bChapter /bb404 /b

    “That’s a relief.” Sana let out a sigh of relief.

    Jessica, distracted by their conversation, suddenly lost interest in finishing the remaining desserts and bpushed /bbthem /btoward Sana.

    Sana didn’t mind at all. She happily nibbled on the treats while chatting away. Then, a realization dawned on her band /bbshe /beximed, “By the way, Jessi, I have some nsing up, so I can’t work overtime for a while. Please bgo /beasy bon /bmy workload, okay?”

    Jessica asked curiously, “What’s up?”

    Sana grinned. “Someone asked me out for lunch. Anyway, I gotta run, as it’s almost noon. I need to finish up bmy /bwork before I head out for my date.” With that, she bolted from the room, full of her usual bubbly energy.

    Watching her leave, Jessica couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Did she finally win Wesley over? I can’t be sure yet. I’ll keep ban /bbeye /bon it.‘

    Sana,pletely unaware of Jessica’s misunderstanding, was true to her word. The moment her lunch break startedb, /bbshe /bgrabbed her bag and rushed to a nearby mall to meet the blind date she’d arranged a couple of days ago.

    This was already her third blind date. Unfortunately, he still wasn’t it. None of them even came close to Wesley.

    Sana knew she really shouldn’t, but she just couldn’t helpparing every new blind date to Wesley, and every single one of them fell painfully short.

    “Sorry, Mr. Griffin, but I don’t think we’re a good match. This meal is on me,” she said.

    After finishing the meal, Sana made it clear to her blind date that they weren’t a match. Without hesitation, she went to the counter and settled the bill herself. She had no intention of letting anyone think she was a freeloader.

    Jessica had her lunch at the office as usual, but just when she thought she could finally get some peace, Brian showed up again during her afternoon break, and this time, bringing her fresh fruits.

    No matter how Jessica refused, it was no use. He just sent the fruits straight to Dereck instead. Ultimately, under Dereck’s watchful gaze, Jessica had no choice but to ept it grudgingly, which was utterly infuriating.

    Across the street from Grant Group, Madeline watched Brian emerge from the building, her nails digging bso /bbdeeply /bbinto /bbher /bpalms they almost drew blood.

    She hade today to dig up dirt on Jessica, but instead of finding her, she stumbled upon Brian deli not once, but twice in a single day. That riled her up in every single way possible.

    g bmeals /bbto /bbher/b,

    ‘Why does Jessica get to have it so easy?‘ Madeline thought bitterly. And yet, all bshe /bcould bdo /bbwas /bbface /bbher /bbleeching /bfamily’s relentless demands for money, day in and day out.

    Expressionlessb, /bMadeline hung up on her bfather’s /bcall. bStaring /bbup /bat bthe /bbtowering /bbGrant /bbGroup /bbheadquarters/bb, /bbher /bbeyes /bburned with venomous hatred.

    ‘bDon’t /bget toofortable, Jessica. I won’t lose to you that easily, she seethed inwardly. bEver /bbsince /bbBrian /bbbecame /bbmore /bassertive, Jessica’s diet had be ridiculously healthy under his watch.

    Even after realizing she couldn’t turn him down, she

    remained unfazed.

    tried every trick in the book to make things bdifficult /bbfor /bhimb, /bbbut /bbBrian /b

    Jessica couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Am I really bein

    No matter how fussy or unreasonable she became, Brian always found a way to meet her demands. After bcountless /btimes.

    much?”

    A familiar knock at the door snapped Jessica out of her thoughts. Without looking up, Jessica said, “Go bget /bbthe /bbdoor/b.

    Hearing this, Jake, who had been drawing beside her, immediately scrambled to his feet and ran ito /iopen the bdoor /bbfor /b

    Brian.

    A minuteter, Brian–wearing an apron took the final dish off the serving cart and ced it on the table. bHe /bthen bturned /bback and called Jessica over for the meal.

    With an expressionless look on her face, Jessica took the seat farthest from him. Jake quietly scooted over bto /bsit next bto /bher. She gave him a quick nce but said nothing.

    Brian noticed and quietly let out a small breath of relief before naturally taking the seat beside her. This timeb, /bbthough/b, Jessica wasn’t having it. “Who said you could sit here?”

    bAD /b