another baby, alright? Please come home with me!”

“Stay away from me, I don’t know you!”

Hesper tried to free herself but the pill stripped her of energy and she was held tight by the two men.

They started pulling her away while looking distraught. “Please come back with us! Dad and mom told me that it’ll be my responsibility to produce a male heir to the family, so you can live freely with my brother and your daughter now!”

Everyone started muttering. “It’s because of children…‘

Hesper tried to explain herself, but they stealthily covered her mouth and dragged her into an elevator. Once the door closed, Hesper lost hope.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 32

Meanwhile,

In the CEO’s office of Duval Group.

Benji watched the man who was focused on his work and quietly reminded him. “Mr. Duval, Mrs. Duval called you.”

“I’m not blind.” Rickard sounded impatient.

He heard when Hesper called, but when he remembered her saying that she no longer loved him, his heart

grew cold. However, she never bothered calling back when he didn’t pick up the first time.

Whenever he didn’t pick up before this, she would send a few anxious messages to him.

It was evident that once a woman gives up, she would become very cold.

However, Benji was worried. “Mr. Duval, Mrs. Duval hasn’t tried to contact you recently. Now that she suddenly called, do you think it’s something important? Why not call her back?”

Rickard scoffed. “Unless a comet hits our home, there’s nothing that could be that urgent since we have so many bodyguards and helpers at home. Get out of here if you don’t want to just stand around. Stop bugging me.”

Benji immediately shut his mouth and didn’t dare make a sound.

In the elevator, the two men showed their true colors and started threatening her. “Ms. Rivera, it’s best that you behave. We’ll have our fun and get this over with. It’ll get complicated if you continue to resist!”

They held her by the back of her neck. She felt feverish and weak, and her eyes were red; this gave her a helpless look, and that made the men lust for her even more.

“Sh*t, you’re actually quite pretty. I’m going to go first later.”

Once the door opened, the men dragged her toward the car. Hesper knew that it would be the end if she got into that car!

She suddenly saw another car that was leaving a few feet away from them, so without hesitation, she broke free from the men’s grasp and ran toward it.

“Help me, someone is trying to kidnap me!”

The driver immediately stepped on the brakes when someone rushed in front of the car. Matthew looked up with a frown and saw Hesper’s panicked and unusually red face.

“You?”

Hesper saw him too and started begging. “Sir, please help me. Someone drugged me and is trying to kidnap me!”

Matthew looked to the side and saw the two men rushing over. He immediately opened the door. “Get in.”

“Thank you, thank you!” Hesper was more than thankful.

The moment she got into the car, the men got to her and would have caught her if she was even a second

slower.

Seeing her escape, the men lost their temper and shouted at him. “Hey! Mind your own business! That’s my wife and we’re just having a little quarrel. Let her out!”

“Don’t listen to him. I don’t know him!” Hesper explained. She was out of breath because she was on edge.

Matthew gave her a look to calm her down. “I know, you don’t need to speak. Conserve your energy.”

The next second, he looked coldly toward the two men outside the window. “I don’t care who you are, but I suggest that you think this through. She’s in my car now. Are you going to grab her?” He sounded calm and there wasn’t a deliberate threat but his demeanor alone caused chills to run down the two men’s spines.

When they saw that it was an exceptionally expensive car, they changed their mind about causing trouble and took two steps back.

The assistant scoffed then hit the accelerator and drove away.

Matthew then looked over to Hesper. “Are you alright?“

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 33

“I’m alright…” Hesper barely replied as she felt her body heating up.

Matthew immediately understood what happened. “Where do you live? I’ll give you a ride home.”

“No, I can’t go home.” If she went back like this, the few women would chastise her. Furthermore, when the two men grabbed her, they called her by her last name, so she suspected that they were behind this whole situation. She wasn’t going to fall into the trap.

“Could you… send me to the hospital?”

Matthew was confused. After such an incident, she didn’t want to go home but instead chose to go to the hospital. Something must be up.

However, he didn’t question her and instead nodded, then took out a bottle of cold water from the mini- fridge and handed it to her.

“Hold this, you’ll feel better.”

“Thank you…”

11

At the hospital, Julian hurried over when he found out what happened. After getting emergency treatment to lower her body temperature and taking some medication, the stress in her body was almost at a normal level.

