2026-01-11 20:53:38
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CHAPTER 231
Jared barely had time to step into his room before the quiet settled around him.His coat rested loosely over his arm as he moved further inside, his steps unhurried but purposeful, his mind still carrying the weight of the deal he had just closed.It had gone exactly as intended.Every number aligned. Every risk accounted for. Every advantage secured.And yet, as he set his phone down on the table, there was no sense of relief—only a quiet continuation of thought, already shifting toward what came next.Then the phone vibrated.Once.Twice.Then again—longer this time.Jared glanced down at the screen, his expression barely changing.Shelly.The name lingered there, persistent.He looked at it for a moment, then turned away, ignoring it completely as he walked toward the window. The city remained unchanged, indifferent to whatever chaos unfolded beneath it. For a brief second, he allowed himself to focus on that stillness.The phone vibrated again.And again.The rhythm became harder
CHAPTER 230
The conference room was silent in a way that carried weight.Not the quiet of uncertainty, but the kind that followed after numbers had been laid bare, positions established, and decisions hovering just before conclusion. Floor-to-ceiling glass framed the skyline beyond, the city stretching endlessly beneath them, but no one at the table was looking outside.All attention rested on Jared.He stood at the head of the table, one hand resting lightly against the polished surface, the other holding a slim folder he had not opened in the last ten minutes. He didn’t need to. Every figure, every clause, every hidden leverage point had already been committed to memory.Across from him sat five investors, each representing firms that did not gather unless the stakes justified their presence. Their expressions were controlled, but there was tension beneath it—calculating, cautious.At the far end of the table sat Howard Diamond.He hadn’t spoken in a while.He didn’t need to.His presence alone
CHAPTER 229
Jared didn’t move immediately.For a moment, it looked like he hadn’t processed what she said at all. His expression stayed controlled, but there was a stillness in him that hadn’t been there before.Becky watched him carefully, arms now resting loosely by her sides.“You’re going to say something, or are you just going to stand there like that?” she asked softly, her tone lighter now, almost teasing.That finally broke the pause. Jared exhaled once, slow and controlled, as if grounding himself.“You said it like it was simple,” he said quietly.Becky tilted her head slightly. “It was simple.”That made him pause again. Then, unexpectedly, he stepped forward. Becky didn’t move back.Instead, she watched him close the remaining distance between them until he was just in front of her—close enough that the tension from earlier no longer felt like a barrier, but something fading.Before she could speak again, Jared pulled her into a hug. It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t hesitant either.Just
CHAPTER 228
“Jared.”He paused immediately, his hand still hovering near the doorframe as he turned slightly back toward her. Becky stood just inside the apartment, the door nearly closed between them, her silhouette framed by the soft interior light.For a moment, she didn’t speak again.Her expression was harder to read now—not angry, not calm either. Something in between, like she was still trying to decide whether calling his name had been a mistake.Jared didn’t push forward. He simply waited.Becky exhaled slowly, lowering her gaze for a second before looking back up at him.“You keep saying I don’t have to figure you out,” she said quietly, her voice no longer sharp, but uncertain. “But that’s the problem, Jared… I already did.”A brief silence followed.Jared’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes stayed on her.Becky continued, her grip loosening slightly on the door.“I just didn’t realize I was missing pieces of the picture,” she added, almost bitterly. “Now I don’t know which versio
CHAPTER 227
The car came to a smooth stop outside a quiet residential building on the edge of the city, far from the usual noise that followed Jared everywhere he went. For once, there were no executives waiting, no staff standing by, no phones vibrating with urgent demands. Only the distant hum of traffic and the stillness of a place that did not belong to his world.Jared stepped out first, his coat falling neatly around his shoulders as he looked up at the building. Becky’s name had been confirmed through a single message sent earlier that morning. No reply had followed after that. She had not said no. She had simply stopped responding.That silence told him enough.He moved toward the entrance and was let in without resistance. The guard recognized him immediately but said nothing, only lowering his gaze as Jared passed. Inside, the building was quieter than expected, carpeted hallways absorbing sound as if even footsteps were not welcome.He stopped in front of her door.For a brief moment,
CHAPTER 226
Jared stood still for a moment longer than usual, his gaze lowered to the phone in his hand.Becky’s last words repeated in his mind, not loudly, but with a steady weight that refused to fade. *So much for being friends.*It wasn’t anger that settled in him first. It was recognition.She had every right to be upset.He had never corrected her when she believed he was just another struggling student. He had allowed her to stand beside him without revealing the truth she deserved to know. And now, after everything she had done—standing between him and ridicule, defending him when it cost her nothing but also when it cost her everything socially—he had still let her find out like that.Jared exhaled slowly.Becky had never turned on him.Not once.Even when others laughed, even when she was dragged into the same circle of humiliation by association, she had stayed consistent. That kind of loyalty didn’t come often, especially not in environments like theirs.His grip tightened slightly o
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