Giselle's brow furrowed at the mention of Jonathan. But her expression soon smoothed out as she said, "So what if he's here? Maybe we'll get to watch a drama unfold."The relationship between Jonathan and Charlotte was far from genuine. At least Charlotte still had other men on the side.Just the other day, Giselle, Chester, and Hector spotted Charlotte pinned against a restaurant wall and kissed by another man. The figure and hairstyle of that man were nothing like Jonathan's.Still, Charlotte wasn't exactly cheating. After all, she and Jonathan weren't dating and were still in the talking phase.She got to enjoy the benefits of being a couple without taking responsibility. Even if there were other men in her life, Jonathan could only endure it, no matter how much it angered him.Charlotte hadn't noticed Giselle was also in the restaurant. She had on heavy makeup, and her hair cascaded over her shoulders. She looked completely different from last week.The members of the Grant f
Charlotte immediately caught on. "Jonathan, Mr. Mandell is certainly trustworthy. Maybe we should give it more thought—"Before she could finish, Jonathan's cold gaze shifted to her. He narrowed his eyes as he asked, "Charlotte, are you familiar with Mr. Mandell?" …Cody returned to Maddie's side. With the promise of money from Charlotte, he generously ordered an extra dish. Maddie seemed distracted. Under the table, Cody nudged her, motioning for her to check her phone. He texted, "I ordered an extra dish for you because of your cousin. You know I don't like meat, so let's split the bill. You'll pay 70%, and I'll pay the remaining."Normally, Maddie would have agreed to such a deal. But ever since her bet with Giselle, a strange feeling stirred, leaving her restless and irritable. The meal felt tasteless. Giselle and Emma picked at their food, eating only a little. The rest was devoured by Cody.When he finally put down his spoon, he let out a loud burp."Is
"Being blinded by love is a terrifying thing." As they got into the car, Emma couldn't help but express her thoughts. She considered herself to have been love-struck in the past. But it wasn't to Maddie's extent.Giselle nodded in agreement. However, neither had the right to criticize Maddie, especially not Giselle.Giselle had done far more foolish things than Maddie ever did when she was dating Jonathan. Her love-struck mindset, combined with her pushover personality, had made her an utter fool.That said, Jonathan was different. His appearance and abilities were flawless. But Cody? He was just living off of others. Dating a 21-year-old at the age of 30? That meant he was rejected by his peers. Maddie was too innocent and easily deceived. Emma drove Giselle home. Throughout the ride, Giselle was focused on replying to messages. Emma had calmed down by then. While waiting at a red light, she teased, "Giselle, are you chatting with Chester?"It was a casual guess, but
The same could be said for all people in love.Giselle didn't respond.Emma continued, "Does your heart race when Chester touches you?"Giselle countered, "And what about when other men touch you? Does your heart race?""If it's someone I like, of course it races! But if you're talking about some random guy, they'd never even get the chance to make physical contact with me." Emma was adamant.She was the kind of person who knew exactly who she liked and who she didn't. It wouldn't bother her if she accidentally touched someone she didn't like. Instead, she would remain calm as if nothing happened.Giselle chose to stay silent. She couldn't possibly admit that she felt butterflies in her stomach whenever Chester touched her. It was too embarrassing, so she couldn't say that aloud.She decided it was best to keep it to herself.Giselle tried to change the topic, but Emma wasn't having any of it. The latter continued to dig into the matter.When the car stopped outside Giselle's
The steady sound of footsteps behind her drew closer, and a dark shadow loomed over her.The moment the sound stopped, Giselle spun around and threw the person over her shoulder.A muffled groan escaped the man's lips. The motion-sensor light flickered off, then back on. Giselle was shocked to see who was lying on the floor. "Mr. Fordham?"She had planned to call the police. But who would have guessed that the intruder she thought was a criminal… would be Chester? Chester hadn't expected to experience an over-the-shoulder throw. He had to admit Giselle had incredible strength. And judging by the speed and the force behind the throw, an average man wouldn't have had time to react. Giselle quickly helped him up and apologized. "Mr. Fordham, I didn't know it was you..." She wouldn't have acted this way if she had known it was Chester."No need to apologize. Being vigilant is a good thing. It's my fault for scaring you." Chester was calm as always. His eyes landed on Gisell
"I have some pain relief balm that could help with the pain, Mr. Fordham. Lie down. I'll help you apply it," Giselle offered.Chester wasn't surprised by the offer. He made a show of declining before finally agreeing reluctantly. Chester removed his jacket, leaving only a black shirt. His phone kept chiming with notifications, but he silenced it without a second thought. Whoever it was couldn't possibly be more important than this. He draped his jacket over the couch. Just as he sat down, Giselle returned with the pain relief balm that looked used."Mr. Fordham, this might be presumptuous, but you'll need to take your shirt off." Giselle tried her best to appear calm, convincing herself that it was her responsibility to apply the balm since she was the one who hurt him. Besides, they were both adults. With that thought in mind, Giselle calmed down."Alright." Chester nodded. He didn't hesitate and began unbuttoning his shirt right in front of Giselle. His fingers were lon
Outside the door, Emma was texting Giselle. Just as she hit send, the door opened. "Gigi—" She stopped when she saw Chester."Sorry, I got the wrong house," Emma blurted out. She stumbled back and looked up at the door number only to see she was at the right place.But… why was Chester the one opening the door?Emma held back a screech, then started yelling for Giselle at the top of her lungs. Chester frowned. "Stop shouting. She's in the bathroom." Emma stopped. Why was Giselle in the bathroom? A sudden sense of vigilance crept over her and she eyed Chester suspiciously. His clothes looked disheveled as if he had just thrown them on in a hurry. Besides, he mentioned Giselle was in the bathroom. Could it be what Emma was thinking? If so, then Giselle not replying to her messages made a lot of sense. "I just came to grab something from her..." Emma mumbled awkwardly. Chester had an intimidating presence, after all.Chester stepped aside. "Come in and wait for her."
