"I also thought that maybe it would be fine to remain indifferent, but I just couldn’t let go. That time I saw Charlie calling you and remembered he liked you, I got so angry that I impulsively kissed you. Later, I realized my true feelings. After that, when you started dating Michael, I completely understood that I liked you and couldn't stand seeing you with another man."Jane had never heard Zachary say so much.He wasn't a talkative person, he only spoke at critical moments.After they added each other on WhatsApp, during the time she flirted with him, his replies were sparse.Other than “okay” or refusals, when he saw her being stubborn, he simply chose not to reply and just ignored her.In the WhatsApp window, only messages from her could be seen.Even after she began to distance herself, when he forcefully kissed her, she still thought maybe he liked her a little.But before she could figure it out, his true love returned.The atmosphere between them also seemed ambiguou
On a quiet night, even the ocean breeze gently embraced the rocks on the shore and came to a stop.However, in a room on the top floor of a hotel, the passion continued unabated.It wasn't until early morning that things finally calmed down.Outside the door, footsteps seemed to come and go.Under the crack of the door, faint white smoke drifted in.Jane had already fallen asleep, while Zachary caught a hint of sweet fragrance but didn't pay attention. He held Jane tightly as she slept peacefully.Beep—It was hard to tell how long had passed when the door to the room was opened.The light from the corridor stretched the shadows of two figures, one tall and one short.The shorter one's skirt swayed slightly as they moved.Jane had slept soundly.She usually struggled with insomnia, likely because she hadn't exhausted her energy."Ouch…"When she turned to check the time on her phone, the pain in her waist made her gasp.It also reminded her of the wild night they had.Sh
"I’ll go get you something to eat."After saying that, Michael left the room.At that moment, Jane couldn't focus on what was happening.She first rummaged through the small box on the bedside table, which was open.Then she looked at the trash can, which had been used.But she wasn’t completely certain.She hurriedly got up, took a shower, put on some clothes, and rushed out with her phone.She remembered that when she went out yesterday, she passed a pharmacy.But when she opened the door, the door to the room diagonally across the corridor also opened."Zachary, don't worry. I won't tell anyone..."Facing her was Nina, with red eyes and only a bathrobe on, along with a disheveled Zachary, who had a serious expression.A few minutes earlier.Zachary woke up, still with his eyes closed, holding the person in his arms, wanting to kiss her.But he sensed something was off.The scent of jasmine—Jane would never use such a faint fragrance.She always smelled of intense rose
Jane said, "You go have her take the medication first, I'll ask the front desk."Zachary reached out and pulled Jane back. "Let’s go together."Jane shook her head. "We should split up. I'm afraid someone might destroy evidence."In this matter, Zachary's first suspicion was Michael.He wasn’t as innocent as he seemed."You won't get much from asking now," he said.Jane's expression turned somewhat grim.Hours had passed since they fell asleep at dawn. If the other party had planned this, they indeed wouldn't let them find anything.She followed Zachary back to the top floor of the hotel.Watching him knock on Nina's door, she saw it open shortly after from the inside.Nina peeked out, nervously looking at Zachary. "Zachary..."A flicker of emotion crossed Zachary's dark eyes, but his face remained expressionless.He handed her the medication.Nina saw the words on the box, lowered her eyes, suppressing the coldness in them.With a pitiful tone, she asked, "Zachary, what
Michael wasn't angry, but his dog-like eyes were filled with sadness. "Whoever my sister chooses, I will wish her all the best, as long as she's happy. I'm willing to do anything. But, Mr. Collins, your childhood sweetheart just came out of your room, shouldn't you take some responsibility for her? Isn't it inappropriate for you to assert your claim over me now?"Zachary couldn't stand Michael's pitiful act of pretending to be kind-hearted.He didn't need a kid who only knew how to talk pretty but had no real ability to interject in his affairs.Before he could speak, Michael continued, "Well, with Mr. Collins's background, if he wants it all, no one would dare to say anything. Those with money and power, all have more than one woman, right?"Even though they were in an elevator, it felt like they had stepped into a refrigerator.Jane had to speak up. "Enough! My ears are ringing and I want some quiet."Zachary hadn't even opened his mouth, and Michael obediently fell silent.Ju
"I can handle it."Jane turned to reassure Yasmin. "It's really nothing. Please don't tell Charlotte, I'm begging you, Ms. Jackson.""Alright." Since Jane didn't want any interference, Yasmin decided not to press further. "You go ahead and take care of things."Jane returned to Zachary's side, just as the floor manager said, "Mr. Collins, my superior will take a little longer to arrive. I'll take you to the lounge upstairs for some tea and snacks while we wait."Zachary waved his hand dismissively. "Tell him to hurry up."The floor manager didn't dare to provoke him and made another call in front of Zachary.Jane quietly asked Zachary, "Shouldn't we check the surveillance footage first?"Zachary replied, "Only the owner of the hotel have authorization to some things."Jane understood.Footage accessible to everyone likely wouldn't reveal much.They needed to look at backups stored in the cloud or hidden permissions.Michael watched them from behind, puzzled about how these t
