Chapter 319

As soon as Christian finished talking, Sherry smacked his arm hard. “What do you mean? You’re such an idiot! This has nothing to do with your business. Just stay out of it, okay?”

“But—”

Sherry cut him off. “No buts! What if Mr. Lynn finds out you’ve been hiding his son and puts a black mark on your resume? How are you supposed to get another job after that? Have you even thought about how I feel?”

“But—” Christian tried to say more, but Sherry dragged him away. She wouldn’t let him get another word in, keeping a tight grip on him before turning to Teresa. “Don’t mind him, Teresa. His mom’s really sick and needs urgent chemo. We have to go.”

“Of course,” Teresa replied. “Her health comes first. I hope your mom gets better soon, Christian.”

Right before leaving, Christian turned back to Teresa. “You really should tell Mr. Lynn about Michael. He still doesn’t know he has a son, and the more I think about it, the more—”

Before he could finish, Sherry was already pulling him toward the gate, twisting his arm and telling him to stop overthinking and just focus on his mom for now.

Teresa stood there, watching them leave. Sherry turned back and waved at her. Teresa nodded and went back for her afternoon classes. After class, she found a bright bouquet of roses on her desk. It reminded her of the day Jonathan gave her Diana roses.

“Don’t you know what that’s supposed to mean?” asked Jonathan.

“Come on, we’re exes. There’s really no need for that kind of thing between us.”

“You really are something else.”

Thinking back to their argument that day, Teresa couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile. That smile happened to be caught by Ryan, who was standing at the door. But as soon as she noticed him, Teresa’s face fell, her smile vanishing as she turned cold and distant.

Ryan walked over, fussing over her, but Teresa had already grabbed her jacket and was ready to leave. “Mr. Thompson, didn’t I already tell you I’m divorced? Please stop bothering me.”

“Hey, Ms. Johnston!” Ryan hurried after her, but Teresa had already taken the elevator down. By the time he caught the next one, she was already out of the school gate. He spotted her and started honking his horn nonstop. Teresa couldn’t take it anymore and pulled out her phone, ready to call the police.

Ryan quickly got out of the car and walked up to her. “Ms. Johnston, to be honest, I’ve gone on a bunch of blind dates, but I just can’t get you out of my head. I keep thinking about how beautiful you are.”

“I know, you’re just saying you’re divorced because you don’t want to date me. I get it,” he said knowingly.

Teresa was speechless. “I really am divorced,” she retorted.

Ryan nodded like he understood. “Yeah, yeah, get it. Girls these days just say they’re divorced with two kids to avoid trouble.”

Teresa paused for a few seconds. “Well, that’s actually true. Divorced, with two kids.”

Hearing that, Ryan was even more convinced she was lying. “What, you got two babies or something? You’re so young, so slim, with a great figure. No way you have two kids.”

“Think whatever you want,” Teresa said, unable to stand his creepy demeanor. She couldn’t be bothered to explain and turned to leave.

“Come on, Ms. Johnston, just give me a chance. I really like you. I swear I’ll treat you well. Look at you, working so hard all alone in Everport, riding your scooter every day.”

Those words made Teresa feel sick. It was just like what Lysander used to say. She turned and walked away. Ryan tried to catch up with her again, but Teresa shook him off, completely out of patience.

“I really don’t like you. Stop following me. You’re so annoying. And for the record, my ex-husband is taller, better-looking, and richer than you. I don’t need anything from you.”

Ryan felt humiliated. “Come on, Teresa, I don’t like what you’re saying. Richer than me?”

“My family owns several BMWs and a few storefronts. My sister’s a teacher, and I work at Apex Group. Honestly, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in Everport with better credentials than me. So, what’s your ex got?”

“He works at Horizonlead Group headquarters,” Teresa replied.

His face froze for a second, but he quickly put his cocky mask back on. “Oh, the headquarters, huh? What’s his position? Is it higher than mine?”

“Wait, actually, if he was so great, you wouldn’t have divorced him, right? You women only care about a guy’s status. If he’s broke, you kick him to the curb. So your ex must be a total loser.”

From just a few sentences, Teresa could feel how full of himself Ryan was. She couldn’t be bothered to argue, so she just snapped, “Get lost.” Ryan tried to grab her again.

A long, strong hand clamped down on his wrist. Someone stepped in front of Teresa to shield her. Ryan winced in pain, sucking in a sharp breath as he glared at the newcomer, only to see an impossibly handsome face.

Jonathan shot Teresa a glance, then flung Ryan’s hand away. “I’m her ex-husband.”

Ryan was stunned. He wasn’t as good-looking as Jonathan, and even in casual clothes, Jonathan was taller. Right now, Ryan felt completely humiliated. When he saw Teresa didn’t deny it, Ryan snapped back to his senses, his resentment boiling over. “So you’re Teresa’s ex, huh? Honestly, you look like you belong in a nightclub. She said you work at Horizonlead Group. What’s your position?”

“And what about you?” Jonathan shot back, his eyes narrowing, clearly annoyed.

Ryan smirked. “I work at Apex Group, a Horizonlead subsidiary. You at the main office? Must’ve gotten in with that pretty face of yours, huh? Pulled some strings?”

Teresa suddenly lowered her head and chuckled. Jonathan caught her smile, snorted, and asked Teresa, “Is this your taste now? Guys like him?”

Ryan bristled. “Teresa and I are a perfect match. I got her a BMW and a storefront. What about you? What can you give her?”

Jonathan’s lips curled into a smirk. He glanced at Teresa, then said to Ryan, “Well, I can’t give her anything. But—” he changed his tone — “I can afford to buy dinner. As her ex, I wish you two all the best. Dinner’s on me.”

Teresa could hear the sarcasm in his voice and said, “No need. We’re both busy, so we won’t trouble you.”

But Ryan insisted, “We’re not busy at all. Teresa and I have plenty of time. Are you driving, or should we take my car?”

“I didn’t drive today, so I’ll have to take your car,” Jonathan said, glancing twice at the Maybach parked down the street before looking away.