bChapter /bb211 /b

    Le had been watching the door, and when she spotted Jordan, she sprang to her feet and waved him over. “Jordan, over here,

    Kevin and Ste both looked over at Jordan.

    Le nudged Ste. “Sorry, my boyfriend’s here. Would you mind swapping seats with him so he can sit next to me?”

    “Boyfriend?” Ste repeated, her voice full of surprise.

    “Quit talking and just switch seats,” Le said, not even bothering to look at Ste.

    Kevin’s face darkened with anger.

    Jordan walked over, and Le instantly wrapped her arm around his.

    “Jordan, I just knew you’d show up, so I had them bring me in, too. We’ve only been apart since yesterday, but I already miss you so much,” she said sweetly, clinging to him.

    Seeing them so close made Ste’s heart ache.

    Kevin didn’t hesitate. He shot to his feet, grabbed Jordan by the cor, and pulled him close.

    “Jordan, what the hell is going on?” Kevin demanded, his voice low and dangerous.

    Jordan nced at Ste, and seeing the pain in her eyes made his heart ache.

    Le hurriedly tried to pry Kevin’s hand off. “Kevin, what are you doing? Why are you treating Jordan like this? Let him go.”

    “Le, do you even know he-” Kevin snapped, but Jordan cut him off before he could finish.

    Jordan shot Le a look and said, “Quit making stuff up. I’m not your boyfriend.”

    Le just grinned. “Maybe not now, but who knows? That could change.”

    “It never will be,” Jordan said, his tone firm.

    Le looked embarrassed. “Jordan, don’t be so clueless. Any guy I set my sights on should count himself lucky.”

    “I’ve got a girlfriend,” Jordan replied.

    Le shrugged, totally unfazed. “So what? You two aren’t married, so you can dump her anytime and be with me. Even if you do get married,

    I’ll just wait for you to split up.”

    Jordan’s voice was firm. “I’m never leaving her.”

    Le just smirked, “Trying to make me back off? Not happening. Once I’ve got my eye on someone, I never give up.”

    Ste nced at Le, thinking, ‘Yeah, she’s a bit cocky, but honestly, she can afford to be. Her dad’s the mayor, she’s got confidence, and she’s full of life. But me? What do I even have going for me?‘

    She sat down quietly, lost in thought.

    Jordan kept watching Ste. He wanted to say something, but with the conference about to start, he had no choice but to take his bseat/bb. /bbEvery /bnow and then, he’d nce back at her.

    b10:54 /bbFri/bb, /bb15 /bbAug /b

    Le leaned in with a smug whisper, “He keeps saying he doesn’t like me, but look at him–always sneaking peeks my way. bI /bknew it bguys /bare all secretly into meb./bb” /b

    Ste nced over and met Jordan’s eyes. She shot a look at Le, thinking, ‘Is she really that convinced Jordan’s checking her bout /b

    But Ste felt ufortable and didn’t want to pay Jordan any attention, so she turned away.

    Her phone screen lit up with a message from Jordan. [Ste, don’t get the wrong idea.

    [That day, I was just meeting a client, and she happened to be there. I have no clue how she started clinging to me; it’s honestly a headache. I promise, there’s nothing going on between us.]

    Ste hesitated, unsure if she should trust him.

    There was smoke, there was fire. She hated doubting Jordan, but Le’s behavior suggested he’d given her some encouragement. If he hadn’t, Le wouldn’t have acted so boldly.

    Maybe noticing that Ste hadn’t replied, Jordan sent another message. [Le’s just really bold. I swear, I never gave her a chance. I’ll handle this, I promise. Ste, you’re the only one that matters to me.]

    Ste still didn’t respond.

    Jordan felt a pang of sadness.

    Le didn’t bother hiding it; she kept her eyes glued to Jordan, making it obvious to everyone in the room that she was totally into himb. /b

    Everyone couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Did Le even realize Jordan’s already married–and that the woman sitting right beside her is actually

    his wife?‘

    During the break, Le wasted no time and hurried over to Jordan.

    “Let’s have lunch together,” she said with a bright smile. “I heard there’s a new ce nearby that’s supposed to be amazing. My treat, not

    yours.”

    Jordan ignored her and walked straight up to Ste. “What do you want for lunch?”

    Kevin immediately pulled Ste over to his side, shooting Jordan a hard look. “Why don’t you go eat with your girlfriend? Ste’s with me.”

    Jordan pulled Ste close, wrapping his arm around her. “Let’s go over there.”

    Kevin started toe over, but Ste stopped him. “Kevin, this is between us. We’ll handle it ourselves.”

    Kevin stayed where he was.

    Le stared at the scene, looking puzzled. She nudged Kevin. “Wait? Don’t tell me that woman is Jordan’s girlfriend?”

    Kevin was about to say something, but Le wayed him off. “No way. They look more like brother and sister. Jordan would never go for ba /bgirl

    like her. She seems kind of weird, honestly. Totally not his taste.”

    Kevin wanted to argue, but someone called him away before he could say anything.

    Jordan led Ste to a secluded spot, away from prying eyes. The moment they were alone, he grabbed her and kissed her fiercely.

    Ste struggled at first, but soon her resistance faded and she went limp in his arms.

    After what felt like an eternity, Jordan finally let her go, his eyes full of love as he gazed at her. “Did you see that? You’re the only one I bcare /b

    b10:54 /bFrib, /bb15 /bbAug /b

    about.”

    Ste still wasn’t happy. “If you really never gave her a chance, then why is she telling everyone you’re her boyfriend?”

    Jordan let out a sigh. “Honestly, I feel kind of screwed here. Her dad’s the mayor, and if I’d just shut her down in front of him, it’d bbe /blike disrespecting the mayor right to his face.

    “But whenever he wasn’t around, I kept my distance. I never got close to her, not even once.”

    “I don’t believe you,” Ste said. But her voice had lost its edge, sounding much gentler now.

    Jordan tilted her chin up with his finger, locking eyes with her. “Ste, I’ve told you before. When you showed up, it was the darkest time of my life.

    “You pulled me out of that, and no one could ever take your ce. You know that, right?”

    Ste’s heart fluttered. “Men always have their ws. What if one day you think I’m not good ienough/i, not measuring up to others-

    Jordan cut her off with another kiss before she could finish. His kiss was so fierce, so desperate, like he wanted her to feel every bit of the burning love he had for heri. /i

    Whenever she hesitated to say she trusted him, he’d cut her off with another kiss.

    Finally, Stepletely surrendered. “Enough, stop kissing me already. Let’s hurry back. The teacher’s already goneb,” /bshe saidb, /bher voice soft.

    “No more overthinking, alright?” Jordan said, his tone both gentle and firm.

    AD