Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

Scar heard a loud thud from the hospital room and immediately rushed to the window to check.

Through the glass, he saw Dan sprawled out on the floor, out cold.

Panicking, Scar shouted, "Doctor! Somebody, help! Our boss just fainted again!"

It was the fourth time since yesterday.

First, Yvonne knocked him out cold, and then she pissed him off so badly he blacked out three more times!

Honestly, Yvonne was a real piece of work...

...

After leaving the Quinn family's mansion, Xander leaned against his car, smoked two cigarettes back-to-back, and then pulled out his phone to call Yvonne.

She picked up after just two rings.

Before Xander could get a word in, Yvonne launched into a full-on rant. "What the hell do you want? Dan, I'm warning you, don't you dare drag Xander into your mess."

"I grew up with him—we're practically childhood sweethearts. He's nothing like you, you shameless jerk!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she got, firing off a string of curses into the phone.

Xander winced when she called Dan a "shameless jerk,” his temple throbbing with frustration.

Yvonne wasn't done. "You can't even own up to your own mess, so you run away? What kind of man are you?"noveldrama

"And dragging Xander into it as your scapegoat? What, you want us to fight until we divorce? Well, guess what, I'm not letting that happen."

"I'm sticking with him for life. I'd rather die than get a divorce!"

Xander: "!!!"

Die... rather than divorce?

Yvonne didn't let him get a word in, rambling on, "I know Xander better than anyone. It's not like we're into each other, but even if I stood butt-naked in front of him, he wouldn't dare touch me. So don't even try to stir up trouble between us. Pfft..."

Her tirade was relentless-full of digs at Dan for being a meddling gossip, and at Xander for supposedly lacking any manly courage.

But when Xander heard her say, "He wouldn't dare," it really got under his skin.

Finally, just as Yvonne geared up to lay into Dan again, Xander cut in sharply.

"I wouldn't dare?"

Yvonne: "???"

Wait, what...

Standing in the middle of JFK International, Yvonne had just landed when she heard Xander's voice through the phone.

She quickly checked the caller ID, and sure enough, it was Xander.

"What-why are you calling? Is the Schultz family causing trouble again? Look, don't stress. I know you're hell-bent on getting back at them, but I just got this big payout, and trust me, if I go back now, I'm not getting any more out of them."

Yvonne knew exactly what her marriage to Xander was-a practical arrangement. She figured Xander was using her to get revenge on the Schultz family, and her fiery attitude was probably driving them nuts.

But her outburst at Dan just now? Xander had heard every word. That made her a

little nervous, if she was being honest.

After all, Xander was still her husband-on paper, at least.

She'd basically run off to another country the night before, using the excuse that she had to settle things with Skye. In reality, she just

Ceded

to escape for a bit. This whole

situation was a mess, and she didn't really have a good explanation for any of it.

"Yvonne," Xander said quietly.

His tone was gentle.

Hearing him speak like that, Yvonne suddenly felt a lump in her throat and had to swallow hard.

"I, uh..."

Man, she'd never been scared of anything in her life, but facing Xander now, she actually felt guilty.

Dan, that bastard-she was going to wring his neck when she got back.

...

Xander was still her husband, for crying out loud. She'd never even considered cheating on him, even if they were destined for divorce. She had her standards, after all.

"Xander, calm down, okay? You don't need to go after Dan—I'll take care of it myself."

"I swear, I never meant to make you look bad. I was just drunk the other night."

"Honestly... maybe nothing even happened at all."

Her voice grew more frantic, and by the end, she sounded anything but convinced.