Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

When Susanna was sick and delirious, her sense of self-preservation kicked into overdrive.

She was stubborn as a mule-no amount of coaxing would get her to budge.

Hull, who had never babied anyone in his life, tried everything. He coaxed, pleaded, cajoled for over ten minutes, but Susanna wouldn't let go of her nightshirt for anything.

Hull's patience, which had never really been tested before, hit its absolute limit.

With one hand gripping her waist and the other tugging at her pajamas, there was a loud RRRRIP as the fabric tore clean in half.

The maids in the hallway heard the commotion and retreated even further, absolutely terrified of going inside.

Hull, not wasting any more time, got her changed in record time. Naturally, Susanna squirmed in protest, mumbling and grumbling the whole way.

But honestly, with her fever weighing her eyelids down, she barely seemed aware of what was happening.

...

Compared to how harmonious things were between Stella and Ronald, Hull was on the verge of losing his mind taking care of Susanna.

He was feeding her medicine, changing her clothes, running through every trick in the book-commands, gentle words, you name it.

...

But the one having the roughest time was Xander.

When he found out that Yvonne had taken some people to confront Aira, he returned to the mansion looking like he'd seen a ghost.

Ashley and Lott were glued to his side, way too scared to leave. They were hoping that if Yvonne came after them, Xander would take the brunt of it, and maybe they'd get off a little easier.

But honestly...

They hadn't even seen Yvonne storm in and beat up Dan earlier that day. Everyone who'd been playing poker with Dan got a good smackdown.

And as for them—the ones who'd deleted security footage and altered check-in records? If Yvonne found out, they were as good as dead.

When Shawn saw Xander's ghostly expression, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you alright, man? You look like hell."

Was it just his imagination, or did he actually see fear in Xander's eyes? That couldn't be right-Xander was never afraid of anything.

But sure enough, there was a flicker of fear there.

Without a word, Xander punched Shawn square in the shoulder.

Shawn reeled. "Dude, what the hell was that for?"

Xander gritted his teeth. "For being such a coward, dragging me into this mess."

Just thinking about how Shawn had yanked him out of the hotel that morning made Xander's blood boil.

Shawn rubbed his sore jaw, baffled. "What's your problem?"

He was already on edge, waiting for Yvonne to come after them-now he'd been punched by his own friend.

Xander muttered, "Yvonne's taken people to confront Aira."

Shawn's eyes widened. "What?!”

Ashley and Lott looked like they'd seen a ghost.

Going after Aira? Dan's fiancée? Yvonne had already beaten Dan to a pulp this

morning now she was after his fiancée?

Shawn sucked in a sharp breath. "What the hell happened now?"

Yvonne's temper was legendary, but this was next level.

Xander pinched the bridge of his nose. "She knows Dan wasn't the one from last night."

Shawn, Ashley, and Lott all went pale.

Things were spiraling so fast, it was hard to keep up. How the hell did Yvonne figure things out so quickly?

Shawn asked, "So now she thinks Aira set her up?"

Xander nodded grimly. "She doesn't just think it-she's sure of it."

The difference between suspecting and being certain was huge.

Shawn felt sick. First Yvonne was convinced it was Dan, and he ended up in the hospital. Now she was sure it was Aira-there was no way Aira would get out of this unscathed.

And at this rate, it was only a matter of time before she realized it was the rest of them who orchestrated everything.

Especially since she had the whole Quinn family backing her up.

Shawn couldn't take it anymore. "That's it. I'm going back to Patrina. I'm not staying in Ferrowland another day."

It hadn't even been 24 hours and Yvonne had already hospitalized Dan and was now going after Aira. At this rate, they'd be next.

"We should get out while we can," Ashley and Lott agreed, their faces still green with fear.

With Yvonne in this kind of mood, sticking around Xander wasn't exactly a safe bet.

Shawn's phone started buzzing. He answered, voice tense: "Yeah?"

"Princess Yvonne just showed up at Mr. Murray's place-she's gone after his fiancée."

Shawn grimaced. "Yeah, I know."noveldrama

Even from a distance, he could practically feel the storm Yvonne was whipping up.

And to be fair, in her mind right now, she was the victim.

Hanging up, Shawn turned to Xander. "Dude, you coming with us or what?"

He wasn't gonna stick around Ferrowland to see how things played out—not when things were this dangerous.

Xander's reply was cold, every word clipped. "What did you just say?"

He still hadn't gotten over being dragged out of the hotel that morning, and now Shawn was suggesting they all run away?

Shawn started sweating, unsettled by Xander's glare. "If you're staying, fine. But I'm out. I'm not sticking around to see what happens next."

Xander narrowed his eyes, making Shawn even more nervous. "Why are you looking at me like that?"