Julian’s eyes were red. “Who did this to you?”

“I’m fine, lan.” Hesper was still weak, but she managed to force a smile. She looked around the ward but didn’t see the man who saved her.

“Ian, where’s the man who brought me here?”

“He left after handing you over to the doctors. Seems to be in a hurry.”

“Oh…” Hesper looked down. He helped her out so much, yet she didn’t manage to thank him properly, so she was sad.

“If it weren’t for him, I would be in big trouble now.”

Julian knew that she was kind, so he said, “Don’t worry. From how I see it, he doesn’t seem to be the kind of person who wants repayment. We’ll thank him if we cross paths again in the future.”

She looked up and smiled. “Yes, you’re right.”

This was seen by Rickard, who went to the hospital after being informed.

“That’s such a happy smile. Hesper Rivera, how could you be so shameless?” The way he said that made it sound extra hurtful.

Hesper’s face fell when she remembered how he didn’t pick up her call. She looked at him expressionlessly. ” You’re such a busy man. There’s no reason for you to come.”

Rickard didn’t appreciate her mocking him, so his temper rose. “What? Am I interrupting?”

“Mr. Duval!” Julian frowned because he couldn’t stand there and watch him insult her.

“Hesper was almost attacked today. Not only did you not ask her how she is, but you immediately insulted her. You don’t deserve to be her husband.”

“And

you

do?” Rickard looked coldly at him. This was Julian Zink, who always showed up around Hesper. Who would believe that nothing was going on between them?

“Hesper is my wife. I will be responsible for her, so outsiders should stay out of this. Benji, kick him out!” “Don’t

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 34

Hesper stood in front of Julian.

Rickard raised his brow as the air grew cold around them. “Hesper Rivera, do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

“I do.” She raised her chin and met his dark gaze. “Ian helped me out. a great deal. No one can kick him out.”

“What if I insist?” Rickard’s gaze was so sharp it could cut someone.

Julian didn’t want to put Hesper in a tough spot, so he walked forward. “There’s no need for scare tactics here. I’ll leave if you take good care of her. I don’t want to see her in the hospital again. However, I will give you a piece of advise. It’s best for you to find out. what happened before you come in with your holier-than-thou attitude.”

Rickard squinted because he could tell if there was a hidden meaning. After Julian left, he asked, “What did he mean? What happened?”

“You don’t know?” Hesper was surprised because she thought that he was there after finding out what had happened.

Benji immediately explained. “Mr. Duval cares about your health, so he has been in contact with your doctor. When he received a call from the hospital saying that you were in a weird situation, he immediately

came over.”

“Benji, shut up!” Rickard glared at him as if blaming him for saying too much.

Hesper was confused. If he actually cared about her, why didn’t he pick up when she called? What was the point of coming to the hospital when things had already happened?’

“Rickard, I have a question for you.”

Noticing something off with her tone, he became more patient. “Go

•

Hesper asked, “When I called you, did you not hear the call, or did you intentionally ignore it?”

Rickard paused, but Hesper knew the answer from his hesitation.

She chuckled. “I guess you just didn’t want to pick up my calls.”

“No, Mr. Duval…”

“Enough, I’m tired.” Hesper cut Benji off. She had given up so there was no need to hear them pretend.

“I’m alright, so you can leave if there’s nothing else you want to say.”

“You’re chasing me away?” The man balled up his fists because he didn’t know what she was doing.

He had lowered his ego and come to see her. Was she expecting more?

Rickard took a deep breath, then said, “I have no time to beat around the bush with you. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.” Hesper didn’t want to continue the conversation, so she turned her back to him.

Rickard stood there for a few seconds then scoffed and said, ” Unbelievable!” And walked out.

The door closed.

Hesper’s long lashes fluttered. She wasn’t unbelievable, she just didn’t have proof.

The two men escaped, so no matter what she said, Rickard wouldn’t believe her, and he might even think that she was trying to frame his old flame, the one that got away.

Rether than setting herself up, she chose to stay quiet.

In the corridor, Rickard was furious. He felt regret. If he knew that this woman was so clueless, he wouldn’t have come over, even if it was for the sake of his child.

