Chapter 29

• Jack's POV
• The moment Samantha collapsed into my arms, the rest of the world ceased to exist. Her body trembled against mine, her soft hair brushing against my fingers as I gently caressed her head. Every instinct in me urged me to protect her, to shelter her from the cruelty she had just faced. But my gaze never left the trembling figure standing before us—the fool who had dared to insult her.
• Mr. Hughes. Pathetic. The man was quaking in his boots, pale as a ghost. I knew his name, yet he meant nothing to me now. He had crossed a line.