After leaving the hotel, Luke received a call from Ivy Joyce.
"Luke, this is bad! I heard Vesper is looking for a buyer for her Zephyr shares."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Luke’s voice turned cold.
"It’s true. I’ve already told people that you and Vesper are just having a fight and that this business about selling shares is completely baseless... But if Vesper is dead set on selling, someone will definitely buy them."
The company had just gone public and was riding high in Ashmore, so many people had their eyes on Zephyr.
His face grim, Luke turned and stormed back to confront her.
"Vesper, what right do you have to sell the shares in Zephyr?"
"Come out! We need to talk!"
Vesper, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, heard the pounding on her door and the man’s furious yet suppressed questions from outside. Naturally, she wasn’t foolish enough to open the door and let him in.
The moment she found out he had cheated on her, betrayed her, and fed her nothing but lies, they were completely over.
There was nothing more for them to talk about.
She called the hotel front desk.
"Hello, please send someone up immediately to get rid of the man harassing me at my door. Otherwise, I’ll have to seriously question your hotel’s security."
Soon, she heard Luke arguing with someone before being forcibly escorted away.
Her phone rang. It was an unknown number.
The moment she answered, Luke’s cold, fury-laced voice came through.
"Vesper, no one will dare to buy Zephyr’s shares without my permission."
All these years of smooth sailing had made him arrogant and conceited.
Hearing his confident proclamation, Vesper let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Luke, I hope you can keep up that confidence!"
She couldn’t be bothered to waste her breath on any more words, so she hung up and blocked the number.
Vesper logged into her mobile banking app, changed the passwords for all her bank cards, and made a call.
"Contact Zenith directly. Tell them I’m willing to sell my shares in Zephyr for ten percent below market price."
With only two days left, she didn’t want to get tangled up with Luke for too long.
Quick and decisive—that was her style.
Meanwhile, Luke spent the night spreading a harsh warning throughout the business community—anyone who dared to accept Vesper’s shares in Zephyr would be making an enemy of him, and he would make sure they had no future in Ashmore.
No one was willing to offend this new rising star of the business world.
...
"President Hawthorne, someone just contacted me. They’re willing to sell fifty percent of Zephyr’s shares at ten percent below market price. What are your thoughts...?"
The head of Zenith asked cautiously.
Previously, President Hawthorne had ordered him to target Zephyr and create trouble for them for no apparent reason. Then, for some unknown reason, he had suddenly changed his mind.
Jared was slouched on the sofa, his fingertips casually unfastening the top button of his shirt. As his Adam’s apple bobbed, he brought the glass to his lips and took a sip. The cool liquor slid down his throat, causing even his brow to relax slightly.
"There’s no reason to turn away a prize that’s delivered right to our door. Buy it all at the discounted price."
"Yes, sir. I’ll get back to them right away."
After he hung up, there was a knock at the door.
Jared got up to open it.
Seeing the woman outside, he raised an eyebrow and his eyes narrowed. "Yes?"
She had changed into a cream-colored silk shirtdress. Delicate pearl buttons adorned the collar, and the hem draped with a gentle softness that seemed to bathe her features in a warm, gentle light.
"Thank you for helping me earlier. If you don’t mind, I’d like to treat you to a meal to show my gratitude."
She didn’t like being indebted to anyone.
Jared casually slipped one hand into his slacks pocket. He stood tall, the picture of nonchalance.
"Miss Grayson, are you always this forward with everyone?"
"Of course not. It depends on the person."
She wasn’t a forward person; she was simply expressing her gratitude.
Her words seemed to please him, and Jared accepted her invitation.
「In the hotel restaurant.」
Vesper handed him the menu and let him order.
"Ladies first."
’Quite the gentleman,’ she thought.
She ordered two light dishes, and Jared added a few of the house specialties.
Then, she belatedly recalled something and looked at him with suspicion.
"Mr. Hawthorne, do you know me?"
’How else would he know my last name is Grayson?’
’I don’t recall telling him my name.’
Jared deflected the question, a faint smile playing on his lips. "We know each other now, don’t we?"
She didn’t dwell on it. They were just strangers who had met by chance. Once she left Ashmore, they would never see each other again anyway.
"Thank you for today. I’ll have your coat cleaned tonight and return it to you tomorrow."
Jared just smiled faintly without a word.
In a car parked by the road, Luke hadn’t left.
After finishing his call, he looked up and saw a man and a woman inside the restaurant, near the floor-to-ceiling window. The man was the same one who had interfered earlier, and the woman was Vesper.
The light shone on them, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, chatting and laughing with an air of ineffable harmony.
Luke’s expression instantly turned cold. His dark eyes grew heavy as a fog, filled with a jealousy he himself didn’t even recognize.
’How on earth did Vesper get to know him?’
’Or had she been seeing this man behind my back all along?’
’Was staying at this hotel no accident, either?’
’Using my money to have dinner with some strange man.’
’Just great, Vesper!’
Jared keenly sensed that they were being watched. His long, sharp dark eyes swept over and met the furious, dark gaze of Luke in the driver’s seat.
He raised an eyebrow slightly before calmly retracting his gaze.
"Don’t move."
Vesper paused in the middle of her meal and looked up at him.
"What is it?"
Jared leaned over and reached out, the pad of his finger brushing the corner of her soft lips.
"You have a bit of sauce there."
With that, he took a napkin and elegantly wiped his fingertips.
Vesper froze for a second. When she came to her senses, she blushed and thanked him.
"Thank you."
’How embarrassing. This man has absolutely no sense of personal boundaries.’
’We’ve only just met for the first time. How could he just...’
’Or is he always like this with women? Is he some kind of experienced playboy?’
"I’m not usually this attentive with other women. If that made you uncomfortable, I apologize."
"..."
Vesper looked embarrassed. She shouldn’t have been so quick to judge someone who had helped her.
"Your ex-boyfriend is haunting you like a ghost. You should be careful for a while."
Jared gestured for her to look out the window.
Vesper glanced over and, seeing the figure standing by the car, frowned instinctively.
’He still hasn’t left.’
’But what does that have to do with me?’
"Pay him no mind."
’He’s just a self-righteous clown, that’s all.’
"Did you just break up?"
"Mhm."
She didn’t like discussing her personal life with others. After all, this was one of the few times she had been so utterly blind.
It was humiliating to even bring up.
"It seems his feelings for you run deep. He doesn’t look like he plans on giving up."
Vesper gave a self-deprecating smile.
’Deep, all right.’
So deep that he had cheated on her for two years without her knowledge. If Ivy Joyce hadn’t lost her patience and sent that message exposing their whereabouts, she might have remained in the dark to this day.
And she’d even thought she had found true love, becoming a complete and utter joke.
Of course, she didn’t believe for a second that Luke had stayed because he couldn’t bear to part with her and wanted her back. He was only there because he knew she was about to sell half her shares in Zephyr, threatening his core interests, and he wanted to stop her.
Luke never expected Vesper to ignore him and so brazenly continue her meal with another man. This feeling of losing control was incredibly grating.
Just as he was about to go over and confront her, his phone rang.
"Luke, I’m pregnant."