Chapter 416: If You’re in Trouble, Find Me

Donna Thorne couldn’t understand Brandon Jacobs.

He clearly looked down on her. His disdain yesterday had been so obvious, so why was he here looking for her again today? And why had he been so heavy-handed? ’Do I really look that much like this old acquaintance of his?’

But now wasn’t the time to ask questions.

The crowd saw he was not to be trifled with and quickly dispersed.

Brandon Jacobs glanced at the savory pancake vendor lying motionless on the ground. He grabbed the man by his clothes, dragged him back to his own tricycle, then pulled out all the cash he had and threw it at him.

"Take this for your medical bills. Whatever was between you and her ends here. If I ever see you show your face in front of her again..."

He took a leaf of greens from the man’s food container. With a squeeze of his right thumb and forefinger, the leaf crumbled.

"Understand?"

The man’s earlier arrogance had completely vanished. He nodded his head frantically. Only then did Brandon Jacobs turn to look at Donna Thorne.

"Go home for today."

Donna Thorne agreed. ’I shouldn’t have even left the house today.’

If it weren’t for him, she couldn’t imagine what would be happening to her right now.

She obediently got back on her tricycle and started for home. In her rearview mirror, she could see him following behind in his car, not too close, but not too far either.

After a winding journey, Donna Thorne arrived back at her apartment building.

Just as she was lifting her wok off the tricycle, Brandon Jacobs followed her in at a leisurely pace.

Donna Thorne put the wok down. "Thank you for what you did just now."

"You’re welcome. Go on and move your things."

Donna Thorne didn’t move. She stared straight at Brandon Jacobs.

"Honestly, I really don’t get what goes on in you men’s minds. Can you tell me why? Why do you look down on me but keep bothering me at the same time? Even you are like this. Do I really look that much like your old acquaintance? If so, do you think my resemblance to her is an embarrassment to her memory?"

’Why do they look down on her but still bother her? Because she’s weak.’

A weak person who was beautiful but couldn’t protect herself.

With someone like that, any man just a little stronger than her could take advantage. How could they not want to?

Reality was too cruel. Brandon Jacobs wanted to tell her this truth, but he opened his mouth twice and couldn’t get the words out.

He only answered her last question.

"You don’t look that much like her. I’m leaving Seacliff soon, and I won’t be coming back."

Donna Thorne didn’t know how to describe the feeling in her heart upon hearing his words.

He was like an angel who had cast a ray of sunlight into her stagnant life. Just when she’d finally started to feel a little warmth and begin to heal herself, he was about to fly away.

But it had always been like this, ever since she was little. After enough disappointments, she had gotten used to it. Donna Thorne wouldn’t show any sadness.

"So you came here today just to tell me that?"

"More or less," Brandon Jacobs said honestly. "I stared at you for so long without your consent, which must have caused you some trouble. I’m sorry."

Donna Thorne shrugged.

’I don’t need to hear those two words. "I’m sorry" is hypocritical, useless, and utterly meaningless.’

"I get it. Since you’ve said what you came to say, you can go."

If he hadn’t seen her being bullied, Brandon Jacobs might have left with his mind at ease. But having seen it happen time and again, he knew men’s nature all too well. When they failed to take advantage, or even suffered a loss, they wouldn’t just let it go.

A piece of meat dangling right in front of them, clearly up for grabs—no one would resist taking a bite. It was only a matter of time.

Don’t be fooled by how badly he’d beaten that man today. Once he recovered and realized Donna Thorne had no one backing her up, he’d be back to his old tricks.

Seacliff really wasn’t a good place.

With Donna Thorne’s looks and her current situation, leaving Seacliff was her only way out.

"Do you know of Veridia?" Brandon Jacobs asked her.

Donna Thorne looked at him, confused, but still nodded.

It was one of the country’s famous first-tier cities. She had never been, but how could she not have heard of it?

"Veridia is huge, with lots of job opportunities. Whether you work as an ordinary model or apply to be a streamer at an e-commerce hub, it would be better than staying here. I suggest you move and start a new life somewhere else."

As he spoke, Brandon Jacobs walked over and held out his hand to her.

"Consider this a small compensation for bothering you all this time. Give me your phone."

Donna Thorne thought he was going to transfer money to her again and didn’t move.

"I don’t need your money. I don’t need your pity."

"I’m not giving you money. I’m giving you a phone number. If you change your mind and decide to go to Veridia, you can call me if you run into any trouble."

In the end, Donna Thorne took his number.

Brandon Jacobs turned and walked slowly away. He heard her heading upstairs with the aluminum wok—CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—and soon, a woman’s furious yelling erupted from the floor above.

"Why are you back so early again? Do you have a death wish, slacking off every day?! Are we going to make a living or not? You can’t hold down one job, you can’t hold down another—what can you even do? What’s the use of having you around?!"

A series of CRASHES and BANGS followed, accompanied by Donna Thorne’s faintly audible, angry voice.

"Mom, it’s hot!"

"I hope you get burned to death! Why don’t you just go die? The sight of you is so irritating!"

Brandon Jacobs left the alley.

Upon returning to Veridia, he and Faye Fisher went straight to the hospital.

Watching the couple’s perfectly matched but spiritually distant figures walk away together, Wyatt Wynn was filled with mixed emotions. Fortunately, Zeke Walton was just as bored as he was.

"Where to? The office or home? I’ll give you a ride."

Zeke Walton leaned against the car, a look of frustration on his face.

"Nowhere. We were supposed to go on a trip for a few days to unwind. What a mess this turned out to be!"

Wyatt Wynn couldn’t help but ask him.

"Isn’t your little girlfriend supposed to be sweet and innocent? What’s going on with you two? Look at you, all stressed out every day."

Zeke Walton hadn’t wanted to talk about it, but he was so annoyed that he ended up repeating what Amina had said to him.

Surprisingly, Wyatt Wynn didn’t mock him.

He knew better than anyone the kind of damage a "white moonlight" could do to a person.

To think that a man with no money or power could outshine Young Mr. Walton.

’Who could he even complain to?’

After a pause, he deliberately joked with Zeke Walton.

"It’s karma. Think about how you treated Simone Vaughn back then. What was your attitude when she was devastated by you? This is just pure and simple karma."

Zeke Walton felt like it was karma too. ’If only I had broken up with Simone Vaughn peacefully back then.’

But what was the point of saying that now?

His chest felt tight with frustration, and the feeling was especially strong now that he was back in Veridia.

"I don’t care, you have to help me take my mind off things. Otherwise, I’m going to get depressed."

It wasn’t just him who was on the verge of depression; Wyatt Wynn was suffering too.

On the flight back, he couldn’t stop himself from constantly glancing over at Faye Fisher.

The back of her head was so beautiful and delicate, and her profile captivated him just as it had when she was eighteen.

She would periodically look out the window or glance down at her phone. She even dozed off for a while, looking both beautiful and adorably dazed.

’But that bastard Brandon Jacobs wouldn’t even look at her for a second, let alone take care of her...’