All Chapters of The Declined Card: My Ex-husband is now My Guarddog : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The phone slipped from Kasen's numb, wet fingers, clattering onto the asphalt as he bolted toward his car.He didn't care about the shattered screen. He didn't care about the freezing water blinding his vision. The image of Liora, unhinged and wielding a stolen surgical scalpel, was burned into his mind. If she reached Maeva in this state, she would stop at nothing.He threw himself into the driver's seat of his sports car, slammed his foot on the accelerator, and roared into the rain-slicked streets.The windshield wipers groaned against the downpour, barely clearing the heavy sheets of water. His rear tires hydroplaned twice, the tail of his vehicle fishtailing toward the concrete barriers. Kasen barely noticed. He forced the steering wheel straight, his knuckles turning white as he pushed the engine to its limit. He blew through three red lights, his eyes scanning the empty roads ahead.Keep her safe, his mind screamed. Please, let me get there in time.He knew the route Maeva's Ro

"Get your hands off her."The words rasped from Kasen's throat, thick with blood and unfiltered rage. He tried to sit up, but the fresh stitches in his side screamed, a sharp, burning spike of agony pinning him back onto the paper-covered ER mattress.Zane Castille didn't even turn his head. He kept his hand resting on the cashmere coat draped over Maeva's shoulders, his tall, imposing frame positioned like a shield between her and the gurney."You should remain quiet, assistant," Zane said, his smooth, foreign accent dripping with polite mockery. "You have lost a great deal of blood. It is bad for the brain.""She is my wife," Kasen growled, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the metal bedside railing. His dark eyes flared with territorial possessiveness. He didn't care about Liora's lies, or the fact that the signed divorce papers were sitting in a lobby trash can. In his chest, the primal instinct of a husband was burning. "I built a life with her. You are nothing but a vultu

"Get this clown out of here!" Allistair Ward roared, his finger pointing toward the heavy boardroom doors.Two security guards stepped into the room, their heavy boots squeaking against the polished floor. They moved toward Kasen, who stood tall, his eyes never leaving Maeva's cold profile.Zane Castille let out a soft, mocking laugh, leaning back in his leather chair with practiced, elite arrogance. "A sterling presentation, Allistair. But let us not get worked up over the ramblings of a failed clerk. Mr. Thorne's own company, Axiom Global, went bankrupt in a single night. Now he's offering financial advice to a trillion-dollar conglomerate? It's pathetic.""He is a charity case trying to save his bruised ego," another director sneered. "Drag him out."The guards reached for Kasen's shoulders. Kasen didn't flinch, even though his bandaged side screamed with agonizing heat under his stiff white shirt.SLAM.Maeva's hand struck the solid mahogany table with a sudden, deafening force.T

"I will not let a common thug dictate the terms of my career, Victor."Kasen's voice was a low, dangerous vibration that cut through the soft classical music of the ballroom. He stepped out of the shadows, his heavy footsteps bringing him into the brilliant light of the grand chandelier. His digital tablet was clenched so tightly in his hand that the plastic casing began to creak under the pressure."Thorne," Victor laughed, his Eastern European accent heavy and mocking. "You still speak like a king. You forget you are standing in a room of giants. You are a clerk, a servant holding a toy.""I am the VP of Strategy," Kasen spat, his dark eyes burning into Victor's scarred face. He turned to Maeva, his heart hammering against his ribs, pulling painfully at his fresh stitches. "Maeva, do not listen to him. Kaelen's Baltic trade routes are leveraged to their limits. He is trying to use the Sterling Conglomerate's liquidity to bail out his own failing shipping network. This isn't a merger

Twenty minutes.That was all the time Kasen Thorne had left to save the life of the woman who had just publicly destroyed him.He sprinted down the rain-slicked alleyway, his boots splashing in the deep puddles as the freezing wind whipped against his face. He didn't head for his sports car.Instead, his eyes locked onto a sleek, heavy Ducati motorcycle parked outside a dark billiard hall. The owner was nowhere in sight. Kasen didn't hesitate. He smashed the plastic steering column cover with his bare heel, ripped the hot ignition wires free, and sparked them together.The heavy engine roared to life with a fierce, metallic scream.Kasen threw his leg over the seat, slammed the bike into gear, and shot out of the alleyway like a bullet. The Ducati roared like a caged beast, a mechanical echo of the desperate panic clawing at his own chest.He rode like a madman. The blinding rain pelted his face, but he refused to slow down. He weaved through the tight gaps between bumper-to-bumper ca