Chapter 215

---- Chapter 215 Gideon and Giselle had barely taken a few steps when Gideon, either riding high on his own smugness or simply out of habit from holding too many women this way, let his hand slip lower from Giselle's waist until it rested on the curve of her hip. From his vantage point by the window, Donovan's eyes landed directly on that deliberately suggestive touch. Something in him snapped. Heat surged to his head, his self- control shattering in an instant. The walls he'd kept up for so long crumbled without warning.

Before anyone could react, he grabbed a wooden stool beside him and hurled it with brutal force straight at Gideon. The throw was precise. The stool slammed squarely into Gideon's back with a sickening thud. Pain shot through Gideon's body, making his tall frame stagger forward. Grimacing, he turned sharply and met Donovan's murderous stare. "What happened?" Giselle, walking just ahead, spun around at the sound. Her eyes darted from the stool on the floor to Donovan's storm-dark expression, and she understood instantly. ---- "Are you okay?" She hurried to check him over.

"Did it hit your head? Your spine? Where did it land? Tell me!"" Gideon gritted through the pain and shook his head. "It doesn't seem serious. Probably just a scrape." Ethan was too stunned to move for a long moment. Finally, he snapped at Donovan. "Don, are you out of your mind? What the hell was that? No matter how angry you are, you can't take it out like this. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" Donovan didn't answer. Without a word, he turned on his heel and strode out, leaving the tension hanging thick in the air. Ethan watched him go, shaking his head with a weary sigh.

He never could have imagined the usually composed and controlled Donovan would lash out so violently, as if something had possessed him. He turned back to Gideon. "Is it bad? Do you need to get checked at the hospital?" "T'm fine," Gideon said, though the memory of the impact still made his skin crawl. Ethan's mind flicked to the fierce clash between Zachary and Donovan months ago, now replayed with Gideon as the target. His gaze settled on Giselle with open disdain. "Ms. Holt, are you planning to tear my family apart before ---- you're satisfied ? You can see this is all because of you.

How can you keep getting yourself entangled in this without a shred of guilt?" Before she could respond, Gideon's face hardened. "Uncle Ethan, blame me. Yell at me. Hell, slap me if you want. But don't blame her. I've been the one pursuing her from the very beginning. None of this is her fault." Ethan looked at his foster son, who was defying him for the sake of a woman. For a moment, he wanted to cut him off and take back every investment he'd ever made. Inthe end, he only shot him a glare, then left, slamming the door behind him. The outcome left Giselle with a hollow ache in her chest.

She knew just how deeply Ethan despised her. And it wasn't only Ethan. Everyone in the Kane family now harbored the same heavy resentment , the same bone -deep hatred.