This was too coincidental.Jane and Zachary exchanged glances. Zachary asked, "If there’s a skilled hacker, can they recover it?"The staff in the surveillance room didn't know Zachary's identity. They just saw their boss being so servile and guessed he was probably a more powerful figure.They didn't dare to offend him, so they replied honestly, "Even the person who designed the surveillance program can't recover it. This isn't just a simple file deletion that a skilled programmer or hacker could fix. It's a self-rescue program, or rather, a self-destruction program. Once the data is erased, it can't be recovered."After hearing this, a cold light flashed in Zachary's eyes.He asked, "Where's the hard drive?"The staff handed Zachary the hard drive they had fished out of the water.Zachary took it and looked at the hotel owner. "I need your computer, along with your cloud account and everything else. I just happen to have a friend who’s in the surveillance industry, I'll get yo
"What the hell is she up to this time?"At that moment, a relaxed, deep male voice had sounded."Was this a grand performance prepared because we returned?"Jane was surprised to see Charlotte."How come you’re back?"Charlotte poked her forehead. "You thought you could hide such a big thing from me."Jane believed Yasmin was not someone who lacked integrity. "How did you know?"Charlotte pointed to Frank.They came to a tacit understanding.Jane grasped Charlotte's hand. "We aren't children. Zachary and I can handle this, you can do what you have to."Charlotte replied, "We’re in no rush.""Zachary!"Just as Jane wanted to say more, she heard a hoarse cry.Turning around, she saw Nina had thrown herself into Zachary's arms.At that moment, she had stood frozen in place.Her intuition told her that someone like Nina wouldn't hurt herself willingly.Moreover, it wasn't just her, Frank had noticed the moment he appeared.But Zachary couldn't just watch, he still reached
Jane rolled her eyes at him.Zachary, however, let out a deep smile from his eyes."Have fun here. I have some things to take care of. We'll go to the banquet together tonight."Jane couldn't care less about him, waving her hand.Zachary patted her head before leaving.A young girl, smiling, teased, "You and your boyfriend have such a good relationship."Jane wanted to explain, but she didn't think it was necessary. Maybe she wouldn’t come to this place again. Even if she did, she could explain it next time.She smiled. "Could you teach me how to make the embroideries?"The girl happily agreed.Embroidery was indeed very time-consuming and mentally draining. Jane spent the whole day sitting there, embroidering, only getting up to eat or use the restroom.She learned a stitching technique and completed a small piece.When she stood up to stretch her stiff back and neck, she saw Zachary walking toward her."Did you have fun?"Jane tossed the piece of embroidery at him dismis
It was as if he could hear her thoughts. “I only said it to you.”Jane pushed him. "Go sit across from me.""Isn't it better for me to sit next to you? If I sit opposite from you, you’ll lose your appetite."Sitting next to him would only lead to more physical contact, making her even less able to eat."Just sit across from me."Zachary obeyed, standing up and moving to the opposite side. He then filled her cup with some more tea."Be careful with the tea. It’s hot. Don’t burn yourself."The breakfast they had was satisfying.Jane didn’t want to spend more time with Zachary, so she planned to talk to Dominic about intangible cultural heritage and the national trend.But Zachary directly shoved her into the car.She couldn’t escape, so she turned her back to him, ignoring him.Zachary didn’t provoke her either. He sat beside her, focused on his tablet, looking at recent work arrangements.In the front seats, Raymond and Ross exchanged glances.Ross didn’t slow down while ta
He didn’t even furrow his brows."If hitting me will make you feel better, go ahead and hit me. Just make sure I’m still alive after you’re done. That way, I’ll still be able to make arrangements for you if someone bullies you."Jane snorted coldly. "You’re the one who’s bullying me.""Well, I admit that." His gaze burned with intensity as he looked at her. "I can’t live without you."Jane sneered. "Oh, so because you can’t live without me, you bully me?""How can having sex be seen as bullying you?"‘He’s so annoying.’Jane didn’t want to talk about these ambiguous topics with him."Let go, I need to wash up."Zachary released her, but Jane, still irritated, kicked him.Zachary, however, seemed to be in a great mood.Once she finished her makeup and changed clothes, they went out to eat together.As Zachary introduced Nelana to her, Jane became more and more upset."You know so much about Nelana, you must have already arranged everything in advance. So, last night, you we
The phone was still turned off.But even though she was angry, Jane knew that Zachary wasn’t crazy enough to take someone’s life just because he was upset.She figured he just didn’t want her to contact Dominic tonight.She would call him tomorrow instead.However, when she woke up, she didn’t expect Dominic to be the one calling her first."Are you okay?"They both spoke at the same time.After saying that, both of them laughed.Dominic was still a little dazed. "Do you know what happened to me?""After I paid the bill yesterday, two tall and burly men in black suits dragged me into a car, and I passed out right away. I woke up this morning, having slept on the floor all night. My neck was sore from sleeping on the ground, and I think I might be catching a cold. Achoo—"Jane cursed Zachary inwardly.How petty! What was wrong with putting Dominic on his bed?"One of my friends is a weirdo, sorry for the trouble."Dominic sniffed. "It wasn’t too bad. By the way, is he your
Knock knock—There was a knock at the door.Zachary stood up to open it.Raymond handed him a chicken pizza.He sensed that the atmosphere wasn’t quite right and, gathering some courage, she asked, "Sir, you didn’t have anything for dinner. Should I have the hotel bring something over?"Zachary nodded and mentioned a few dishes.Raymond agreed and went to instruct the hotel.He happened to run into Ross on his way back and they chatted."I have no idea what Miss Greenwood might want. Mr. Collins doesn’t even know what he likes to eat himself, but he remembers what she likes."Ross, eating a sandwich, said, "Doesn’t Mr. Collins like roast chicken?"He remembered that when Miss Greenwood brought food to the Mr. Collins’s house last time, she had mentioned it.Raymond shot him a look. "You’re a blockhead. That’s what Miss Greenwood likes. Now, the things that Mr. Collins like are because they’re what Miss Greenwood likes."Ross blinked. "Oh."Raymond was rendered speechless.