She was still very sharp-tongued, so she was probably fine.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 35

“Mr. Duval, are we really going to leave? Why don’t I go ask the doctor and see how Mrs. Duval is?” Benji asked.

Rickard didn’t appreciate that and walked even quicker. “Go ahead, but it doesn’t concern me anymore. I don’t want to know!”

Benji was left behind and was hesitant but still decided to find out more. He knew that Rickard went there because he wanted to find out what happened.

After ten minutes, Benji walked to the car with a troubled look.

“I found out what happened, sir.”

Rickard was resting his eyes and didn’t see Benji’s expression. He didn’t care. “Tell me then, what’s her issue?”

“The doctor said that… Mrs. Duval was drugged with an aphrodisiac. She was sent to the hospital and was given injections and forced to throw up. She went through a lot before she finally felt better.”

“Aphrodisiac?” Rickard’s eyes opened and looked sharp. “Are you sure?”

Benji nodded solemnly. He wouldn’t dare joke about this.

Rickard’s change in expression was obvious. His eyes turned sharp as he said only one word.

“Investigate!”

“Yes, sir,” Benji immediately delegated.

As the car drove steadily on the road, the flowerbed along the road zoomed past. Benji wanted to say something but was hesitant.

Rickard impatiently said. “Just say what’s on your mind or just keen

your mouth shut!”

Sir, I was thinking, would this be linked to… Ms. Duval and Ms. Wight?” Benji braved himself and continued, “When Mrs. Duval fell down the stairs, she was very sure that it was Ms. Duval and Ms. Wight who did that to her. Even though the doctors determined that her memories were messed up, what if that was the truth and her memory was correct? What happened recently seems to be linked.”

“Impossible.” He pushed his tongue to his cheek. He didn’t believe that Sophia and Juniper would push someone down the stairs or ruin someone’s reputation.

“Don’t speculate until we know the truth. As for Hesper…” He paused.” She did go through quite a lot recently. Send a check to her later as compensation.”

“…Yes, sir.”

At the hospital.

Hesper rested for a few hours and was getting ready to leave after she was sure that she was fine. Benji suddenly returned and handed a check to her.

“Mrs. Duval, Mr. Duval found out what happened and asked me to bring this to you.”

Hesper didn’t take it. Her face felt hot. “Why is he giving me money? As compensation? Or an insult?”

“Don’t think of it that way. Mr. Duval felt that you have gone through a lot lately, so he just wanted to cheer you up. It’s nothing sinister.”

“Hah…” Hesper smirked. If he really felt sorry for her predicament, why did he not say anything after finding out what happened? Instead, he sent someone to bring a piece of check over.

“Who cares about this money?” Hesper’s eyes turned red with anger

and grabbed her bag’s strap. “Did he say anything else? Does he not care that this happened to his son’s mother?”

“Mr. Duval asked people to investigate this.. We’ll inform you when we find anything.”

Hesper’s heart grew cold. Rickard wasn’t dumb. It was easy to guess. who would want to harm her without putting in too much effort.

It was obvious who the culprits were, yet he had to put on a show. Evidently, he didn’t want to hurt his old flame and was just trying to spend money in exchange for peace of mind!

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 36

“I don’t want the money. Give it back to him.” Hesper refused it expressionlessly. Her pride wasn’t something that could be bought with a measly check.

Benji was going to say something, but she cut him off. “As for what happened today, I’ll make a police report and let them handle it.”

“I’ll drive you home then.”

Hesper didn’t reject that. On the way back, Benji told her, “By the way, Mrs. Duval, the people at the hospital said someone drove you there. I believe that person would have seen what happened. If you could get him to be a witness and provide some information, it would help with the investigation.”

Hesper’s mind was filled with Matthew’s face, but she didn’t know who he was, so there was no chance that she could get him to be a

witness.

The man was very well-dressed and was in an extravagant luxury car. He would probably not want to get involved in this.

She calmly said, “He was just there at the right time. I don’t think it will be easy to track him down.”

Benji didn’t say anything more until they got to the Duvals’.

Hesper got out of the car, and everyone in the living room was shocked.

Rickard, who was on the couch, saw Hesper walk past him without even looking in his direction, immediately going upstairs.

The man’s face fell after getting the cold shoulder, but he calmly looked toward Benji, who was walking over. “Did you give her the money?”

