Chapter 381

I stared at him, my eyes wide with disbelief.

Jared sounded a little pissed. “Without real power, having a face as stunning as yours is just asking for trouble. I just wanted to protect you, to give you a peaceful home. Was that really so wrong?”

Yeah, right. Like that makes it okay.

I almost let out a string of curse words, but held back. The only reason Jared could say all this so righteously was because he hadn’t even had the chance to cheat on me in this life.

“Fine, I get it. The world isn’t just black and white, and there’s no absolute right or wrong. You have your reasons. But now, you don’t owe me anything anymore, not even legally. I want to be able to face risks on my own. Thanks for all the ‘protection’ these years,” I said, the last words coming out through gritted teeth.

Jared stared at me, looking completely thrown off. For a moment, I couldn’t tell if he was pissed or just weighed down by it all.

“Just go. I need to rest,” I said, feeling completely drained.

After a moment of silence, Jared turned and walked away.

I thought he’d head back to Hachester, but to my surprise, he got himself a room at this hotel too–right next door to mine.

I only found out because, while I was out on the balcony, I heard his voice through the wall as he talked on the phone next door. It sounded like he was coaxing his daughter.

I barely slept that night. My mind was a tangled mess, too much stuff swirling around inside.

I was up at the crack of dawn, grabbed my papers, and left the hotel. I swung by home for a quick shower and a change of clothes, then hurried off to the temp office.

I spent all through lunch in meetings, checking out the site, and discussing the next steps with both local and international designers.

Time flew by when I was wrapped up in work.

At lunchtime, my assistant came over and said, “Mr. Holcomb’s here. He’s treating the whole company to lunch today. Ms. Murphy, did he tell you about this?”

I shook my head. “No, he didn’t mention it.”

“Ms. Murphy, maybe you should check with Mr. Holcomb. Should we book the restaurant, or is someone on his side taking care of it?”

I nodded. “Got it, thanks.”

Business is business. Even though things got awkward yesterday, it wasn’t going to slow us down.

When I reached out to Jared, he said he’d already booked the restaurant and we could just have our team head over.

I had no idea what Jared was playing at. It felt like he just wanted to make his presence known around me.

Turned out, he knew exactly how to charm a woman, how to create opportunities, and how to be romantic.

But if he knew all that, where the hell was he during our marriage?

Did he use all his smooth moves on Tracy instead?

And now, he was trying those tricks on me all over again?

I let out a bitter laugh, more out of exasperation than amusement. I’d make sure he learned that not every tree is going to bloom just because he wants it to.

At lunch, Jared kept a straight face, all business at the table, and the conversation stayed strictly work–related.

I chimed in with some suggestions. Jared looked genuinely surprised by a few of my ideas, since they drew on things I’d seen and learned during my travels around the world in my previous life, offering a unique perspective.

When I went to the restroom, Jared was deliberately waiting for me in the hallway.

“Victoria, have you been studying up on something lately? Those design ideas you just mentioned–I’ve never heard of them before, but they sound solid. Especially your suggestion about improving service training. That’s actually pretty crucial,” Jared said in a low voice.

I replied coolly, “If the service is good, the customers are happy. It’s just like when you guys wine and dine clients.”

Jared’s expression froze for a moment.

I suddenly thought of something and grinned at him. “So, are you still singing duets with the lady execs at work?”

Jared just stared at me, lost for words.

“Oh, right, Tracy’s not your work wife anymore. So now it’s Amy’s turn to serenade you at the office?” I teased, grinning.

Jared gave me a helpless look. “Don’t get all jealous. Honestly, I’ve barely had time to go out–work’s been piling up like crazy.”

I froze for a second and snapped my mouth shut. ‘Wait, what am I even doing? Why do I sound like the jealous one here?’

After lunch, I got roped into a few drinks. Jared even ordered a couple bottles of fancy Bordeaux. The guys claimed it wouldn’t get you tipsy right away, so I gave it a shot.