Her hand scrambled to the door. She tried to open it, fingers slipping, heart racing—but because of her nervousness, she couldn’t. “If I count to three and you don’t open the door—” Jace said. “I can’t open it. Please, just be patient,” she said in panic. Her fingers shook harder, nails scraping uselessly against the handle. Then finally—it clicked. The door opened. She paused. Looked back at him. Her voice came out small. “I’m sorry… for the kiss… earlier.” “I was about to remind you,” Jace said coldly. “Fucking brush your teeth or something. You had a horrible smell earlier.” Her chest dropped. It was like something inside her collapsed inward. She managed to look away from him, face burning, ears ringing. With wobbly feet, she got out of the car. Closed the door. Started walking toward her room, tears already pooling in her eyes. What? Mouth odour? She rushed to her suite, slammed the door behind her, and immediately called her mother. “Mom,” she said, breath

Darryl had the fucking necklace in his hand.He’d spent the past hour checking every corner of the place, trying to figure out where Iris was before he finally spotted her. His mood was still sour from what Maya had pulled—announcing to the whole world that she was still dating Jace. But Darryl chose to believe it was damage control. For his name. For the mess that party had caused.It had to make sense. It had to add up.He stepped out of the car after his driver parked in the lot.And because rotten luck had a personal vendetta against him, he saw Iris almost immediately—just a few feet away.“Right…” he muttered under his breath, already moving toward her.He didn’t make it far.Security—faces he didn’t recognize—closed in from nowhere, stopping him cold. Their height, their build, the way they formed a wall in front of him… it shrank him. Instantly.“You can’t go closer to her,” one of them said. His voice was thick, heavy—like the dog that had bitten Darryl back in middle school.

Iris had always stood for honesty. Keeping to her word was non-negotiable. And now…that meant telling Jace about what she promised Daryl. The thought made her stomach twist. How was she supposed to tell him after the way he had looked at her minutes ago?Every second with Jace was turning into one of those cozy online stories she read every weekend. The kind where she’d shake her head at the female character, calling her a fool for sticking around with a guy who’d caused her hell.But wait…had Jace really crossed a line? The only thing he had actually done was…comment on her mouth. Was he mocking her? Or just being bluntly honest? Maybe…maybe it wasn’t that bad. Maybe it was still okay.She walked to her suite, stealing a glance at Jace’s locked door before slipping inside her own. Pajamas on, she paced the sitting room, mind racing.Sending a message was pointless. Ninety-nine point nine percent chance he wouldn’t even see it. But if she went to him…maybe…just maybe…he’d open the doo

Because fate was fucking stupid, the journey that was supposed to take just ten minutes—and, worst of all shit, twenty minutes—ended up becoming a full hour.Darryl had given his driver a simple instruction: drive to Maya’s house. Simple, right? Wrong. The damn old man already had problems with his ears and somehow thought Darryl had mentioned another girl’s name.And Darryl, too caught up in his own thoughts, hadn’t noticed until far too late that the man was driving in the wrong direction.“I’m so sorry, sir,” the driver mumbled as they finally pulled into Maya’s compound.“Give me the fucking key,” Darryl ordered.The man fearfully handed it over, trembling as if it were a bomb.“You can go home now. Get some sleep. Don’t come back again. I’ll wire your severance pay,” Darryl snapped.“Sir—”“If you make me change my mind, you’ll be walking home with zero pay,” he cut off the protest.Defeated, the man got out of the car and shuffled toward the gate. It was already midnight. He’d p

And just like that, Jace watched his father—the one he hadn’t spoken to in over half a year—walk away with Maya. He followed from a distance, silent, watching his father hail a cab that would take him to the bus stop and then home. Maya turned, her eyes glinting as she walked toward him. “I didn’t know your father was going to come,” she said lightly, like it was a joke. “I only sent him a message—told him I was your girlfriend. Was just crying a little, and he went full-on drama king. Makes me wonder…” She circled him slowly, deliberately. “Is your father… slow in thinking? like...a bit that stupid?” Jace’s gaze snapped to hers. “Withdraw that word.” “Of course I can’t deny saying something I didn’t say,” she replied smoothly. “I mean, does he not see the videos of you everywhere online? Oops, forgot—he can’t afford Wi-Fi.” She let out a short laugh, sharp and teasing. “Jace, let’s end this hide-and-seek game we’re playing—” “I don’t know about hide-and-seek,” he growled,