Edward played chauffeur and dropped me off at the school gate. The shadow in his eyes was gone, replaced by a smile. “Tonight, I’m treating your ex to dinner.”
“What?” My mind went completely blank.
“I was planning to go ahead with it tonight, but now I feel like I should run it by you first,” he said.
“Why are you doing this?” I frowned.
“We’re all business people. It’s always worth talking business,” Edward said, a knowing look in his eyes. “Besides, he’ll find out about us sooner or later. There’s no way we can keep it from him.”
“Edward, why do you always act like you want the whole world to know about us?” I couldn’t help but sigh—seriously, you’re unbelievable.
But Edward just laughed. “When I love someone, I want everyone to know. No secrets.”
“So what about Ryan? How are you going to break it to him?” His words caught me off guard, but I had to admit—Edward’s kind of love was the kind that makes a woman’s heart skip a beat.
Edward furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment before saying, “I’ll just be upfront with him.”
“What if Ryan gets pissed?” I couldn’t help but laugh.
“He’s married now. What business does he have getting upset about this?” Edward replied coolly.
I had no idea what to say.
Edward looked at me and said, “Honestly, Ryan’s not blameless here. He knew he couldn’t avoid that whole arranged marriage thing, but he still chose to be with you for a while. If he ever tries to call you out, just remind him of that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So you’ve already set me up with a comeback for when I have to face him?”
Edward nodded. “Yeah, I just want you to have an easier time. I don’t want you getting all worked up over it.”
In that moment, I felt strangely at ease, like I had someone at my back, showing me how to take on the world.
“Alright, you go on ahead,” I said, turning and heading toward the school.
But on my way to class, all I could think about was what had just gone down in the car—not today’s lessons. I never in a million years thought it would go down like this…
At 4:30 in the afternoon, Jared called me. “Edward—Ryan’s uncle—just called, wants to have dinner with me. Do you want to join us?”
As soon as I heard that, I thought, ‘Wow, Edward really moves fast.’ I answered right away, “Yeah, let’s go together.”
Jared smirked, teasing, “I remember at that Hayes Corp event, the way he was looking at you was definitely something else. You sure you want to go with him?”
That just cracked me up. I laughed and said, “Yeah, I’m sure.”
Jared drove over with Yvonne to pick me up. Yvonne was resting her chin in her hand, gazing at my school. “Mom, I want to come study in the UK too when I grow up.”
I smiled and said, “You’ve got plenty of options, but you’ve got to work hard in school first.”
Yvonne looked out the window, her expression determined. “I will. I’m going to make you and Dad proud.”
Jared chuckled and reassured her, “It’s okay, sweetheart. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I just want you to be happy and healthy.”
But Yvonne frowned and said, “Dad, you’re the one who always says no pressure, no progress. Don’t you remember?”
Jared just gave up arguing, chuckling as he said, “Alright, give yourself a little pressure then.”
I watched this father-daughter duo, my thoughts drifting off again. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of scene we’d end up with tonight.
‘Surely Edward wouldn’t just spill to Jared about what went down between us today… right?’ I thought.
We pulled up to a fancy restaurant tucked away in a quiet corner of the city. Edward was standing at the entrance, like he’d been waiting just for us.
Jared spotted him from the car and narrowed his eyes. “Why’s Edward here to greet us in person? Am I really that important?”
I froze, suddenly feeling a wave of nerves.
Jared was sharp, and he turned to look at me, his gaze intense. “So, what’s going on between you two?”