Love and Devotion No Longer His to Claim (Angela and Dexter) novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

At that moment, Dexter wanted nothing more than to crush Angela’s jaw to make her remember. No one knew better than he did just how important that wedding ring was to her. 

Angela, on the other hand, struggled hard against him. Red marks appeared on her pale cheek from his vice–like grip. Her eyes were red, but she clenched her teeth and refused to beg for mercy. 

That illusionary love she had once held on to had vanished the moment she had discovered Elena’s existence. Selling that ring had been a relief. 

Otherwise, it would have only reminded her of the humiliating life she had lived the last three years, being nothing more than a doormat to Dexter. 

As she struggled, her towel slipped and exposed her breasts–it was an alluring sight. 

Dexter’s gaze darkened as his eyes shot to her exposed skin for a brief moment. He then smirked wickedly while remarking, “What’s this? Are you trying to seduce me now? Do you think that using such cheap tactics will make me go easy on you?” 

His gaze was filled with mockery, as though he saw her as nothing more than an escort. 

“Fine…” Dexter’s smirk grew wider, but the look in his eyes became colder. “Since you’re so eager, I’d hate to disappoint you.” 

He moved in to kiss her lips. After all, the only thing Angela had going for her was her face. Dexter thought she had crossed a line and deserved punishment that day. 

“Get away from me!” Angela shouted, somehow mustering enough strength to push Dexter away. 

Then, she slapped him hard across the face. 

The sound of the slap echoed in the room. Dexter’s face turned sharply to the side from the force of the slap. A glaring red handprint quickly appeared on his grim face. 

“You’ve already disappointed me enough, Dexter Bamford. Don’t make me sick,” Angela spat, her gaze fixed on him as she held back tears. 

The humiliation she had endured in recent days was nothing compared to that single comment Dexter had made just a second ago. 

Angela found herself laughable. She had loved him for so many years, only to have him teach her the importance of knowing when to cut her losses when something was no longer worth it. 

“Get out!” She glared at him with her jaw clenched. She pointed toward the door, her gaze 

+25 BONUS 

Chapter 9 

icy. 

Dexter’s expression became incredibly grim. With a cold laugh, he grabbed her wrist and threw her onto the bed, pinning her down and kissing her forcefully. 

She was crazy, and he was just as mad. 

Dexter couldn’t stand this audacious side of Angela. He was thoroughly angered, and his fury was so intense that it almost burned away all of his rationality. 

So, he let it burn. 

Angela felt as if she had been run over by a truck. She had no idea how she had endured the previous night. She lay exhausted on the bed; she had already been awake for some time but was unwilling to get up. 

Dexter had left during the night. Before he had left, she had given him one last “gift“. 

Her phone suddenly chimed. Angela finally forced herself to sit up and opened an art app, Heartistry. A few days ago, she had registered an account on the platform and uploaded some of her previous illustrations and designs. She had mentioned that she was open to commissions. 

She was surprised to find that her work had already garnered thousands of views. Today, someone had even sent her a friend request. The person asked if she could create an illustration based on a prompt and inquired about her rates. 

Angela hesitated, realizing that she hadn’t even looked into the pricing norms in this field. 

After considering it for a moment, she replied, “I can draw it for you. I’ll need a 50–dollar deposit, and I charge 200 dollars for the completed illustration.” 

She set a low price. It was one similar to her rates back when she had been in art school, which the client would likely find acceptable. 

Sure enough, the client quickly replied, “Okay” Then, they sent her the prompt–ripples on a green lake. 

Angela sketched a quick concept, finding that it wasn’t too challenging. 

She thought that not having a job at the moment was fine. At least she could rely on her design skills to support herself. No matter how powerful and capable Dexter was, he wouldn’t be able to discover her alias on this app. 

She could use this opportunity to build her fortune, and things would gradually improve. 

Angela forced herself to get up. After washing up, she planned to go to the store to buy some art supplies. 

+25 BONUS 

Chapter 9 

But when she looked in the mirror, she noticed the obvious love marks on her neck, chest, and shoulders. Last night’s madness replayed in her mind, and a displeased grimace formed on her face. So, she decided to place a delivery order for her supplies instead. 

She spent the entire afternoon painting. She had no idea that someone had been lingering downstairs where she was staying for hours. 

The sun was blazing, and the temperature was high. 

“Mr. Bamford, please get into the car. You’re going to get heatstroke.” Another one of Dexter’s drivers, Henry Urban, couldn’t help but suggest cautiously. 

Was it necessary to get this mad over a few teasing remarks? In fact, Dexter was so mad that he had stormed over here directly from the office. 

Henry shook his head at Dexter upon recalling what had happened earlier. 

Dexter had arranged to meet with the CEO of Treble Group, who was more than ten years older than him in age. When they had met, his eyes had been immediately drawn to the bite mark on Dexter’s jaw, and he had burst out laughing. 

“Mr. Bamford, I didn’t expect you and your wife to be so close,” he had joked. 

The CEO of Treble Group was a loud and boisterous man. He had even encouraged his subordinates to appreciate the obvious mark on Dexter’s face. 

Unsurprisingly, Dexter had been enraged. He had stormed out of the conference room huffily without so much as a word to his guests. 

“Shut up!” Dexter snapped, his sharp gaze cutting toward Henry. 

Henry shivered and dared not utter another word. 

A moment later, Dexter got into the car. However, his anger wouldn’t subside. All he could think of was the laughter he had endured and the look of disgust in Angela’s eyes when he had left last night. 

He had to admit that she had changed. Now, he had no intention of letting her have it easy anymore. If she wanted to keep playing hard to get, she could do so forever. 

“Take me back!” Dexter commanded coolly. 

It took Angela three days to complete her first commission, which she sent to the client. The client was thrilled with the result and immediately sent her the rest of the payment. Angela was overjoyed and treated herself to a meal while editing a video. She had recorded.