Chapter 1038:

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A flicker of shock moved across Cathryn’s face. She doubted that Andrew, fastidious as he was, would actually sleep with a nightclub escort. But hearing that name — Damien — undid something in her. She only ever whispered it in their most private, most intimate moments. How close did someone have to be for Andrew to share it?

“When did I ever say that?” Andrew’s eyes went wide.

Yasmine caught her lower lip between her teeth, her eyes holding his with a glint of calculation. “Last night — when we were in bed together.”

The silence that followed was heavy. Amanda, Wade, Nick, and several of the household staff all looked at Andrew with the same undisguised expression.

𝖣𝗼n’𝗍 𝘮𝗂ѕs 𝗇𝘦𝗐 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝘦a𝘀e𝘀 о𝘯 𝘨𝗮𝗅ոо𝗏𝘦𝗅𝘴.с𝘰𝘮

Cathryn’s hands curled into fists, her nails pressing into her palms.

“I didn’t,” Andrew said, his voice strained. “I swear I didn’t. Wouldn’t I remember if I had?”

The room remained quiet.

He understood, bitterly, why his denial carried no weight. He had no memory of his night with Kyla either. Nobody had believed him then. Nobody would believe him now. He let out a short, hollow laugh at his own expense. He had reached the point where a nightclub escort could throw mud at his name and he had no defense against it.

Amanda burned with fury — at Andrew, at herself for letting this woman through the door, and now at the danger of whatever she might say next in front of Cathryn. Her voice sharpened. “You came here to return a phone. Leave it and go.”

Yasmine shifted her weight and looked at Andrew with practiced wounded feeling. “Damien, how can you take back your word like this? You asked me to come today.”

Her movements were deliberate, and the men in the room found reasons to look elsewhere.

“Don’t call me that,” Andrew snapped.

Yasmine smiled faintly. “Last night, when you told me your name, you weren’t this cold.” She let her lashes flutter in open invitation.

Amanda struck her cane against the floor. “Get this woman out of my sight.”

To everyone’s shock, Yasmine sank deliberately onto the carpet and sat there. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Amanda’s fury blazed. “Remove her. Now.”

“If anyone touches me,” Yasmine called out, “I’ll stand outside and tell anyone who will listen that the CEO of Brooks Group slept with me and refused to take responsibility.”

Amanda felt the ground shift. This woman was a genuine threat. If she went public with even a rumor, the Brooks family’s reputation would take a serious blow, and the company’s stock would feel it.

She couldn’t afford to act too harshly, and her pride wouldn’t allow her to yield. She stood caught between the two, with no good move available.

Cathryn said, quietly and clearly, “Amanda, we are one of the most prominent families in Olekgan. We move among the elite. Since when do nightclub escorts simply walk into Brooks Manor?”

The message required no elaboration. Allowing someone of Yasmine’s background through these doors was itself a mark against the family’s dignity. Amanda felt the sting of the oversight acutely.

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