CHAPTER 156: BEHIND THE CLOSED DOORS

"I don’t know Jean, I don’t want to start something which I clearly see there’s no end to. As Tyler said, you always get back with him... it wasn’t a lie. I have seen both of you coming out of dorm rooms and behind shut doors together even if you pretended there was nothing going on..."

Jean couldn’t believe what she was hearing... her breath got stuck in her throat. The air between them which used to feel light was now getting heavy.

"Pretending has always been your game of survival Jean and I don’t like this... it makes me feel dirty." Logan said what he wanted to say, finally.

Jean’s voice broke, "so this is it? Are you regretting it now?"

Logan just stared at her, he wanted to wipe the tear on her face but somehow it didn’t feel like his territory. Jean was not his.

"I am going to stay in another room, for Hannah I had to book a room for us to stay together." Logan said before leaving the room. "We leave early tomorrow morning, be ready."

Jean slumped down into the floor as she watched the door shut behind him. He won! Tyler won over me again!

"You saw it wrong Logan... all the times everyone caught us together it was all his plan."

No one knows what he did to me behind those doors. He would wait for the moment to catch me... to trap me when I used to be alone. My family never listened, the teachers never listened. Not once... but so many times when I had finally gone to police. But even they wouldn’t help even knew I was bleeding.

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The morning sun shimmered on the sleek white jet parked on the private runway. Inside the cabin... "Henry, that’s my window seat!" Emma whined as she dumped her travel bag near the plush seat beside the oval window.

Henry, already seated and sipping his espresso, didn’t even flinch. "You snooze, you lose, Miss Adams. This seat was calling my name."

Emma narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "I was just in the restroom! I claimed it before I left."

"Well," Henry said, smirking, "the seat doesn’t have memory. You gotta stay in it to keep it."

They bickered like old enemies and best friends rolled into one, causing Hannah to chuckle from the other side as she flipped through a magazine.

But the teasing stopped abruptly when the cabin door opened with a soft hiss and Logan stepped in, followed by Jean.

They both looked distant... Jean in a beige coat with soft waves falling down her shoulders, Logan in his signature dark suit and steel expression... but the mood they carried with them was anything but composed.

Emma and Henry straightened in their seats. The warmth faded from their faces as they glanced between the two.

Logan gave a polite nod to his team but didn’t offer a word as he moved to his seat across from Jean’s. She sat down quietly, eyes downcast, hands clasped tightly in her lap.

No smiles.

No teasing banter.

No eye contact.

Just a storm of silence stretching between them like invisible wire.

Hannah, now seated beside Emma, whispered under her breath, "What happened last night?"

Emma shook her head subtly, concern flickering in her eyes. "I don’t know... but something definitely changed."

Henry, who sat across from them, pretended to sip his coffee as he watched Logan lean back into his seat and stare out the window, completely unreadable. Jean, meanwhile, kept her gaze on her hands, occasionally flicking her eyes up, only to look away again.

The engines roared softly to life.

The jet began to taxi.

And the atmosphere inside, much like the sky outside, was overcast... waiting for turbulence.

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The skyline of the city stretched out beyond the large windows, but Alex Adams wasn’t admiring the view. His jaw was clenched, hands shoved deep into his trouser pockets as he paced behind his desk like a lion in a cage.

The office was silent... too silent.

His assistant stood by the door, visibly tense. No one dared to speak unless spoken to.

The screen on his desk still showed last night’s bidding report. Kingsley Corporation... Final Bid. Approved.

He read the line again. And again.

Alex exhaled sharply through his nose, his voice low and sharp as a blade. "You told me Logan wasn’t attending. You said Jean Adams was out of commission."

His team of executives stood stiffly near the meeting table, none brave enough to speak up.

"Do I look like a fool to you?" Alex snapped, turning his gaze to his most senior associate. "I asked you for a guest list. And you gave me what? Garbage?"

"She wasn’t on the list, sir. Neither was Logan," the man replied carefully. "They must’ve..."

"Must’ve?" Alex barked. "Do you understand what we lost last night? That land was mine. Mine."

He slammed his fist down on the desk, causing a startled flinch across the room.

His date from last night, quietly seated at the corner couch, kept her head down. She hadn’t said a word since he’d stormed out of the ceremony with Jean’s name burning on his tongue.

"They’re not just business partners now," Alex muttered, his tone dark and bitter. "They’re playing house. A married couple. A team. And no one saw it coming."

He moved to the bar cabinet and poured himself a glass of whiskey... neat, no ice.

Alex turned back around, leaning against the counter with a twisted smile. "But she thinks this is over. She thinks she’s safe just because Logan Kingsley is standing beside her."

He took a slow sip, the burn fueling his next words.

"I’ll remind her what fear tastes like. I’ll remind him what it’s like to bleed."

His assistant hesitated before asking, "Sir... should we prepare a counterattack?"

Alex didn’t respond right away. His eyes narrowed on the city below.

"No," he said finally. "Not yet."

He put down the glass.

"Let’s see what the King and Queen of facade look like... when the crown starts to crack."