2026-02-15 07:02:24
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
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
CHAPTER 225
The morning after the ballroom felt quieter than it should have.The entire Diamond Manor Hotel seemed to breathe differently now, as if the weight of what had happened the night before had settled into its walls. Outside, Los Angeles carried on in its usual noise, but inside Jared’s private floor, there was only controlled silence broken occasionally by distant footsteps from staff trying to act as if nothing monumental had just unfolded.Jared stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in a dark robe, his gaze fixed on the skyline. The city looked unchanged, indifferent to the collapse of fortunes that had taken place just hours earlier. On a nearby table, his phone lay face up, notifications still trickling in—messages from executives, board members, and people who had once pretended not to recognize his name.A knock came at the door.“Enter,” Jared said without turning.The door opened and Caroline stepped in carefully, her posture respectful but tense. “Sir,” she began softly, pausing
CHAPTER 224w
The command did not register immediately.For a moment, the room remained suspended in disbelief, as though Jared’s words had not fully settled into meaning. The same people who had been pleading just seconds ago now stood frozen again, their expressions caught between desperation and refusal.Then the movement began.Security stepped forward—not aggressively, not hurriedly, but with quiet certainty.And that was when the panic shifted.“Wait—no, you can’t do that,” a man said quickly, stepping forward with both hands raised, his voice trembling despite his effort to stay composed. “We’re not leaving like this. Not without resolving this.”“Yes, we need to talk about this,” another parent added urgently, glancing between Jared and the approaching guards. “This is a misunderstanding. It has to be.”“There’s no misunderstanding,” Jared replied calmly.The words hit harder than any raised voice could have.A woman shook her head rapidly, tears streaking her face. “No, please,” she said,
CHAPTER 223
The silence in the ballroom did not break immediately, and at the center of it all, Jared stood beside his father, his expression calm, unreadable, as his gaze moved slowly across the crowd.They were still processing him, the whole situation.Brad hadn’t picked his phone back up. It remained on the polished floor where it had fallen, his eyes fixed on Jared as if trying to reconcile two completely different realities into one.Sammy Jo’s lips parted slightly, his disbelief refusing to settle into acceptance. “This… this doesn’t make any sense,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head faintly. “He’s just…he’s—”“He’s exactly who we were warned about,” a parent whispered sharply, though whether it was directed at Sammy Jo or himself wasn’t clear.Shelly didn’t speak at all. Her gaze lingered on Jared, steady but unsettled, as though she were trying to piece together every moment she had dismissed, every warning she had ignored.And still… no one mentioned Jonah.Jared noticed it
CHAPTER 222
Chaos didn’t arrive all at once. It fractured the room into jagged pieces, like glass cracking under pressure. Voices overlapped, sharp and uneven, cutting through each other as accusations spiraled without direction. Parents demanded answers, students turned on one another, and the fragile confidence that had filled the ballroom just minutes ago crumbled under the weight of reality.I didn’t move. I stayed exactly where I had been from the beginning, observing it unfold with the same calm I had carried into the room. There was no panic in me, only a careful calculation of timing and presence.Brad was the first person I focused on. He hadn’t joined the shouting; he hadn’t even looked up. His eyes were glued to his phone, his fingers frozen mid-motion as if he had forgotten what he was trying to do. The color drained from his face, his jaw tightened, and his breathing was uneven in a way that told me the realization had already landed. Not doubt. Not confusion. Understanding. Slow.
You may also like
From Trash Bag to Cash Bag
Zuxian124.4K viewsInvincible Billionaire Heir
Chanhlee82.2K viewsSecretly Rich Son in Law
Banin SN197.3K viewsThe Miracle Doctor: Return Of The Convict
JOHNSON73.0K viewsThe Betrayed Heir's Vengeance
Lulu1.0K viewsFrom Ordinary to Unstoppable
Ivy's write250 viewsThey Regretted Betraying The Wrong Man
Precious 891 viewsToo late, ex wife. From Janitor to Tycoon
Aura Lyr135 views