Chapter 92. Donny

Chapter 92: Chapter 92. Donny

Chapter 92. Donny

"You are no longer under her rules."

Those words continued to echo in Rosa’s head. She blinked once, then twice, still unable to fully process them. She was desperately trying to make sense of what was happening, while Don stared down at her. He shook his head with a low chuckle.

"Come on, let’s go. The decision has been made by me and me alone. You are staying nowhere else except my mansion."

She blinked in a daze, feeling completely frozen. He guided her out of the office and down the hallway until they entered the main sitting room.

Rosa stopped dead in her tracks.

The room was flooded with officials and heavily armed mercenaries, their guns trained directly on Mrs. Lee. Off to the side, Mac stood by the dining table, visibly terrified, with his hands raised in the air. Rosa caught the sheer hostility burning in his eyes—the way he glared at Don, and how his gaze lingered bitterly on the physical closeness between them as Don held her.

Don paused, his eyes scanning the room before settling on Mrs. Lee.

Mrs. Lee glared back at him, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. She scoffed, trying desperately to maintain her defiance.

"Was all these necessary?" She asked.

He looked at her. "For you, yes, it absolutely is."

She scoffed, looking off to the side. "Do you really think you’re doing the right thing right now?"

Don frowned and tilted his head. "Let me first take her to my mansion, ensure she is in the best hands possible, and take good care of. Then I’ll decide if I’m actually making the right decision."

He glanced over at Mia. Mia offered a reassuring smile and a nod before sauntering over to wrap an arm around Rosa’s shoulders.

Rosa was still completely numb. She turned her head slowly to look at Mia, who chuckled softly. "Let’s go, girl. You look like you’ve just seen a ghost." Mia gently led Rosa out of the building.

Don looked around the room for a few moments longer before turning on his heel to leave. The armed mercenaries followed closely behind him in silent formation.

The moment the front doors slammed shut, Mrs. Lee squeezed her eyes tight.

"Fuck!" she exploded.

She began pacing frantically back and forth, raking her fingers through her hair. She grabbed the edge of a chair, clutching it so hard her knuckles turned white. Her lips trembled, her eyes red-rimmed with pure fury. She stared blankly ahead, grinding her teeth together in extreme anger.

How the fuck? How dare he?

Whipping out her phone, she frantically tapped the screen, dialing her assistant. She slammed the phone against her ear, pacing rapidly across the marble floor.

Mac remained frozen near the dining table, his eyes wide with confusion and shock. He swallowed hard, unable to suppress the dark, burning fury rising in his own chest. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake it off.

"Hello, Cynthia!" Mrs. Lee’s voice boomed across the living room the second the line connected. "Who the fuck gave you permission to let someone come in, claim her, and rewrite the contract—the binding contract keeping Rosa Lin under my authority?!"

On the other end of the line, Cynthia’s voice trembled. "Ma’am, I’m so sorry! I wanted to wait for your signature, but I couldn’t delay it. He presented legal documentation proving he is her official guardian. He insisted that any administrative issues be handled immediately so as not to stall the acquisition progress. I... I didn’t think too much of it—"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Mrs. Lee shrieked, cutting her off. "You should have put a stop to it right then and there knowing that the person in question is registered under my name—someone I am the guardian of—you should have contacted me first!"

"I’m so sorry, ma’am—"

"Fuck you!" Mrs. Lee roared.

She ended the call abruptly and hurled her phone onto the sofa. Pressing her palm flat against her forehead, her foot tapped violently against the floor in rapid beats.

Mac watched her cautiously for a moment. "Mom—"

"Fucking shut up and leave me alone!" she snapped.

Mac flinched. He watched her turn on her heel and storm toward the staircase, her heavy footsteps pounding furiously against the marble steps. He stood there, frowning into space as a cold realization settled in. The deep resentment he felt at the sight of Don Diaxu was still burning in his chest. There’s no two ways about it, he thought, his jaw tightening. Something is definitely going on between those two.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Mrs. Lee froze. Her entire body vibrated with rage. She let out a long, ragged breath, clutching her head.

Oh my God, she thought desperately. How the hell do I handle this? I don’t have any other option... The business is fucking tanking. If I don’t fix this, the fallout is going to be catastrophic.

Her brows furrowed intensely, and her eyes closed in frustration. She slumped back against the staircase railing, pressing a palm flat against her chest.

"Oh my fucking God," she muttered under her breath. "This is going to give me a fucking headache."

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. A cold, wicked smirk slowly spread across her face as a sudden realization hit her. She chuckled, shaking her head in dark amusement.

"Oh, do not think you’re going to escape this so easily, Rosa," she whispered into the empty hallway. "I don’t need a fucking contract. I can do whatever the fuck I want. And you, yourself, are going to erase the disgrace and shame you brought upon my family."

Meanwhile, Rosa sat nervously in the front passenger seat of Don’s car, a deep frown creasing her forehead.

