CHAPTER 90: WAS HE DRUGGED?

Jake froze, his pulse thundering in his ears. "Wait—what did you just say?" he asked quietly, as if he hadn’t heard her right.

Chloe’s lips curved into a bitter smile. "You heard me."

"She saw me and—Helena?" He looked utterly disoriented, his eyes searching Chloe’s face for denial, for some hint that she was probably exaggerating. But all he found was disappointment.

"Yes," Chloe said flatly, arms folded across her chest. "She went to meet you last night, at your house address that YOU sent her. She got there and found you in bed with Helena. How could you be so cruel?"

Jake staggered back slightly, as if she’d hit him. His throat went dry. "That’s... that’s not possible."

PChloe’s tone sharpened. "Oh, it’s possible, alright. She saw it with her own eyes. Or are you going to claim her eyes were deceiving her?"

He ran a hand over his face, trying to make sense of it. "No. No, Chloe. I didn’t... I didn’t send her anything. I didn’t even see Helena last night—at least, not that I remember. I—"

He stopped, his chest tightening as fragments of the night before flashed hazily in his mind. Raymond’s fake tears. The drink. The sudden dizziness. Then—nothing. Just darkness until he’d woken up this morning with a pounding headache and Helena carrying a tray of breakfast dressed in his shirt.

He’d thought she’d been lying about how he’d slept with her. But now, hearing this—

His stomach turned.

"Jake," Chloe said coldly, misinterpreting his silence, "don’t you dare start pretending. Bella doesn’t deserve that."

"I’m not pretending," he said sharply, then forced his tone down. "Please, Chloe. You have to believe me. I didn’t ask Helena to come over, neither did I text Bella. I swear I don’t even remember anything after meeting Raymond at the lounge last night."

"Raymond?" Chloe repeated, frowning. "Your brother?"

Jake nodded slowly. "He called me last night, said he needed me. He sounded... off. Said something about heartbreak. I told him to meet me at the lounge where I was supposed to meet Bella. That’s the last thing I remember."

Chloe’s brow creased, her arms lowering slightly. "So, wait—you’re saying Raymond met you at the lounge?"

"Yes. We have a drink or two."

"And after that, you blacked out?" Chloe asked again, wondering why it was sounding like some sort of conspiracy.

"Exactly."

Chloe stared at him for a long moment, studying every twitch of his face. He looked genuinely lost, the usual calm edge stripped away. "You’re telling me you have no idea how Helena ended up in your bed?"

If he didn’t text Bella, and didn’t invite Helena, then how did Helena end up in his house? Who had texted Bella? What about Raymond whom he’d met up with right before all of that? What role did he have to play? Why was it that Jake couldn’t remember anything? Was he drugged?

Jake shook his head. "None. I woke up this morning and she was there. I thought—God, I thought maybe she was lying, but when I checked my phone, her number was in my call log. I didn’t remember calling or even having her number. Nothing makes sense."

Chloe exhaled shakily, the beginnings of confusion replacing her anger. "Jake, do you realize what you’re saying? Do you realize you’re sounding like someone who had been set up?"

His voice was low but steady. "Yeah. I think someone wanted Bella to see that. I don’t just understand."

For a heartbeat, the room was silent. Then Chloe scoffed. "That’s ridiculous. Who would even—" She stopped herself, her words cutting short as realization flickered through her mind.

Could it be Raymond?

Her eyes narrowed. "Jake... do you think your brother could’ve done something?"

Jake’s jaw tightened. "There’s no way he could have done that. He’s my brother, he definitely couldn’t have done that," he said, almost as though trying to convince himself. "Something must have happened between after Raymond left me and this morning.or maybe before he even came. I don’t know. I know how it sounds. But Chloe, I would never—never—hurt Bella like that. I.... I was going to ask her out. I was going to officially ask her to be my girlfriend. Why would I ruin that?"

Something in his tone broke through her skepticism—the raw sincerity that didn’t sound rehearsed or defensive. Just real.

Chloe swallowed hard, suddenly unsure. "Then you need to tell her. Tell Bella everything."

"I’ve been trying," Jake said, frustration slipping into his voice. "She’s been ignoring my calls all day. She won’t even look at me or give me a chance to explain."

"Well, can you blame her?" Chloe asked softly, though her tone had softened too. "She saw something that crushed her, Jake. You can’t just expect her to bounce back."

"I’m not," he said quietly. "But I can’t let her walk away without knowing the truth. She deserves that much."

Chloe rubbed her temples, exhaling heavily. "You better mean that, Jake. Because if you don’t—and if this is just another excuse—then I swear, I’ll make sure you regret making her cry. I don’t care if you fire me after that."

He almost smiled at that, though it was a sad one. "I’d expect nothing less."

For a moment, they both stood in silence, the tension between them replaced by a fragile, uneasy truce.

Then Chloe stepped closer, lowering her voice. "Listen... I don’t know what really happened last night. But if you’re telling the truth, then you better find out who set you up, why and what it has to do with Bella. Bella’s already on edge, and if she finds out there’s more to this, she might not forgive easily."

Jake nodded. "I will. I swear it."

"Good," Chloe said, crossing her arms again, though not as defensively this time. "Because right now, she’s talking about quitting."

Jake’s head snapped up. "What?"

"She wants to resign," Chloe said flatly. "Says she can’t keep working here after... after what she saw."

He felt the air leave his lungs. "No. No, she can’t—she shouldn’t."

"Well, that’s how much she’s hurting," Chloe said, her tone low. "And honestly, Jake, I can’t even argue with her. She’s tired. She’s been fighting to start over for years, and just when she was finally beginning to open up again, this had to happen. It pushed her too far."

Jake ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping. "I can’t let that happen. I’ll fix this. Somehow."

As he turned to leave, Chloe called after him. "Jake."

He stopped at the door.

"If you’re serious about fixing this," she said quietly, "don’t do it as her boss. Do it as the man who hurt her. She doesn’t need Mr. StoneTech. She needs Jake."

He met her eyes, a flicker of gratitude passing through his expression. "Thank you, Chloe."

"Don’t thank me yet," she muttered. "I still don’t fully trust you."

Jake gave a small, humorless smile. "Fair enough."

Then he left, the door clicking softly shut behind him.