bChapter /bb382 /b

    She bowed her head and took a while to calm down the anger that kept rising inside her.

    During that time, Brian stared at her openly.

    His eyes scanned her face, which had twisted a little with anger. He confirmed she was the same person he remembered. He felt a little more at ease, thinking his earlier doubts must have been unnecessary.

    Madeline definitely noticed Brian staring at her, and she grew more annoyed.

    Brian’s wariness was, in its own way, another sign that he had no feelings for her.

    Madeline thought, ‘He really has never liked me. So why was he so nice to me before? Why keep helping me, keep giving me hope, and making me think that if Jessica were gone, I’d definitely win his heart?‘

    He’d been the one to feed her ambitions, letting her stand level with Jessica.

    But once Jessica left, he’d kicked Madeline aside without mercy, telling her everything before had just been her imagination.

    ‘How could he do that?‘ Madeline thought, unable to ept that reality. ‘Brian, you can’t treat me like this. You have to love me.”

    She thought bitterly, but her face gave nothing away. “Mr. Atkinson, have you been doing welltely? And what about Jessi and Jake? Are they okay? Jessi must be showing by now, right? With twins, it must be tough. You really should take good care of her.”

    Madeline pulled herself together, looked up, and asked with a concerned expression as if their earlier conflict had never happened.

    Brian almost admired her nerve.

    “Uh–huh,” he replied vaguely.

    Now that he’d confirmed the Madeline abroad was the real her, Brian had no intention of staying with her any longer.

    He hadn’t forgotten what happened after he’d been alone with herst time.

    Madeline picked up on Brian’s coldness. The smile on her lips faded a little, but she didn’t let the conversation drop.

    Instead, she took the bag she’d brought. “Mr. Atkinson, these are some local snacks from Yvoria that are good for pregnant women. Could you take them

    back to Jessi for me?”

    She putted out another bag. i“/iiAnd /ithese are for Jake and you. They are some snacks too. Hope you don’t mind.”

    As she spoke, she pushed the bags toward Brian with just the right amount of restraint and pulled her hand back, not pushing him to ept.

    But that sense of restraint was exactly what made it hard for Brian to refuse outright.

    He lifted the bag for Jessica, flipped through it to check what was inside, and only stopped when he was sure everything in it was something Jessica liked. Then he picked up the bag and set it aside.

    “Alright, I’ll thank you on Jessi and Jake’s behalf.” As he spoke, he raised his coffee cup in a silent toast to Madeline.

    Hearing him casually say he’d thank Jessica for her, Madeline felt even more annoyed, but she picked up her coffee cup with a smile and saidb, /b“Mr. Atkinson, you’re too kind. Jessi was always so good to me. This is the least I can do.”

    Brian thought about how much Jessica hated her and felt a strong doubt about those words.

    But he didn’t call her out. Instead, as he looked at Madeline, he remembered a piece of news he’d gotten earlier–Madeline had turned bdown /ban boffer /bfrom a big namepany and was still out of work.

    13:42 bMon/bb, /bb28 /bbJul /bb30 /bG

    Add that to the hint she’d dropped before about wanting to go back home, and this wasn’t what he wanted,

    With that in mind, Brian put down his coffee cup and suddenly said, “I heard you Atkinson Group?”

    still haven’t found a job. Have you thought abouting back to

    Madeline’s eyes lit up at once. “Mr. Atkinson, do you mean… you want me to go back home?”

    ‘Could it be ! misjudged Brian? Does he actually…‘ she wondered.

    But the next second, Brian shattered her fantasy. “No.”