He shook his head and handed the check to him. “Mrs. Duval says that she doesn’t want it.”

Rickar’s veins popped. What was the meaning of that? Why was she rejecting the money?

Seeing how he looked, Benji awkwardly said, “Mr. Duval, from what I heard, Mrs. Duval would prefer justice. She wants the truth more than money.”

“Didn’t I ask someone to find out the truth? Does she expect me to make things up before that happens?” Rickard tore the check up into confetti, his patience having worn thin.

“If she doesn’t want it, forget it. I, for one, want to see how much dignity she has.”

“…What’s going on? Why are you suddenly angry?”

The Duval ladies and Juniper walked over from the garden. Juniper could tell that the confetti on the floor was a check by the Duval Group.

She raised her thin brows, curious, so she prodded.

“Rickard, what’s with the check?”

“It’s nothing.” Rickard didn’t want to talk about it. When he looked at her pretty face, the image of Hesper accusing her of pushing her

down the stairs flashed across his mind.

A question that was deep in his mind popped up, and he casually asked, “Do you know where Hesper went today?”

Juniper’s heart dropped, but she kept her pretty smile on. “No idea. After what happened previously, Hesper seems to hold a grudge. She doesn’t really speak to us here and definitely wouldn’t tell us where she’s going.”

“Really?” Rickar’s eyes were calm, but he didn’t look away. He didn’t want to miss any slight change. “She was drugged with an

aphrodisiac when she was out.

“What?” Juniper was shocked. “How is she then? Is she alright?”

Rickard took a good look at her and said, “Do you want her to be alright or not?”

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“Why would you ask that?” Juniper frowned, looking surprised. “Do you suspect that I did it? Or do you think I would be happy about it?”

Rickard didn’t reply. Juniper’s reactions seemed normal and her behavior didn’t seem odd. He couldn’t find a reason to convince himself that she had anything to do with this.

After a few seconds, he spoke. “I was just asking.”

Juniper was relieved but she still looked wronged and unhappy about it.

Sophia jumped at the opportunity and stood by her side. “What are you doing? You used to care about Juni the most but now you seem to question her a lot. Do you think she wouldn’t feel hurt? Or is

someone trying to twist the truth?”

Rickard knew what she meant and frowned. “What are you trying to say? Hesper made a police report, so the police is getting involved. I’ll investigate this too, so no one will be able to twist the truth.”

Sophia didn’t talk back after she was called out.

Rickard, agitated, loosened his tie then walked to his study.

Benji excused himself. “Madam Duval, Ms. Duval, I’ll be on my way then.”

“Go.”

Sophia’s face immediately fell after the outsider left.

“This b*tch actually went to the police? Is she not worried that this would ruin her reputation if it gets out?”

They had immediately received the news when the two men failed.

Even though Sophia and Juniper were anxious, they expected Hesper to keep things under wraps for her reputation’s sake. However, they never expected her to get the police involved.

“What should we do next? Have we gotten rid of the men?”

“Don’t worry.” Sophia smirked confidently. “I’ve paid them off, so if the police find them, they’ll just say that they were seduced and won’t

rat us out.”

“Really?” Juniper was still worried.

Sophia smirked. “Of course. I spent a lot of money on that. If I can’t even handle this, I wouldn’t be Ms. Duval!”

Juniper said a few comforting words, and no one thought about it

anymore.

She was just a low-class woman. They just had to get someone to do the dirty work and she wouldn’t be able to do anything to them.

The police acted quickly and managed to get surveillance footage at the same time as Rickard.

He sat in his study in the dark; only the screen glowed.

He watched as the men dropped the pill in Hesper’s coffee and followed her to the garage. If she hadn’t gotten lucky and gotten away, she probably…

An inexplicable anger rose. Rickard told himself that he was just annoyed that he might have been cheated on.

He immediately sent his men to go around the city to hunt for the men. Once they were caught, he personally brought Hesper to the police station to identify them.

“That’s them!” Hesper only had to take a look and immediately

recognized them. Her trauma was still evident, as her finger shook.

Suddenly, her hand felt warm because Rickard held her hand.

He said in a strong voice, “Don’t worry, I’ll make anyone who hurt you pay.”