Jane said, "This is not something you should be doing.""I caused the injury, so I should be the one to handle it.""I'll do it myself!"Zachary held her hands, "You can't see the injury, you have long nails as well. What if you hurt yourself again? I think I should apply the medicine."Jane felt helpless."Zachary, I’ll just ask you one thing, can you understand what I’m saying?""I’ve already ordered pizza. It’ll be delivered soon."‘As expected, he doesn’t understand what I said,’ thought Jane.Jane was no match for Zachary in terms of strength or words, so she ended up crying.Zachary stopped.Jane immediately broke free from his hands and sat on the other side of the bed."Do you only feel happy when you see me in pain?"Zachary pursed his lips. "No.""Then why do you insist on forcing me to do things I don't want to do? I’m a person, not some item that you can do whatever you want to.""Is that how you see me?" Zachary looked at her, his eyes darkened slightly. "I l
"I was just handling some matters, but I can't tell you. Please understand."Jane seemed to believe him and nodded. "I see."Raymond also nodded. "That's right."Jane smiled. "You were handling matters, but what about the others?""They also have their own matters to deal with.""So..." Jane’s gaze suddenly became sharp. "You all went off to work, but there's no one guarding the hotel entrance? Aren’t you worried that while he’s in bed with me, his enemies might come and kill him? After all, the bed is when a man is most vulnerable. You’re a man, so you should understand that, right?"For a moment, Raymond seemed distracted, as if he had seen his Mr. Collins casually asking him what mistake he had made.Then, with a cold tone, he would be sent off to Afrealia, just like Roy.The more you say, the more mistakes you make. He stopped explaining and simply said."Miss Greenwood, it’s not safe outside. You should stay in the hotel and wait for Mr. Collins."Jane didn’t believe the
He placed the pillow behind her waist and asked gently, "What do you want to eat? I’ll have someone prepare it."Jane glared at him and said, "Get out!"Zachary took her hand and said, "There’s a banquet tomorrow. Come with me."Jane pulled her hand back and replied coldly, "You’re really sick.""Yes, and you’re the reason I”m sick."Jane raised her hand, intending to hit him. "Get out!"Zachary grabbed her wrist and smiled.Jane felt that he was seriously ill and decided it was better to just leave.But as soon as she lifted the blanket, a cold wind blew, and she quickly pulled it back up."Turn around!"Her teeth were clenched in anger, wishing she could bite him.Zachary's gaze slid over her body. "What are you hiding?""I..."Jane covered his mouth. "Don’t be such a pervert."Zachary held her hand. "The banquet tomorrow has to do with the purpose of your trip. Are you really not going?""How do you know what I came here for?"Zachary didn’t answer, just looked at he
Annie saw the red marks on his neck as he moved.There was also a bite mark on his Adam's apple.Both marks told her of the wildness he had shared with Jane just moments ago.The thing she feared most had happened."And not even a day apart," Zachary said again, his voice was cold enough to send shivers down one’s spine.Annie met his sharp gaze, instinctively taking a step back.But then she felt it was wrong and moved forward to stand in front of him."What are you saying? I don’t understand," she said, reaching out to grab his arm.Zachary turned sideways to avoid her, and Ross immediately restrained Annie, kicking her in the knee and forcing her to kneel on the ground."Zachary!"Annie had never been so humiliated before.Since childhood, everyone had always revolved around her.She was given everything she wanted.Without speaking, people would rush to her, handing her things that were close to her heart.Zachary was no different, he had been delivered to her by her