"What do you mean? It's late at night. A man and a woman alone in a room… it would be a waste of an opportunity if nothing happened." Emma huffed. Giselle sighed. "Nothing happened. But if you're not convinced, I guess I did hit him. Does that count?" Giselle hit Chester? "Wait a second." Emma couldn't believe her ears. She looked at Giselle with a complicated expression. "Gigi, I didn't know you were into that kind of thing..." "I mean I physically hit him," Giselle clarified and recounted the incident. Emma clicked her tongue. "Gigi, you're good at resisting temptation! Chester made it so obvious, and you still managed to stay composed. Are you secretly a nun?" If it were Emma, she would have taken advantage of the situation. Giselle let out another sigh. "Is that the takeaway here?" Shouldn't the focus be on the fact that she hit Chester? Emma didn't argue further and changed the topic. "Gigi, can I ask you one last question? Please, I'm begging you to satisfy m
Meanwhile, Giselle had just found the first-aid kit and sat next to Chester.The light in the living room was a warm orange, softening the hardened knots between Chester's forehead. He removed his jacket, leaving only a thin shirt on. "This might hurt, so bear with me."Jonathan really did not hold back one bit. Chester's skin was already fair. The contrast only made the purplish bruise even more striking and distressing.Giselle and Chester were growing nearer to each other.They were in such close proximity that he could take in the fragrance of her shampoo.Her attention was on the corner of his lips. She had cotton dipped in iodine to clean the dried blood on the area of the wound.Chester's breathing suddenly came to a halt.His Adam's apple bobbed slightly. His breath was warm, and his gaze was deep.After a while, Giselle retreated to her original position. As she kept the first-aid kit away, she said, "It's done. When you get home, try not to let water come in con
In Giselle's cold eyes, there was nothing but indifference and annoyance."Gigi, I'm in pain…"Jonathan stared at her, the emotions in his eyes flickering back and forth. His weak and vulnerable tone was completely different from the violence he portrayed earlier.He was now trying to use pity to get Giselle to sympathize with him.Jonathan thought that if Giselle still loved him, then he would let everything go.Unfortunately, reality was more cruel than he imagined. Giselle's expression did not even waver.In an instant, the asphyxiating heartache turned into a wild beast, ruthlessly tearing him apart.Jonathan's arm fell to his side helplessly. Suddenly, he staggered backward as if his soul had left him, no longer behaving as arrogantly as he had before.He should be fuming. And Giselle should also be taught a lesson.But Jonathan could not do it.He loved Giselle so much, so why was she doing this to him?"Jon? Jon, what's wrong…"Vivian looked at Jonathan, who was obvi
Jonathan called Chester by his first name. He was not even willing to address him with due respect.Jim sensed the gravity of the situation and immediately had the other officers leave the room, giving the two some privacy.With the sound of the door locking, the atmosphere in the entire room fell below freezing temperature.With tensions running high, nobody dared to even breathe.Jonathan stood in their way, his tall stature overwhelmingly intimidating.As he stood face to face with Chester, their imposing presence seemed to match evenly.Jonathan looked like fireballs were about to shoot out of his eyes while the latter's eyes were as calm as a still, bottomless abyss, ready to erase his opponent's existence without leaving so much as a single trace.Vivian was so overwhelmed that her tears wouldn't come. She was really afraid that Jonathan would beat Chester up.The current situation was way more serious than her writing a love letter to her classmate."Why should I give y
Jim handled everything professionally."Jon…" Vivian reached out, tugging at Jonathan's sleeve. "Don't let mom know. She's going to be so mad."Vivian knew Jean's temper all too well. If she had not been afraid of Jean finding out about her love letter to Harry, Vivian would not have made Jonathan come pick her up from school.But if Jonathan had not come, the consequent chain of events would not have happened.Jonathan exuded an intimidating energy as he remained silent.Meanwhile, Giselle wasn't the least bit bothered.Harry was the same. After all, he had only done what he did to stand up for Giselle. Even if his family members were to come bail him out, none of them would be mad at him."Ms. Stone."Jim turned toward Giselle and said, "You may have Mr. Fordham come get you."Mr. Fordham. Chester Fordham.Jonathan couldn't bear hearing this name.As soon as he heard this name, he would immediately recall the words Giselle said. "Well, obviously I'm after his body."Absol
