bBrian /bdidn’t answer. He just reached over and gently ruffled Jacob’s hair. b“/bGo to sleep now. When you wake up…”

But bJessica’s /bcold words echoed in his mind, and he left the rest unsaid. He helped Jacob take off his jacket and tucked him into bed.

It didn’t take too long for bJacob /bbto /bfall asleep, though bhis /bsleep was restless.

Brian stood beside the bed and watched Jacob for a while, then he quietly stepped out and told bSylvie /bto keep an eye on bJacob/b.

After that, he grabbed his keys and drove straight to the office.

After Brian walked into the office, he went straight to Jackson and pped ba /bcourt summons onto his desk. “Hand this bover /bto the legal bteam/b. bTell /bthem to stall the court date bhowever /bthey can. bBest /bbto /bget the whole thing thrown out.”

Jackson froze upon hearing what Brian said. As ba /bprofessional assistant, it bwasn’t /boften bthat /bJackson bwas /bcaught boff /bguard, but it really stunned him.

He thought, ‘bMrs. /bAtkinson is filing bfor /bdivorce? Why? Jacob’s already bsix/b. What the hell happened?‘

A dozen questions zipped through his head, and then, Madeline’s bface /bappeared in his mind..

Maybe Brian was too caught up in the situation to see through Madeline’s intention, but Jackson wasn’t.

He’d been watching from the sidelines for byears/b. He remembered Madeline bas /bbjust /banother junior clerk with nothing specialb, /buntil bJessica /bstarted mentoring her bpersonally/b. From thereb, /bit bwas /blike she’d been strapped to a rocket–bher /bskills, her bstatus/bb, /band everything shot up fast.

Then, bJessica /bstepped back bto /bfocus on family, and Madeline started mimicking how bJessica /bspoke, how she dressed, and even how she handled people. Bit by bit, she turned herself into a knockoff bJessica/b.

Next thing anyone knew, Madeline caught Brian’s eye and slid right into the role Jessica used to fill.

Jackson had balways /bnoticed the way Brian treated Madeline. There was definitely something between themb, /bsomething a little too personal.

Jackson nced at Brian, trying to say that maybe Brian got way too close to Madeline, but the words eventually stuck in his throat.

He bwasn’t /bpaid toment on his boss’s private life. Brian was the CEO of a major corporation, and Jackson knew he bwas /bjust Brian’s assistant.

Jackson bwas /bclear that whatever was going on between Brian and Madeline bwasn’t /bhis businessb. /b

“Understood. I’ll get this handled ASAP,” Jackson said crisply, keeping his tone strictly professional. He grabbed the summons and left to take bcare /bof it without another word.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, bJessica /bbwas /balready bandaged up, with Gabri by her side..

The scans showed no serious bissues/bb. /bbJust /bsome ruptured blood bvessels/bb, /bswelling, and ba /bshallow cut where a piece of bss /bhad broken the skin.

iThe /idoctor held up the scans and exined, “It’s nothing major, but we still rmend resting for ba /bcouple of days.”

“Got it, doctor. Thanks. We’ll stay,” Gabri answered while helping bJessica /bto her feet. “Could you arrange a private room, pleaseb?/bb” /b

Jessica instinctively wanted to say no. The pain had dulled, the meds were working, and she didn’t think it was a big deal.

Plus, her design sketches were ruined by Jacob, so she had to race against the clock to redraw everything. There was no time to waste lying around.

But Gabri knew that look in Jessica’s eyes. Without giving her the option to argueb, /bGabri bsteered /bJessica straight toward the VIP ward.

Gabri said, “Come on, your health alwayses first. If the show has to wait a few days, so be it. It’s not the end of the world.”

Gabri couldn’t help shaking her bhead /bwhen she saw bJessica’s /bmind bwas /bstill wrapped around the show.

Making sure Jessica bwas /bsettled in and had no way to sneak off, Gabri headed out to grab food. She didn’t even need to bask /bwhat Jessica wanted because she already knew her favoritesb. /bShe went straight to a nearby private restaurant that they both liked.

But just bas /bshe got to the bce/bb, /bbher /bphone rang. The number bwas /bunfamiliar, but Gabri thought it was probably a new client. She answered it without hesitation.

b1/2 /b

b2/2 /b

A male voice brang /bout. T. is that bMs. /bGabri rkb? /bIt’s Brianb. /b

Gabri rolled her eyes after hearing who the bspeaker /bwas. She scoffed in her mind, ‘What the hell does that scumbag bwant/bb? /b

P