Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 918

"You have the nerve to say that? My relationship with Owen ended up like this entirely because of you!"

Jocelyn's reckless words had struck Richard's deepest nerve, igniting his fury.

"You think I'm a useless coward now? Then were you blind back then? You did everything in your power to seduce me. You drugged me, climbed into my bed, flaunted yourself in every possible way, and even purposely showed off our affair right in front of Grace Valerius... If you hadn't arranged for her car to be tampered with, Grace would never have died..."

Panic seized Jocelyn. She slapped a hand over Richard's mouth and frantically scanned their surroundings. She threw open the bedroom door and peeked carefully into the hallway.

Thankfully, there were no staff members in sight. Her violently racing heart finally began to steady.

"Do you have a death wish? The walls have ears," she hissed, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper.

If their stepson ever caught wind of this, none of them would live to see another day.

"Hmph. What does it have to do with me? You did that behind my back, and afterward, you came crying to me, begging me to cover for you. I didn't lay a finger on her."

Hidden in the corner of the hallway, a few maids were whispering frantically.

"Did you hear that? The late Mrs. Lance was murdered by this woman!"

"She acts so high and mighty all day long, but it turns out she was just a mistress who schemed her way to the top."

"She's always been a homewrecker. I heard the first wife was incredibly brilliant."

"Ugh, she's so mean and bitter, constantly screaming at us. You can tell just by looking at her that she's rotten to the core."

"Keep your voices down! If she hears us, we'll all lose our jobs."

"Losing our jobs is the least of our worries. With how ruthless she is, we should be afraid of getting silenced permanently!"

Terrified by the realization, the maids quickly scattered, fleeing back to their chores.

...

Back in the bedroom, Richard and Jocelyn's argument raged on.

"You didn't lay a finger on her? Do you honestly think you're innocent? You've covered for me all these years. Do you think he doesn't hate you too? If you hadn't cheated on her with me, would Grace have died? Let me make this clear—we are in this together. If I go down, you're coming right down with me."

"Your best option right now is to stand by my side. Tearing each other apart won't do either of us any good."

"Fine. I was wrong earlier. I spoke without thinking, and I apologize."

Having delivered her harsh reality check, Jocelyn immediately softened. She wrapped her arms around Richard's neck, pouting and acting submissive.

"Richard... Richard... Please forgive me. After all these years, you know how my temper gets. I was just... I was just so angry earlier that I said things I shouldn't have. Truthfully, you've always been my number one priority. I love you more than I love myself. Not even the two kids can compare to what you mean to me..."