Chapter 501

This news totally threw me off.

If Edward really helped my brother out at work, then I’d be owing him another favor without even realizing it. If he doesn’t mention it, should I just play dumb and act like nothing happened?

My brother has always been the type to lose interest quickly—he’d get fired up about something, then drop it just as fast. Growing up, our family sheltered him so much that he stayed innocent and way too trusting of others. All these years, Jared had been secretly supporting him financially, which only made things worse—he never learned the value of money before he even set foot in the real world.

Finance is all about handling tens of thousands of dollars every day. Can my brother really be up to the task?

It’s not a good idea to keep discussing this with my brother over the phone. He’s impulsive and way too sure of himself—I don’t want to crush his confidence. Should I talk to Edward and ask him to withdraw the job?

No, if my brother found out I was meddling behind his back, my image as his sister would be totally ruined, and we’d probably end up at odds. The only thing I could do now was plead with Edward to find a position that actually suits my brother.

I picked noon the next day to text Edward. I told him everything, holding nothing back. About ten minutes later, he replied, “I don’t know anything about your brother.”

Staring at his message, my mind buzzed. ‘Did I just make a fool of myself?’

A few minutes later, Edward texted again: “Your brother’s background is a great match for this job. He’s got what it takes.”

I replied, “Mr. Jennings, just be straight with me—did you have anything to do with this or not?”

He took his time before finally replying: “Yeah.”

That single word from him left me completely at a loss. Just as I was about to text him again, he beat me to it: “In a meeting!”

I didn’t dare disturb him anymore, but deep down, worry still gnawed at me. I called my parents to talk about it. They were absolutely thrilled that my brother scored a job in Braylin. They were already imagining buying him a place there, hoping he could put down roots, get married, and really make something of himself. I knew just how much they were pinning their hopes on him, so I didn’t have the heart to say anything more—I couldn’t bring myself to shatter their dreams.

Work was pretty light that morning—I just had a meeting, then headed home.

Out on the balcony, I snapped a sunny photo and sent it to Ryan. He replied with a happy emoji, then asked if I missed him. I sent back a simple “I do.” Ryan, never one to let things go, pushed further: “How much?” I answered with just two words: “A lot.”

“What do you miss about me?” he asked again.

“Just you,” I replied, laughing at his persistence.

Ryan seemed a bit pouty, sending over a few whiny stickers.

“You go do your thing, I’m heading out for lunch,” I told him.

He replied with a simple “Okay,” then sent me a video of him petting a fluffy dog. Sometimes, Ryan could be so childish, but it was that precious innocence that made him truly special.

I was suddenly added to a group chat on WeChat. I opened it and saw there were only three people—me, Nathan, and Jared.

Nathan set up the group and sent a message right away: “Victoria, Mr. Holcomb, from now on, I’ll update you both about work matters here.”

Right after that, I got pulled into another big group chat with all the execs and shareholders—they were sharing updates about work.

Jared dropped a smiley in our little group chat. Nathan, not bothering with formalities, asked me, genuinely concerned, “Victoria, how have you been lately? Is work keeping you busy?”

After thinking it over, I replied, “Thanks for your concern. I’m doing fine.”

Jared, refusing to be ignored, jumped in right away: “She’s heading to Braylin on November 20th.”

Nathan sent a string of question marks and a shocked emoji: “Business trip?”

Jared shot back, “Nope, she’s off to start her next romance.”