Chapter 168

Alicia found herself at a loss for words. She turned toward Jonathan with a pitiful expression and said, “Jon…”

Jonathan’s expression turned grim. Massaging his temples, he said, “Leave.”

Alicia opened her mouth, looking like she wanted to protest. But seeing that he had no intention of speaking up for her, she had no choice but to leave with Michael.

The office door closed.

I immediately reached for the door knob, but Jonathan beat me to it. He pressed his hand against the door and locked it behind him.

“What are you doing?”

I swerved around and slapped his shoulder.

Overwhelmed with rage, I screamed hysterically, “Jonathan, you’ve always been on his side all along! Ever since the beginning, you were planning to cover up for him. You don’t believe me, do you?”

I couldn’t even think straight.

Jonathan pulled me into his arms, tightening his grip around me. He sighed after a long while.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just…”

He paused.

Seeing I’d regained my composure, he said solemnly, “There really isn’t anything between Alicia and me.”

He seemed to be fed up with repeating the same thing over and over again, but he had no choice.

“Since the start, I have only seen her as a sister,” he said.

I took a deep breath, slowly regaining my composure. I found what he said laughable.

Noticing my silence, Jonathan cupped my face and looked into my eyes.

“You don’t have to target her all the time. She was never your rival.”

He’d never taken so much time to explain something to me before. Maybe his patience was what the 25-year-old me wanted–but he had never been willing to give it.

Now that I no longer needed it, he suddenly took on this pretentious stance. Why did he even bother? Actions always mattered more than words, after all.

I shoved his hand away. “I don’t care about your relationship with Alicia. But I won’t let Michael off!”

Jonathan’s gaze turned cold. “Elise, must you be so hard on Alicia?”

I clenched my fists. “You still think I’m that jealous, petty woman, don’t you? You still don’t believe Michael did those things!”

“Why wouldn’t I believe you?” He cut me off, sounding exasperated. “It’s just that someone like him isn’t even worth my attention.”

“Then, if you don’t know him, why do you keep defending him? Is it just because he’s Alicia’s friend?”

“I’m not defending him,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t you get it by now? You’re the only one I care about. It’s your feelings that matter to me.”

“Bullshit!” I screamed, unable to hold it in anymore.

My eyes stung as I continued yelling, “If you ever cared about me even a little, we wouldn’t have ended up like this!”

Jonathan fell silent. Then, he suddenly picked me up with a stoic expression.

As soon as my feet left the ground, I started struggling, slapping his shoulder continuously.

“Put me down!”

Lately, he’d been resorting to force more and more, and it sickened me.

But he ignored me completely. Carrying me straight into the lounge, he threw me onto the bed and said, “Calm down.”

With that, he shut the door and left.

I slammed my fists against the door, but he didn’t respond at all.

“Jonathan, open the door! Open up!”

I went from shouting curses to making threats, but it was completely silent outside. It wasn’t until the sun began to set that he finally opened the door.

By then, I had fully calmed down. I stared at him blankly.

“Have you calmed down?” he asked, his voice as cold and distant as ever.

I nodded. Standing up, I was just about to walk past him when he frowned and grabbed my arm.

“Answer me. Have you really calmed down?”