Chapter 637:

“Enough! Just stop,” Cody snapped, returning to the present. He strode toward Fiona, who had been manipulating everyone with her incessant chatter. The moment Fiona saw him, she fell silent, unable to speak another word.

“Come with me. We need to talk,” Cody said, his voice icy. Turning to the others, he added, “I won’t be joining dinner tonight. Go ahead without me. I’ll make it up to you later.”

With a pointed look at Fiona, Cody escorted her from the room.

Gavin lingered by the door, hesitant to follow. Morgan approached, pulling Gavin aside. “Come with me,” she said. Gavin wanted to refuse, but seeing Elyse and Jayden, he nodded and followed.

Tobin had already left.

Only Elyse and Jayden remained. Jayden raised an eyebrow at Elyse’s unwavering gaze. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Elyse didn’t answer immediately. She entered the office and closed the door. Jayden asked tentatively, “Do you think I did a good job and want to reward me?”

Elyse pressed on, “Fiona has been pestering you. When did she start seeking you out?”

Jayden raised an eyebrow, his expression unchanged. “It doesn’t matter. I told her to leave me alone every time she approached. My heart belongs to you.”

Elyse continued, “Then why does she keep saying meeting you was fate? When did you two meet, and what happened?”

Jayden crossed his arms, his demeanor unchanged. “That’s irrelevant. I didn’t do anything. She’s fantasizing.”

Elyse took a deep breath. “If we hadn’t encountered you and Fiona today, would you have ever told me about this?”

Jayden shrugged. “It wasn’t worth mentioning. It would have only worried you unnecessarily.”

Elyse laughed—a humorless laugh. She wasn’t sure if she was overreacting or if she was dealing with deception.

“Jayden,” Elyse said, her strained smile betraying her disappointment, “I remember you promised to share everything with me, no secrets. That promise seems meaningless.”

Jayden frowned. “A promise? Is it really necessary to mention every little thing?”

Elyse, feeling drained, replied, “Then what is important? You didn’t tell me about your conversation with Brook, did you?”

Utterly bewildered, Jayden pleaded, “Haven’t I done enough? I’m loyal and devoted to you, and I keep women at arm’s length. Isn’t that enough?”

Feeling helpless, Elyse replied, “Jayden, my concerns aren’t about loyalty. I trust you didn’t do anything with Fiona. I know you’re faithful, but what about the issues between us?”

Jayden furrowed his brow. “Aren’t our issues resolved? What’s left to discuss?”

Elyse was speechless, her mouth agape. After a long pause, she looked at him with a heavy heart.

“You’ve built an impenetrable fortress around your heart, and I can’t get in. You never share your past, your pain, your sorrows, or your uncertainties. You present yourself as the perfect husband, always wearing a mask. But I know that’s not the real you. You never let anyone see the true you,” she said, her eyes welling up and her voice trembling.

Jayden opened his mouth to respond, but he was speechless. He had never allowed anyone to breach his inner world.

Years had passed, and Jayden had always maintained his carefully crafted personas—the relentless CEO of the Owen Group and Elyse’s devoted husband. Elyse, however, saw through the facade. But who was the real Jayden? Even he wasn’t sure.

He admired Elyse for seeing through his carefully constructed image. She was at the gates of his heart, ready to enter.

Yet, Jayden wouldn’t admit to being anything other than what he presented. To do so would unravel years of carefully constructed roles.

Frustrated, Jayden retorted, “You think I’m just acting? Do you consider my sincerity worthless, something to be discarded like trash?” . . .