bChapter /b170

Ste stepped outside, feeling a crushing weight on her chest and unable to breathe. When she got to the bridge, she was gulping for air, feeling miserable.

Jordan was a good man. But she thought he was too good to be her boyfriend. At that moment, she finally understood that everyone had their stories and she could do nothing about his past.

But she just couldn’t ept the fact that he had a child with another woman. Just when she was ready to be with him, she was told such huge news. She hated that feeling.

Ste wandered aimlessly nearby. It was a bit cold, but she barely even noticed the chill. ‘Maybe I’m just doomed to be not lovedb, /bshe thought.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her into a tight embrace. Jordan said, “Ste.”

Ste struggled to break free, pushing at him. “Don’t touch me. Let go of me.”

Jordan held her even tighter. “I can’t, Ste. Just hear me out.”

“What’s there to say? She’s alreadye to you, and you didn’t even deny it, did you?”

“Yes, I didn’t deny it,” Jordan said right in Ste’s ear.

Ste felt like her heart was shattering. It was different from when she saw Lionel and Anna get engaged–this time, the pain was even more intense. “So what else is there to say?”

Jordan gently turned Ste to face him. “Ste, calm down. Please, just listen to me. I didn’t tell you about this before because I never thought she’d do that. But now that it’s happened, I just hope you’ll give me a chance.”

Ste locked her gaze on him. There was nothing but sincerity in Jordan’s eyes, and deep down, a flicker of hope, which made her feel she might miss out on something important if she refused. She nodded. “Okay, I’ll listen.”

“It’s freezing out here. Let’s go back and talk,” Jordan said as he took Ste’s cold hand in his, holding it tightly, hoping his warmth could

reach her.

The whole way back, neither of them said a word. It was so quiet that they could hear their breath.

When they got home, Mary noticed the tension between them right away. She nced at Ste, worried. Ste gave her a look to set her at ease. Mary noticed it and had to head back to her room.

Jordan pulled out his phone and yed a video for Ste to see. It was a video of a man and a woman getting intimate. Ste’s cheeks instantly turned red. She shot Jordan a look, confused. “Why are you showing me this?”

“Just look at who’s in the video,” Jordan said.

Ste felt embarrassed–she’d never watched anything like this before. But since Jordan insisted, she forced herself to do it. When she realized it was a strange man who was doing it with Joan, she was stunned. “That man. That’s not you.”

“No, it’s not me,” Jordan replied and immediately turned off the video–he didn’t want her to see any more of that filth.

“Only a few of us, who grew up together, know about this—she didn’t even realize it. I never nned to tell her, but I never expected she’d bring it up right in front of you,” Jordan exined.

But Ste still had a lot of questions in her mind.

13:24 Thu 7 Aug 5

“That day, she came to see me, trying to drug me so she could sleep with me. But the drink ended up being taken by that other guy, so they

had sex

“I didn’t tell her before because I didn’t want to make her feel bad. But it was her own doing, so, I just told her the truth,” Jordan added. Ste froze, just staring at him in shock.

“She and i have been childhood friends for years. Back when my parents passed away, she was there for me and helped me a lot. I never

wanted to hurt her.

“I knew if she ever found out the truth, it would crush her, so I kept it to myself all this time. But what she said has hurt you, so I had to tell her

the truth.

“Ste, you’re the one who matters most to me.” Jordan never let go of her hand while he was saying, “Even though I told you all this, I can’t be sure if you’ll believe me.”

Without a second thought, Ste replied, “I believe you. Of course, I do.”

Jordan looked at her face and saw the sincerity in her eyes–she meant it, she wasn’t justforting him. Overjoyed, he pulled Ste into a tight embrace.

“I admit there are some things I haven’t told you, but none of them have anything to do with my private life. I’ve always kept my life clean,

Ste.

“I only love you, and you’re the only one I want to do that thing,” Jordan said sincerely.

Ste’s cheeks flushed. “What if… what if even after I get better, I still can’t… You know, do that with you?”

“Then we just don’t do it. All I need is you’re with me.”

Ste wasn’t that naive girl who would easily believe everything anymore, but hearing him say that still moved her deeply.

“Can I kiss you?” Jordan asked softly. Her cheeks instantly flushed.

Jordan took her silence as consent and closed the distance, pressing his lips softly to hers. At first, it was just a soft kiss, but soon it grew

more passionate.

Ste could feel his passion, and her body slowly went soft in his arms. After that long, lingering kiss, they were both burning up, heat radiating between them. With their foreheads pressed together, Ste could feel just how close their hearts were.

“If you care this much, does that mean you might like me, even just a little?” Jordan whispered.

“I guess, I do like you, just a little,” Ste admitted.

“That’s all I need,” Jordan murmured, pulling her even closer.

At first, Ste’s body was tense, but gradually, she rxed,pletely giving herself over to him, Leaning on his shoulder, she simply enjoyed

the warmth andfort of the moment.

When Mary saw Ste again and noticed how her cheeks were flushed, she knew they had made up and let out a sigh of relief.

But Joan didn’t take it well at all. She couldn’t handle the truth, iso /ishe tried to kill herself. Luckily, she was rescued in time. Some of Jordan’s

bros said that she wanted to see him.

Jordan refused, but Ste said, “I think you should go see her.”

i“/iAre you sure you want me to go? Don’t forget, if I show up, it might just make things worse for her. Seeing me might only remind her of

M

everything and upset her even more,” Jordan said.

3 ? ?

Ste thought about it for a moment and realized he had a point. “Maybe you are right.”

But when no one was watching, Joan slipped away and climbed up to the hospital rooftop, nning to jump off.

Ste couldn’t bear to see her die, so she hurriedly urged Jordan to move. “Let’s go. We have to get over there and check on her, now.”

Jordan hesitated for a second, and then nodded. “All right, if youe with me, I’ll go.”

When they got to the hospital, the ce was packed with people, and even the cops were there. Joan was totally losing it—no one could get through to her, and she was determined to jump.

But when she heard that Jordan had shown up, she calmed down for a bit. She said she wanted to see Jordan.