She was after his body. Giselle was going after Chester for his body.Jonathan completely lost all of his sanity when he heard those words, delivering another blow to the board.He could not be bothered about the excruciating pain coming from his knuckles. Through gritted teeth, he demanded answers from Giselle."You've slept with Chester?"Before Giselle could even respond, Harry, who had just returned from retrieving his phone, ran over at full speed.Without any explanation whatsoever, he punched Jonathan in the face."Now that I'm here, don't even think about hurting Giselle!"As someone young, tall, and one who worked out daily, Harry's one punch broke the skin on the corner of Jonathan's mouth.The piercing pain made Jonathan give up all his reasoning.Immediately, the two men broke into a fight.Vivian scrambled to get up from the floor, looking miserable. She wanted to pull them apart but was afraid she might get injured in the process.As such, she just glared at Gi
When they were at the hospital the other day, Chester made Vivian feel awfully stressed. This uncle of hers was way too overprotective of Giselle.If Jonathan were to lay a finger on Giselle, Chester would definitely hunt him down. And when that time came, the fact that she twisted the truth would be revealed.Vivian gritted her teeth. The fear she felt outweighed her reasoning. Without a second thought, she rushed over."Jon, stop!"Vivian held onto Jonathan's arm. The blood vessels in his knuckles popped as he squeezed every word out with restraint. "Let go."This was the first time that Vivian had ever seen Jonathan like this. She clenched down on her molars and cried out, "No!"The siblings' double act was absolutely comedic in Giselle's eyes. She rubbed her wrist which had turned red from Jonathan's grip. Then, she turned on her heels, wanting to leave.Jonathan jerked free from Vivian's grasp, stretching out his hands as he tried to grab onto Giselle once again.However,
"Giselle, I need to ask you something."The two looked at each other. One had an indifferent expression while the other looked like they could barely tolerate this request.Giselle tried to free herself but her wrist remained firmly locked in his grip. The heat between them instinctively triggered a visceral sense of disgust in her.Her stomach churned violently, and her expression went dark. "Let go."Jonathan kept his stare on her with eyes that were deep and enigmatic. "If I don't—" Before he could even finish his sentence, he suddenly gasped in pain.Giselle did not care if she hurt him. She had swiftly raised her knee and went for his groin. Even though Jonathan reacted in time, she was too fast for him to avoid the blow entirely.The anger in his eyes surged. He gritted his teeth and exclaimed, "Giselle Stone!"This "new" Giselle felt extremely foreign to Jonathan.The Giselle he remembered was someone gentle and caring. There was never a time she would be this violent.
The moment Giselle heard Jonathan call out her name in full, a look of surprise flashed across her eyes. Had he recovered his memories?Giselle scoffed. "Am I wrong? Mr. Kendrick is asking Harry to pretend that he has feelings for Vivian and to wait until the exams are over to talk about it. Isn't he asking the kid to lie?"Harry has made it crystal clear that he has no feelings for Vivian. A clear rejection is the best solution. You're afraid that Vivian's state of mind might be affected, but what about Harry's?"Every word was carefully chosen.Even though Greg did not explicitly say it, Giselle understood his underlying intention without misconstruing anything.Harry clapped his hands as sparkles danced around his eyes. "You got it! I don't like Vivian. I don't like her now and I certainly won't like her in the future!"Vivan was not his type to begin with. What's more, after learning about the things she had done to Giselle, the chances of him liking Vivian were even slimmer
Jonathan's towering figure emerged in the doorway.Instead of his usual formal suit, he was dressed in a hoodie and cropped pants.To put it simply, he looked like a mannequin. His handsome face was as cold as ice, making him look unapproachable. As his eyes swept across the room, he suddenly paused when his gaze fell upon Giselle.The hand by his side instinctively clenched. It seemed like he did not expect to find Giselle here.He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was reminded of the ignored text and what Vivian had told him.He pursed his lips for a moment, forcing the words back down. "Now that we have everyone's guardians here, let's talk about what happened earlier today."Greg Kendrick, the homeroom teacher, pushed his glasses up and cleared his throat before continuing, "I understand how kids your age are going through a phase where you yearn for the opposite gender, but this is the time to be focusing on your studies. "The college entrance examinations