CHAPTER 171: CHAPTER 171: HAVE WE REALLY ONLY KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR SIX MONTHS?

The door hadn’t fully closed when a sudden force pulled the panel from behind, and then a warm hand grasped her wrist.

Jean Ellison’s body stiffened, and she jerked her head around.

Justin Holden stood outside the door, one hand propping it open, the other hand gripping her wrist tightly.

His face looked shadowy in the dim hallway light, his eyes sharp as he stared at her.

"Who exactly are you?"

He asked, his voice lowered to almost a whisper.

Jean tried to break free from his grip, but he was strong and unyielding.

"Justin Holden, let go of me."

"What did that young guy mean when he said those things earlier?"

Justin ignored her struggle, stepped closer, almost pressing against the doorway, his breath brushing against her forehead.

"He said I wasted several years of your youth?"

He scrutinized her eyes, not missing even a slight change in her expression.

"We’ve only known each other for six months, why would he say that? Who did he mistake me for?"

Jean’s heart skipped a beat, almost pounding out of her chest.

She forced herself to calm down, meeting his scrutiny with as steady a tone as she could muster.

"He mistook you for someone else. Ronan Sutton can be a bit reckless sometimes. He confused you with someone I used to know and said those strange things, even got physical with you. I apologize on his behalf."

"Mistook me for someone else?" Justin repeated, a cold curve forming at the corner of his mouth, clearly not believing it, "He called me Justin Holden. He knows who I am."

Jean was at a loss, unable to find the right words to cover it up.

Justin didn’t give her the time to think, continuing his questioning as his gaze swept past her into the dim light of the house behind.

"Ronan Sutton, the idle second son of the Sutton Group, how did you get involved with him? And calling each other so intimately brother and sister?"

His words were openly sardonic.

Jean took a deep breath, realizing some surface information couldn’t be hidden, she could only half-truthfully say, "You heard it too, he calls me ’sister’, we’re like siblings, with different fathers and mothers."

"Siblings with different fathers and mothers?" Justin scoffed softly, "Jean, do you think I’m blind or stupid? The way he looks at you isn’t how a brother looks at his sister, he likes you, can’t you see that?"

He paused, his voice lowered.

"Don’t you have a husband, Diana Sawyer? Isn’t he jealous, oh, that’s right," he seemed to remember suddenly, "He’s out of town on business these days, right?"

"Justin Holden."

Jean raised her voice sharply, her face flushing with anger and embarrassment.

"Stop spouting nonsense, Ronan and I are innocent. He’s just a family friend’s younger brother visiting. If there were really something untoward, why would I bring him home?"

She shook her wrist vigorously, this time Justin let go.

But he showed no intention of leaving.

"I see." Justin looked at her, his gaze unfathomable, "Since he’s visiting..."

He suddenly turned to the side, and before Jean could react, he pushed open the slightly closed door with his arm and stepped inside.

"Then I’ll come in and sit for a while too."

"Justin Holden!"

Jean couldn’t stop him in time, watching helplessly as he entered.

In the living room, Ronan was standing by the dining table, holding a spoon and scooping wontons from a large bowl into a smaller one.

Hearing the commotion, he looked up, his face darkening instantly seeing Justin’s return.

"What are you doing here?"

Ronan put down the spoon, his tone aggressive.

Justin seemed unfazed by the hostility on Ronan’s face, walking straight to the table, his gaze passing over the steaming wontons, his tone flat.

"No need to trouble yourself, I came directly to eat."

He pulled out a chair and sat down with great composure, directly opposite Ronan.

Ronan clenched his fists in anger, on the verge of losing his temper once more.

Jean hurriedly closed the door and walked in, seeing the tense standoff, her head ached with frustration.

She couldn’t let Ronan say anything he shouldn’t.

"Ronan," she began, trying to ease the tension, signaling subtly to Ronan, "Can you go to the kitchen and check on the soup for me..."

She wanted to get Ronan out of the room to speak with Justin alone, hoping to persuade him to leave.

But Justin seemed to see through her intent, interrupting coldly, "Is there something you want to say that I can’t hear?"

His gaze flicked between Jean and Ronan, landing on Jean’s slightly pale face, radiating immense pressure.

Jean’s words caught in her throat.

Just then, Justin’s phone vibrated once.

He expressionlessly took out his phone, glancing at the screen.

On the screen was a new message, from an unsaved but familiar number.

"Justin, when are you coming back?"

"There are many things at home waiting for you to handle, your father is very angry and has fallen ill. You mustn’t delay any longer, book a flight home as soon as possible."

It was from his mother.

This was already the third time this week he was urged to return home.

Justin’s eyes darkened, his fingers moving quickly over the screen without replying, locking it and casually tossing the phone onto the table with a light "pa" sound.

Ronan watched the expensive phone tossed onto the table, then looked at Justin’s stern face, suddenly sneering.

"Senior Counselor Holden seems very busy indeed," Ronan’s tone was laced with sarcasm, "Getting messages this late, is it from one of your many admirers urging you back?"

Justin raised his eyes, shooting him a cold glance, saying nothing.

Jean didn’t want to hear them clash again, walking to the table and silently filling a bowl with wontons, placing it in front of Justin.

"Eat." Her voice was steady, "Then please leave."

Justin looked at the fragrant wontons in front of him, but didn’t pick up the spoon.

"You still haven’t answered my question." He said, "Why did Ronan say I wasted years of your youth?"

Ronan, hearing this, immediately exploded.

"What’s with the act? Don’t you know what you did? If it weren’t for you..."

"Ronan!" Jean interrupted sternly, her gaze carrying a warning, "Shut up."

Ronan, head held high defiantly, glared at Justin, but under Jean’s stern gaze, he finally turned away, pulled out a chair aggressively, and sat with his arms crossed, sulking.

Justin watched their interaction, his doubts growing ever more.

Jean was hiding something, Ronan was angry, there must be something he didn’t know, and it seemed related to him.

He picked up the spoon, scooping up a wonton, but didn’t eat it.

"Jean," he put down the spoon, the metal handle clang lightly against the rim of the bowl, "Have we really only known each other for six months?"

Jean’s hand trembled slightly as she held her spoon.

She lowered her eyelashes, staring at the seaweed floating in the bowl, without saying a word.