Hesper stood there and looked at him. She didn’t know why, but she wanted to trust him.

However, after the interrogation, the two men admitted that they were just horny and wouldn’t say who instructed them.

Hesper knew that the officers were going to close the case, so she yelled, “No, they knew that my last name was Rivera. They followed me, so it was obvious that this was planned. Someone is behind this!”

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 38

The investigating officer looked at her. “But we’ve investigated this thoroughly, and the suspects were adamant that no one was ordering them around. We looked into their bank cards, phone records, and everything else. There were no suspicious transfers or calls.”

Hesper couldn’t put a finger on it, but she knew that the two men were targeting her.

“Please look into this again. I don’t want the actual culprits to get

away!”

The officer hesitantly looked at Rickard, and when he nodded, the officer agreed to avoid wrongly closing the case.

“Alright, we’ll investigate further. Can you provide any evidence or

witnesses? The person who saved you, for example?”

Hesper hesitated, then shook her head.

“I don’t know who he is, so I wouldn’t be able to contact him.”

Rickard noticed the slight change in her demeanor and his eyes darkened.

However, no matter how many times they interrogated the men, they refused to change their statements, so the outcome remained. The police were out of options.

Hesper insisted and put her last hope on Rickard. “You said that you wouldn’t let people who harm me get away. Do you still mean it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I have another suspect. Would you be willing to investigate ?”

“Who?”

“Juniper Wight,” Hesper said, pausing after each word as she looked straight into his eyes.

Rickard immediately frowned and sounded certain. “She wouldn’t do

that.”

“How would you know without investigating?” Hesper was a little

upset.

Rickard took a good look at her and sounded stoic.

“Hesper, I could do as you say if it was anything else, but Juniper would not do something like that. It would hurt her if I investigated.”

“What if she was behind this? If you don’t look into it, aren’t you covering up for her?”

Hesper had had enough. How could he trust Juniper no matter what? All her accusations and suspicions had turned into a made-up fantasy!

She opened her eyes wide as her heart ached so her tears wouldn’t fall. “If you can’t do it, don’t promise me anything. Rickard Duval, you better not apologize to me if one day you find out that Juniper was behind this because I’ll never accept the apology, and I’ll never forgive you!”

She ran out crying because every second she stood there made her feel more like a joke.

It was obvious why Juniper wasn’t worried. Someone was protecting her without question.

She, on the other hand, had to go through endless trauma but still couldn’t get to the truth… Why?

Hesper didn’t understand and gave up on trying to. She picked a random bar and drank till her body was numb, then picked a random inn and rented a.room to rest in.

When Rickard noticed that she was out the entire night, he sent people to go searching for her, but when he received some news, Madam Duval showed up.

“Rickard, I need to speak to you.”

Rickard frowned out of exhaustion. “We can do that after I bring Hesper home.”

“No, we need to talk now. I don’t want to see you being tricked anymore.”

Madam Duval insisted and Rickard relented.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 39

In the study, the mother and son sat down.

Rickard checked the time on his watch. “Go ahead.”

Julie spoke. “I know that you’re trying to get Hesper, but have you considered why she didn’t come home? Has she ever done this since you married? Don’t you think that this is out of character?”

How could it not be? He never imagined that she would do this, so he didn’t notice that she wasn’t home until the helper went to wake her up.

Julie scoffed and coldly said, “I’m going to say something that you wouldn’t want to hear. I watched the video too yesterday. She was disoriented and couldn’t even walk properly. Who knows if anything happened after she got into some man’s car?”

“Mom!” Rickard cut her off.

“What? Am I wrong?” Julie continued. “I don’t want to accuse her of anything, but the truth is right there. If they were both innocent, why did she not cooperate when the police asked to look for the witness? Also, why didn’t she come home?”

Rickard’s mind went to the moment when Hesper hesitated when they were at the precinct. 411

It was true. If she wanted to find the culprit so much, why wouldn’t she tell the police who the man was? Furthermore, even though the video wasn’t very clear, when they zoomed in, it was obvious that they were sitting very close to each other…

Mothers know their children best. When Julie saw his face fall, she knew that he was considering what she said, so her lips

subconsciously curled.

