C10 His Kidney Is Weak to the Point of Being Cured

Volney and Delos exchanged glances, their eyes wide with silent astonishment at Katie's unexpected entrance, which deeply moved them.

"You think you have the right to address our young master by name?" Delos, with sleeves rolled up, was poised to reprimand the naive young woman.

She had not only ruined a shirt but also slept in the young master's bed. Most unforgivably, she had undoubtedly taken liberties with Jabe the previous night. Such insolence was intolerable.

"Him..." Katie was fuming too. Why were they upset with her?

She was the one wronged, yet she hadn't even allowed herself to get angry.

At that moment, a tall figure hurried into the hall, flipping through a stack of documents.

"Mr. Russell," Volney said as Jabe walked in, greeting him with reverence and immediately transitioning into work mode with impeccable focus.

Jabe stopped in his tracks, detecting a familiar scent. He looked up to find a figure standing before him, glaring with hatred.

"You haven't left?" Jabe's gaze hardened as he observed Katie from afar, his expression betraying a hint of irritation at her presence.

Katie clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes as she approached him, snatching the documents from his hands and flinging them to the ground.

Volney's face turned an ashen hue. This woman had the audacity to seize Mr. Russell's belongings?

"Why should I go? It's you who committed the shameful act, not me," Katie shot back, her voice raised as she pointed accusingly at his chest.

Delos nervously wrung his hands, observing Katie's slender back. He and Volney shared a puzzled look. Jabe wasn't angry?

"Tell me, what have I done that's so shameful?" Jabe drawled, settling onto the sofa as Delos quickly served him coffee.

Katie paused, fighting to control her rising temper.

This exasperating man, smug after having his way?

"You're a rogue, utterly shameless," Katie hissed, her voice soft yet echoing defiantly in the hall.

Jabe took a leisurely sip of his coffee, his handsome face shadowed with displeasure. He raised his piercing, frosty eyes, a gaze so cold it could make one tremble.

Katie couldn't help but shiver, despite the summer heat enveloping her. It was as if the cold of December had seeped into her bones.

"How did you get in here?" Jabe's eyes snapped up, fixing her with a stare so cold and menacing it felt like he could swallow her whole.

A cold sweat broke out across her skin, and she clamped her mouth shut, turning her head away in stubborn defiance.

Her slender fingers drummed lightly on the sofa's armrest, the faint sound echoing in her heart.

"I..." She stumbled over her words. How had she gotten in here? And into his room, no less? It was trespassing, and she knew that at his word, she could end up in jail.

"This shameless hussy, so young and yet so brazen, to think you'd take liberties with our Mr. Russell..." Delos sobbed, his face a grotesque display of tears and snot.

Volney picked up the documents with a calm demeanor, though his back was tense. Watching Delos's woeful expression, one might think he was the one wronged the night before.

Katie stood there, fighting the urge to splash her coffee on him. The thought of her family's home at risk made the pain in her heart even sharper. She forced herself to swallow her rage.

"Mr. Russell, be careful, it's hot. Drink slowly," Katie said, sidling up to him with an obsequious stoop, her voice low as she gently blew on his cup.

Jabe's gaze caught hers again.

"What did you just say?" His voice was magnetic, sending a ripple through the room.

Katie saw his unfazed expression, the slight narrowing of his deep, black eyes, his thoughts a deep well of mystery, as if he were plotting something.

"I..." Her voice was a nervous whisper as she turned to look back at Volney and Delos, who were eyeing them like vigilant sentinels.

"Mr. Russell, does your leg hurt? I could massage it for you."

"It's fine," Jabe said, his gaze lowered. After a brief silence, his voice, deep and composed, filled the space. He watched her hand approach his thigh, then quickly withdraw as if it had been zapped.

He gave her a measured look, then leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest, leaving Katie awkwardly standing by his side.

Volney stood there, checking his wristwatch. When had his master ever had the time to waste on flirting with a girl?

After all, Jabe's time was incredibly valuable, with each second potentially netting him millions.

Katie, out of patience, stamped her foot and looked up at him. The sunlight draped him in a golden haze, his features outlined in a mysterious aura as if veiled by a thin mist.

He looked so ordinary, yet she hadn't anticipated his capacity for cruelty.

"Wu..." Katie crumbled to the ground, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed.

Jabe squatted down, tenderly lifting her flushed face, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "What exactly do you want?" he demanded in a low, firm tone.

She had burst into his room in the dead of night, watched him shower, and pounced on him like a lustful beast. And now, she sat on the floor, weeping as though he was the one who had violated her private space.

Katie lifted her tearful, almond eyes, feeling a secret sense of victory. They say a woman's tears are a man's weakness, and it seemed to hold true.

"If you halt the demolition of the old street, I'll overlook what happened last night," Katie declared, seizing his wrist and meeting his frosty gaze head-on.

"You'll overlook it?" Jabe was caught off guard. So many women sought his attention, and yet she seemed eager to push him away.

As she met his deep, penetrating stare, Katie's tears surged anew. She wrapped her arms around his leg, her voice breaking, "Mr. Russell, please show us some compassion. If I fall today, thousands more will take my place... all to save our homes. How can a kind, lovable, and gentle man like you bear to see us homeless?"

Her wails intensified as she patted his leg, resorting to her last tactic.

Jabe's face turned stormier as he gazed down at her kneeling and clinging to his leg, her tears and mucus staining his trousers. He struggled to free himself, but she gripped him even tighter, rubbing her nose against his pants before finally raising her head with satisfaction.

She brushed the tears from her cheeks, still holding his wrist tightly.

The man's brows knitted together in irritation as he watched her deliberate provocations, itching to throw her out.

This damn woman was obviously doing it on purpose.

"Get her out of here," Jabe ordered coldly, closing his eyes to block out the sight of his clothes being ruined.

He had a thing about cleanliness—a severe case of mysophobia.

Volney stepped forward, grabbed Katie by the arm, and lifted her off her feet.

"Jabe, I'm going to sue you," Katie challenged, struggling fiercely as she locked eyes with him.

If this approach didn't work, she was ready to play a dangerous game. Things had escalated to this point; surely he wouldn't go as far as to kill her, would he?