Mia had taken her time explaining the full legal situation all the way out to the car and as they merged onto the expressway. Rosa kept her head tilted to the side, her mind racing at a million miles an hour. Beside her, Don expertly swerved through traffic, casting sharp, fleeting glances at her every few seconds.

"It’s a lot to process, isn’t it?" Mia called out gently from the back seat.

Rosa scoffed, rolling her eyes. She turned her head toward Don. "So if you were planning this whole thing from the very beginning, why didn’t you tell me?" she demanded, her brow furrowed.

Don glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "Look at this sly little girl. Is that the thank-you I get?"

Rosa scoffed again, looking out the side window. "Stop trying to turn this around on me! You know that wasn’t fair. I walked into that house—into the absolute lion’s den—terrified out of my mind! I was frightened beyond control. I thought I was completely cornered. I thought I was fucking trapped! I was on the verge of losing it. Do you even know what she asked of me?"

Don’s posture stiffened. His hands tightened around the leather steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "What did she ask of you?"

Rosa scoffed, her hands clenching into fists in her lap. "She had the fucking audacity to ask me to marry her son!"

Don’s breath caught. A dark, boiling rage surged through his chest. He snapped his head toward her, his face flushing with heat. "What?!"

Rosa slumped back heavily into her seat. "Let’s just say the news about what Mac orchestrated last semester completely backfired on their family."

In the back seat, Mia leaned forward, listening intently with an inquisitive frown.

"The news didn’t just stay on campus," Rosa continued, her voice full of lingering resentment. "Because of how prominent the Lee family is and how big their business is, it spread like wildfire to the public. So many people took my side, supporting me and saying Mac did wrong, that he took advantage of me. And, of course, you know how social media works... it affected their business, and it tanked it. She wanted me to turn public opinion back in their favor—by making me marry Mac."

Don blinked once. Then twice. He scoffed, staring straight ahead at the open road. "The audacity!" he muttered, clenching his teeth tightly.

Rosa frowned, watching him closely. She could practically feel the heat vibrating off him. His eyes were bloodshot, staring ahead as if he were on the brink of a full-blown explosive rage. She gave a small, nervous laugh. "Hey... Mr. Don, chill out. It didn’t happen. Why get so angry? Thankfully, you stepped in right in time to stop it."

Don paused, then slowly turned his head to glare at her. "If I didn’t intervene, what would you have done?"

Rosa’s expression faltered. She blinked, avoiding his piercing gaze, and quickly looked out the passenger window.

Don scoffed, his voice laced with disbelief. "Really? So you were actually going to fucking marry that bastard?"

Rosa awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. "I don’t know... I mean, it’s not like I had much of a choice."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Don exploded.

His voice boomed in the tight space of the car, making Rosa jump in her seat. In the back, Mia’s eyes went wide with shock at his intense reaction, observing him with sharp scrutiny.

Don continued to glare at Rosa. "So you were actually going to fucking marry him?! Couldn’t you think smart? Could you think of any other way to avoid it? That’s literally stupid! Even if you couldn’t find any other way, I was right there. I am your father’s brother. You couldn’t come to me to help you?"

Rosa froze, the words hanging heavily in the air.

He’s actually right, she thought to herself, closing her eyes in sheer embarrassment. I didn’t think about Mr. Don. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth together, refusing to look back at him.

Don scoffed loudly, shaking his head. "Unbelievable," he murmured under his breath.

Rosa slowly turned her head back to glance at him. Why was he getting so ridiculously worked up and furious over this? He was staring out at the expressway as if the road itself had personally offended him. His foot pressed down harder on the accelerator, making the engine roar as the car surged forward at high speed.

Both Mia and Rosa braced themselves in alarm.

Rosa’s eyes widened in panic. "Okay, I’m sorry, okay?!" she snapped quickly. "I’m so sorry!"

Don didn’t say a word. He kept his focus straight ahead, raw rage etched into his face.

"Mr. Don?" she called out softly. He didn’t reply. "Mr. Don," she tried again. Still no reply.

Rosa raised an eyebrow, shifting in her seat to glance back at Mia. Mia instantly looked away, giving her a suggestive glance that clearly said: It’s your fault. Don’t look at me.

Rosa scoffed in total disbelief. Great. Abandoning me in the middle of my trauma, she thought bitterly.

She turned back to Don. "Mr. Don, I’m sorry," she murmured.

He ignored her completely.

Rosa blinked, her mind spinning. If he says we are family and I can stop being formal, that means I can be playful with him, right? What if I tease him a little bit? Is he going to stop being angry?

"Don," she called again. Still no response.

Biting her bottom lip, she leaned closer toward him. She folded her face into a pout, making her voice soft and almost childlike.

"Donny..."

The air in the car stilled instantly.

Don tensed where he sat, his eyes widening in shock. His heart instantly picked up speed as he stared straight ahead at the road.

What the fuck? he thought.