“You know that reputation is very important to the family. Hesper’s situation was vague, but she blew it up. She has no respect for our family name and doesn’t care what people say about you, a CEO,

about how his wife was almost…”

“Enough.” Rickard looked bitter and his breathing was quick.

“Maybe we’re overthinking this. I’ll ask her about this later.”

“Of course. You can figure it out. Don’t let that woman trick you with her words.”

Rickard didn’t say anything, but his steps were a lot quicker. He could accept if Hesper didn’t love him, but he wouldn’t be alright if she betrayed him.

After hearing the car engine distancing, Sophia and Juniper walked over to Julie and smiled. “Do you think Dick would suspect her?”

“Once we plant the seed of doubt, it will always bloom.” Julie coldly raised her brows. “Besides, all we need to do is make Dick feel disappointed in her. Once trust is lost, disappointment grows.”

“That’s true. You’re brilliant.” Juniper smiled, excited to see the couple fall out.

Splash! Hesper was woken up by a pail of water.

“Ah!” She yelled and shuddered as she opened her eyes to see the person standing in front of her.

“Rickard? What are you doing?”.

1

Rickard was enraged. “Do you know who you are? How could you not come home last night? Hesper Rivera, am I too nice to you that you think you can walk all over me?”

Cold water dripped down her hair. Hesper was surrounded by cold air, but her anger rose, so she shouted back. “So what if I didn’t go home?

Are you crazy? We’re going to be divorced soon, so why do you care if

I don’t come home!”

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 40

When Rickard realized that she hadn’t come home, he immediately sent people to search for her and personally went to get her, but what he got in return was her yelling at him. His eyes glazed over.

“I haven’t signed the papers yet, Hesper. You’re being too arrogant.”

He pushed her away, but because he used too much force, she fell backward into the wet bed.

Rickard gave orders with no expression on his face. “Mrs. Duval is disoriented. Bring her to the car!”

Two bodyguards walked next to Hesper, one on each side, and dragged her out while ignoring her struggles.

“Rickard Duval, you’re crazy!”

Hesper was distraught. She was wet from head to toe and was manhandled as if she was a criminal.

She anxiously said, “It was just one night. Who actually cares about my safety? What’s the point of doing all this now?”

“Of course, there’s a point.” Rickard’s eyes were sharp and cold as he glared at her. “It’s one thing if we care about you or not, another thing to ruin our family’s reputation. Do you think I’ll just let you do whatever you want?”

Hesper didn’t understand. “What do you mean? When did I ruin your family’s reputation?”

“We’ll find out if you did once I investigate this.” He scoffed, then turned and left.

The bodyguards shoved her into the car, leaving her stunned.

She didn’t go home because she was angry at their behavior. She was

disgusted at how Rickard was blind to the truth, but she had to go through everything alone. She didn’t even do anything out of line.

In the car, she sat straight and explained. “Rickard, I don’t know what got to you so early in the morning, but I can firmly tell you that I did nothing. I got drunk, fell asleep, and only woke up when you splashed me.”

The man smirked. “Not last night, but what about when you were drugged?”

Hesper opened her eyes wide in shock. He suspected her?

He wouldn’t look into Juniper when she asked but instead turned around and suspected if she was tainted.

Hesper felt as though someone stomped on her heart and felt a stabbing pain.

“If that’s who you think I am, I have nothing to say.”

No one spoke after that and Rickard’s face was dark.

The suspense in the small space stressed everyone out. Hesper could no longer tell if she was feeling cold on the outside or in her heart. She shuddered but wouldn’t show it. She bit her lip and told herself that she mustn’t cry.

Suddenly, she realized that they weren’t on the way back home, so she started panicking. “Aren’t we going home? Where are you bringing me?”

“Where do you think?”

The man’s eyes were dark, and it hit her like a sledgehammer.

She immediately snapped out of her hangover but the immense shock agitated her.

“Are you driving.me to the hospital? Are you going to have them give

me a check-up?”

“Why? Are you scared?” Rickard stared at her expression, trying to see her panic.

Hesper’s face turned red. Anger and the feeling of being wrongly accused made her want to escape!

“You’re really crazy! How could you even think of doing that? I’m not going. Let me out!”

But the driver would only listen to Rickard, so without instructions from him, he wouldn’t do anything no matter how hard Hesper struggled.