Return, My Love: Wooing the Neglected Ex-Wife

Chapter 60:

Joelle’s body stiffened, but she kept her expression cordial. “I’m sorry, but I have work to do.”

“How much do you even make serving drinks all night? If you come with me, I’ll give this to you!”

The man spread out his hand and showed her that each finger had a gold ring. He was unmistakably nouveau riche.

Even though Joelle was disgusted by this man, she knew that she was at a disadvantage. There were three of them against her. No matter how she looked at it, she would definitely lose. “How about this? I’ll have a drink with you, and then you let me get back to work, alright?” she proposed.

“You’ll chug the drink down?” the man asked, raising an eyebrow.

Joelle nodded. Her tolerance for alcohol was low, but she could easily handle one beer. She removed the cap, her heart racing, and tilted her head back to drink. She managed a few gulps, but much of the beer spilled down her neck to her chest, stirring dangerous thoughts. The man quickly took the bottle from her. “That’s enough. You’re making me feel sorry for you.”

Joelle wiped her mouth with her sleeve and forced a smile. “Then I’ll get back to work.”

“Hold on!” He grabbed her arm tightly. “Who said you could—”

Joelle felt a wave of nausea, maybe from the beer, and covered her mouth, trying not to vomit. “Please, don’t make this harder. My friend is waiting outside. If I don’t show up, he’ll start to worry.”

The man had been warned by Erick that she was alone and that no one was waiting for her. Feeling bold, he slid his hand from her shoulder to her waist, making it more difficult for her to escape.

Joelle’s expression turned serious as she warned him, “You really need to back off and show some respect.”

Her warning seemed to provoke the two men who had been lounging on the sofa. They stood up, both looking tall and intimidating, clearly ready to back their friend up. Joelle knew then that the situation was about to get much worse.

“Hey, hey, no need to scare her,” the first man said, his breath reeking of alcohol as he spoke. “I actually like women with a bit of fight in them. Taming them is always the best part.”

Joelle took a deep breath and asked, “Are you going to let me go or not?”

“I’ll let go, but only of my belt,” he sneered, his eyes gleaming with malice.

Counting silently in her head up to three, Joelle grabbed the closest beer bottle within reach. Instead of wasting her efforts by aiming for his head, she smashed it against the edge of the table, transforming it into a jagged weapon. She raised the sharp end towards the man, who quickly lifted his hands in mock surrender.

“Alright, calm down, don’t do anything crazy,” he muttered.

Joelle moved cautiously, keeping her eyes on all of them as she inched toward the door. “Are you going to let me leave, or are we going to have a problem?”

As the two men on the sofa started to block her path, Joelle pressed the jagged glass against her neck and threatened to hurt herself.

The leader of the group looked alarmed. “Whoa, whoa, calm down! You don’t have to do that!”

“You don’t want a dead body to deal with, do you?” Joelle said, keeping her tone steady. “If you let me leave, I’ll pretend none of this happened. Let’s just back off and call it a day.” She continued to speak, hoping to keep their attention distracted.

She was almost at the door when it suddenly swung open. A big man stepped in, grabbed the broken bottle from her hand, and pulled her back by her hair.

Joelle’s heart sank. She didn’t anticipate that there would be another one waiting outside. Now that she was without a weapon and surrounded by all four of them, their hostile intentions became even clearer.

“Go ahead, try to run now. Let’s see how brave you are,” one of them taunted.

Joelle’s mind went blank as panic flooded in. “Please, just let me go. I won’t tell anyone, I promise!” she pleaded.

“Everyone says that, but they always head straight to the cops once they’re out.”

Joelle’s face turned pale, and she shook her head frantically. “I swear I won’t! Please!”

One of the men looked uncertain. “Hey, are we really going this far? We were only supposed to scare her.”

Joelle noticed the doubt in his expression. “I don’t have a problem with any of you,” she stated firmly. “But if you push me, I’ll bite my tongue and end it right here!”

“Wait, no, don’t do that!”

Joelle’s eyes filled with tears as she clutched her shirt. “Then what do you want from me?”

The men exchanged uneasy glances. They were fine with threatening her, but crossing the line into real violence was a different story.

At that moment, the girl who had brought Joelle into the bar rushed in, looking horrified at the scene of four men closing in on Joelle. While holding a fire extinguisher, she shouted, “You think it’s fine to get drunk and harass women? Does having money make you feel like you can do anything?”

Joelle never expected the girl to be so fierce. In an instant, she jumped onto the coffee table, leaped across the room, and swung the fire extinguisher with surprising force.

The men staggered, clutching their heads. “What the fuck is the matter with you? Are you out of your mind?”

The girl tossed the extinguisher aside and moved in front of Joelle, grabbing her hand. “It’s okay; I’ve already called the police.”

Joelle blinked, surprised by the girl’s act of bravery. The girl was like an angel sent to protect her.

“Hold on, I need to ask them something,” Joelle said quickly. Hearing the mention of the police, the men tried to run, but the girl kicked one of them down again.

Joelle crouched beside him. “Who sent you?”

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