The Jilted Heiress' Return To The High Life

Chapter 11 Do What You

Must

A sharp crack split the air as Corrine's palm connected with Rita's cheek.

The impact sent Rita stumbling backward, her smugness dissolving into stunned disbelief. Fury blazed in her eyes as realization dawned. "You... you actually dared to strike me?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Corrine's voice carried winter's chill. "What makes you think you're untouchable?"

In one fluid motion, Corrine seized Rita by the throat and thrust her toward the open window with devastating

force.

Rita's feet left the floor as her upper body dangled precariously over the edge.

The dizzying height of fifteen floors below sent waves of terror through Rita's body. Her vision swam as panic clawed at her throat. "Help! Someone please

*Rita Ashton, I've tolerated your behavior until now, but don't mistake my patience for weakness," Corrine drawled, her tone deceptively casual "Since you can't control that tongue of yours, perhaps I should help you

with that."

She tightened her grip on Rita's neck.

Rita's body hung further out the window, tremors wracking her frame as survival instinct took over. "Please, I'm sorry! I swear I'll never do it again...noveldrama

The spectacle drew an inevitable crowd, phones emerging to capture the confrontation.

Corrine surveyed the gathering onlookers with calculated coolness. Her imminent return to the Ford family and their business interests demanded discretion. She couldn't afford a scandal now.

"Let this serve as your final warning!" Corrine's words dripped with contempt as she yanked Rita back to safety.

Rita's legs nearly buckled as they reconnected with solid ground. Relief flooded her system as the immediate threat of death receded. Scrambling to her feet, she retreated while attempting one last show of bravado. "Corrine, you'll regret this! The Ashton family won't let this insult stand!"

Corrine's perfect eyebrow arched elegantly, a glacial smile gracing her features that only enhanced her ethereal. beauty. "Do what you must."

The Ashtons held no power over her anymore. She had nothing left to fear.

If they chose confrontation, she would ensure they learned their place.

Back in her room, Rita's revelation continued to haunt her. "Don't think I'm ignorant of why you vanished back then. Bruce shared everything!"

The hollowness of promises echoed through her mind.

What cut deeper was the knowledge that the man she had given her heart to had never truly believed in her

innocence.

Had Bruce forgotten the true circumstances of her kidnapping?

How could he expose her deepest trauma so carelessly, without a shred of compassion?

Memories of that night in the alley overwhelmed her, sending violent tremors through her body. Her heart felt

like an open wound exposed to bitter winds, the cold seeping into every fiber of her being.

A knock at the door jarred her from the painful reverie.

Nate's figure filled the doorframe, his unexpected presence dispelling her initial alarm.

She hadn't anticipated seeing him again so soon, especially in these moments of vulnerability.

"Did you... need something?" Corrine managed to ask.

Nate advanced into the room with measured grace, his impeccable suit a testament to refined taste.

Afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, creating a golden aura around his commanding presence. The illumination emphasized his aristocratic bearing, as if he existed in a realm separate from ordinary mortals.

His gaze fixed on Corrine's face, noting the telltale glisten of unshed tears. The slightest furrow appeared

between his brows.