Free Web NovelChapter 69: Chapter 69: You Can’t Repay What You Owe Me
### Chapter 69: You Can’t Afford to Repay Your Debt to Me
Silas Sinclair looked at her, hesitating before finally answering, "Miss Wainwright, if anything happens to you here, Mr. Hawthorne won’t come to help you again."
A place like this was always full of shady characters. It was better to find some honest work than to hope you’d be lucky enough to only get decent customers.
Nina Wainwright frowned and didn’t reply. freёwebnovel.com
’She knew full well that no matter how much the club owner tried to forbid such things, how could someone in the service industry possibly control the ’mutually agreeable’ arrangements between customers and hostesses?’
"Miss Wainwright, please think it over. If you’re determined to find something to do, I can check with Mr. Hawthorne and ask around for you." Just as Silas Sinclair finished speaking, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen. Seeing it was a call from Zachary Hawthorne, he quickly took his phone and walked away.
’Going to Zachary Hawthorne for help... wasn’t that just begging him?’
After Silas Sinclair left, Nina Wainwright found Mr. Kane.
"I gave it a try tonight, and I don’t think this job is a good fit for me. Thank you for giving me the chance to try." She had already returned her ID badge and uniform to HR.
Mr. Kane had known she wouldn’t last long. In the hostess business, the prettier you were, the more trouble you attracted.
"I’m glad you’ve come to this decision. Honestly, if it weren’t for my niece, I wouldn’t have hired you after seeing you the first time. You should find a job with a real future. You could even start as a server here at the hotel. It’s a career path that can lead all the way to hotel management—the sky’s the limit." Mr. Kane felt that with her looks, she was much better suited to being a manager.
’Once she became a manager and had a bit of authority, at least the customers wouldn’t be able to push her around so easily.’
"Thank you, but I’m not feeling well right now. I’m afraid I can’t stand for long periods or deal with customers," Nina Wainwright politely declined.
Mr. Kane looked her up and down but didn’t say anything more.
It was very late by the time she left the hotel.
She took a car home and was surprised to find Zachary Hawthorne was already there.
Neither of them acknowledged the other.
Zachary Hawthorne took a shower, then sat on the bed with his tablet, handling some business.
Nina Wainwright came out in her pajamas and sat at her vanity, applying moisturizing lotion.
Zachary Hawthorne watched her reflection in the mirror. Her features were delicate and radiant. He then remembered the look in the client’s eyes back in the private room at the hotel.
It had been full of ill intent.
"You quit your job?" he couldn’t help but ask.
Nina Wainwright glanced at him in the mirror. "Mhm."
"If you really want to work, just tell Silas Sinclair. At least he can arrange a decent job for you," Zachary Hawthorne said coldly.
’Three years ago, she never would have imagined her marriage to Zachary Hawthorne would reach this point. Back then, she had firmly believed she could make their life together work, that she could make him love her... She had also never imagined that after being a housewife for three years, finding a job would be this hard.’
’For the first time, she was realizing just how difficult everything was with a baby on the way.’
"Forget it. I’ll find one myself. I don’t need you," she said softly.
’If I take my time, I’ll find something suitable.’
Zachary Hawthorne set his tablet down, his gaze cold. "Going to look for a job at another hotel? The fact is, you don’t have what it takes to find a proper one. What are you being so stubborn about?"
"I don’t want to owe you anything," Nina Wainwright said, turning her head to look at him, her tone resolute.
"You don’t owe me enough already? Do you really think you can afford to pay it back?" Zachary retorted, his anger flaring.
Nina Wainwright fell silent, her lips pressed tightly together, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
His face taut, Zachary Hawthorne put his tablet on the nightstand, then pulled back the covers and lay down.
After Nina Wainwright finished with her lotion, she walked to the side of the bed. Just as she lifted the covers to lie down, Zachary Hawthorne suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.
In the blink of an eye, she was pinned beneath him.
Nina Wainwright’s body tensed, and she reached up to push him away.
"Are you feeling better?" Zachary Hawthorne asked, looking into her eyes.
’Not yet...’ Nina was on high alert, terrified he would lose control and try to sleep with her again.
"Silas Sinclair said you’re still using pads. What’s really going on?" As Zachary Hawthorne spoke, he moved to lift her nightgown.
’Nina felt his mind was jumping around too much. A moment ago he was furious, and now he was acting concerned.’
"It’s just some inflammation, really. I’m fine." Nina Wainwright’s cheeks flushed as she pressed her hand down on his.
"Let me see." Zachary Hawthorne’s voice softened considerably, tinged with concern. "It’s been going on for a while. Why haven’t you gone to the hospital?"
Nina Wainwright held his hand down firmly. "Zachary, please don’t look. It’s really nothing."
"So that means you’re almost better?" Zachary Hawthorne asked, a burning intensity in his eyes.
’Nina knew what he was after.’
’He’s already planning to divorce me, yet he still wants to get his fill a few more times before it’s over?’
"I’m not sure. I’ll go to the hospital when it’s a little better," Nina Wainwright said, avoiding his gaze.
"I’ll go with you then. And what’s this about needing a job? My company has plenty of positions that would suit you. If you think it’s too tiring, I can give you a lighter workload," Zachary Hawthorne said. "But we can’t make our relationship public at the company."
Although he was in sole control of the Hawthorne family’s businesses, the entire Hawthorne family, from top to bottom, disliked Nina Wainwright.
They particularly despised her parents.
This was also why Zachary Hawthorne hadn’t let her work at his company.
"I don’t want to trouble you. If I get into a conflict with someone at the company, it would definitely put you in a difficult position." Nina Wainwright meant every word.
’She had never wanted Zachary Hawthorne to be put in a difficult spot because of her.’
’Besides, working at his company would be completely inconvenient... When her pregnant belly started to show, how would she hide it?’
"Then how about a subsidiary?" Zachary Hawthorne asked.
Still gripping his hand, Nina Wainwright suddenly asked, "Do you want to divorce me?"
"Why are you asking that out of the blue?" Zachary Hawthorne frowned immediately.
"I was just thinking that if you’re getting impatient with me, you don’t have to bother. I can just keep looking on my own," Nina Wainwright said softly.
"Just say whether you want to go or not. If you don’t, then forget it." The warmth that had just risen in Zachary Hawthorne instantly vanished. Losing all interest, he rolled back over to his side of the bed.
Nina Wainwright silently breathed a sigh of relief.
"I don’t want to," Nina Wainwright answered without hesitation.
Zachary Hawthorne turned his back to her and said no more.
The atmosphere grew cold again.
’For a moment when he asked, Nina had indeed been tempted, but thankfully, she had pulled back from the brink.’
Zachary Hawthorne lay there for a while, his phone vibrating continuously.
Nina Wainwright heard it but pretended she didn’t.
She felt Zachary Hawthorne get up, turn off the vibration, and then start getting dressed to leave.
"Are you asleep?" he asked.
Nina Wainwright didn’t answer, keeping her eyes closed, not bothering to acknowledge him.
Zachary Hawthorne finished dressing, walked around to her side of the bed, and crouched down. He reached out and pinched her cheek. "Playing possum?"
Nina Wainwright opened her eyes. "If you’re leaving, just leave. You don’t have to tell me."
"The other day, Luna was taken away by someone. She fell and hurt her leg. It hurts every night, so I’m going to go check on her," Zachary Hawthorne explained.
"Doesn’t she have parents?" Nina Wainwright retorted.
The moment she asked, she felt the air around Zachary Hawthorne instantly turn cold.
