All Chapters of DESPERATE THIRST FOR LOVE: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

One day, Elvie noticed Joey’s face was no longer the same pale shade as the bathroom wall.He was going through something called adoptive cell transfer therapy. The treatments were invasive and uncomfortable after he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, but every time he came back to the mansion, he smiled bigger than the last time. He was still weak. He was still grey. But he no longer spoke like he was ready to die but too ashamed to let go of life because he knew how much she needed him, and that made her heart soar. Even after what he’d done, Joey was still her family. Her brother.They spent more and more time out of the mansion with Thea—short trips around the block, arm in arm, admiring the festival of colours as the garden burst into full-blown summer. Green leaves rustled above their heads, and barefoot children ran around the neighbourhood, pointing the park’s hoses at each other and spreading wild laughter like confetti. Flowers unfurled in their sleepy beds on the edges of

Zander grumbled between deep breaths, “I need myrevenge. II need it. Some bastard masterminds the death of my parents! Matheo fucked myex-wife,e and my friend betrayed me! Those bastards used me! Damn it!”Elvie halted, “Yes. I heard. Many, many times. So what if they did?” She cut him off, balling her hands into fists. "They did something wrong, which doesn’t give you the right to do something even worse.” She pushed his chest.Jesus Christ—what was I doing? She thought to herself.“Matheo was the one who sent Patrick to Asia. He was the one who insisted we keep it from Kristal and keep them apart. Insisted we keep it from my parents, knowing it'd disappoint them. But somehow their death is my fault?” he yelled in her face, as if she were the one accusing him. “Fuck. That.”“Stop the blame game, Zander. Every relationship you touch wilts. Every connection you make perishes. I don’t want to burn. I want to flourish. I deserve to bloom.”“Elvie—”"No, Zander. I know you hated the perso

“I’m going to make your life a living hell, Zander. I have sacrificed a lot for Patrick.” Kristal wiggled her finger in my face. He took her finger and lowered it, wrapping her dress back around her waist for her.“By fucking his father?” Zander smirked.She sneered at him. “It was all a mistake. I didn't—”“Tell that to Patrick, not to me, Kristal.”“Fuck you!”“I dare you, sweetheart. It’s been too long since I showed you who I really am. I cannot wait for you to get reacquainted with the asshole version everyone else has been privy to for the past year, partly because of you.” He couldn’t dump all the blame on Kristal, though. Matheo had taken the Worst Dad of the Century trophy, leaving others to eat dust.“You’re insane!” she yelled in his face.“That’s rich, coming from a half-naked woman who just broke a monitor and fucked her lover’s father.”“You’re weird. And a smartass. I don’t even like you anymore.” She walked over to the door, made a U-turn, stared at him helplessly, and

Shortly after takeoff, Zander sent her aunt a heads-up of what was to come. Diplomatic it was not, but if she was looking for direct and honest, she certainly received it, and in spades.Zander: Hopping on a plane to discuss Matheo with you, who, by the way, fucked my second wife. Consequently, I was back with Elvie, my first wife. I am bringing her over, so keep your claws tucked in.P.S.Bella, my assistant, booked a conference call with the entire board later this afternoon, and that includes your philandering ex-husband. I sent you some recordings you need to listen to, so please do that in between auditioning for new boy toys.P.P.S.I meant it about the claws. I am planning on keeping this one for a while.After they landed, Elvie was surprised to find they were sharing a Mandarin Hotel suite, but she didn’t let it show. She dove headfirst into the huge bed, making a snow angel on the sheets. She didn’t know why that made him want to fuck her so hard that he’d nail her to the ma

“My parent’s network?” Zander spat, laughing incredulously. “Where the fuck have you been for the last decade? Even before you moved to Florida, you didn’t give two shits about SBC. You only attended board meetings, and even that was half-heartedly and solely for the chance of screwing my dad over somehow. You could have managed it yourself, but you chose to give it to some incompetent asshole because working is not your jam. I spend ten hours a day in the office. I live it. I breathe it. I eat it. But when I make one decision that has nothing to do with it, it’s suddenly an issue. This network is not yours more than it is mine. Just because Kristal was born into the right family doesn’t mean she’s right for me. And that bullshit where you marry someone without standing up to their fucking face? I had a front-row seat to that scenario at home, and I’m sure I’m not spoiling it for you when I say it ended badly. One last thing—Elvie is not, in fact, disposable,” he noted. “But I know a