bChapter /bb177 /b

Andrew was still pissed about what Ste had done to him. He knew that if Ste kept teaming up with Jordan, it would only make things worse for him. So, he let Anna find some guys to rough Ste up a bit.

The n was to make it look like Ste had slept with another man, so that when Jordan found out, he’d divorce her. After that, Andrew figured Ste would have no choice but to do whatever he said.

“I don’t know.” Anna felt like things were starting to slip out of her control, and that made her uneasy.

“It’s fine if it didn’t work out this time,” Andrew said. “But it’s better if they never find out we nned it, or we will be in trouble.”

“But Dad…” Anna was trying to steer the conversatio

i“/iWhat t

t if they find out?”

“Even if they do, don’t worry,” Andrew replied. “You’ve got me. I’ll just tell Ste I did it. What can she do to her father? There’s no way I’ll let hery a finger on you.”

“Okay.” Anna nodded lightly, but there was a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. ‘They’re all idiots, she thought.

After Ste finished chatting with the suppliers, they all exchanged contact info.

“Sorry for making you all wait,” Ste said. “Something unexpected came up, so I ended up keeping you guys for way too long.” Ste was still feeling a little guilty.

“No worries,” one of them said. “As long as you’re alright. That’s what matters.”

Ste said goodbye to each of them. When the suppliers all left, Cavan shared what he’d found out. “I’ve already looked into it. Those guys got away. Turns out, the waiter who brought us water wasn’t even the staff from this restaurant.

“No one expected an outsider to sneak in. The owner is sorry about it and promised to fully cooperate with us to investigate it.”

Ste didn’t me the owner–after all, it was the dinner rush and nobody expected someone nobody knew to slip in. She med herself for

not being alert enough, which was why things turned out this way.

‘Anyway, at least it wasn’t one of the people at the table,‘ sheforted herself in her mind, and then said, “It’s all right, Cavan. I’m fine.

Besides, I was the reason that stirred the trouble, so you don’t need to feel bad.”

Cavan was still feeling terrible about the whole ithin /i

He was just about to say something when someone suddenly called out Ste’s name.

Ste couldn’t believe her ears when she heard that familiar voice. She spun around, and when she saw Jordan standing there, she didn’t hesitate for a second–she dashed straight over and threw herself into his arms and called out, “Jordan.”

The two employees who hade with Ste were moved by the scene. They’d been busy looking after theter what Ste had gone through. They understood after everything, nothing felt better than being with family.

rs and only found out

No one expected Jordan to show up, especially since it was quite a distance from Seavale. But there he was, right in front of them.

Ste looked up at him in disbelief, her eyes wide. “How did you get here?”

“Kevin told me what happened,” Jordan said. “I was so worried about you, so I rushed over here as fast as I could.”

For the first time, Jordan saw expectation and reliance in Ste’s eyes, which meant she needed him. Happiness immediately filled bhis /bheart:

ito /ithe brim.

b1/3 /b

b15:26 /bFrib, /bb8 /bbAug /b

“Why did Kevin tell you about this?” Ste asked, a little confused.

Kevin hadn’t nned on interrupting the two of them. He felt genuinely happy

for Ste–even if it stung a bit for himself when he saw the

scene. Still, he knew he had to exin. “You ran into trouble here.

“Of course, I had to let him know right away. I couldn’t be sure if something else might happen to you. He came, so i guess bhe /bpassed the tes

“But if he hadn’t, there’s no way iI’d /itrust him to be a

good husband.”

Jordan pulled Ste into his arms, holding her close. “Rx. My woman is mine to cherish–no one else will ever get a chance.

No matter how he tried to hide it, Kevin couldn’t help feeling a little hurt. But since there was nothing left to do, he said, “Alright, I’ll bhead /bout first. Don’t stay out toote, okay?” Then he and Cavan left together.

Cavan nced back. He’d seen Jordan in the

news before–this guy

legend, especially in Seavale, where thepetition was fierce.

get a chance to say hi. But he saw sadness in Kevin’s eyes, so

He made a name for himself so quickly, which was no small feat. He didn’t e he had to leave with him.

Ste’s two employees also found an excuse to slip away and head back to the hotel.

Ste asked with concern, “Have you eaten yet?”

“I grabbed a bite on the ne,” Jordan replied.

“Are you hungry now? If you want to eat something, I can look for a ce nearby with you.”

Jordan took her hand. “You didn’t eat much either, did you? All right, let’s go

find something to eat together.”

There weren’t many buildings around–just a bunch of seasoning factories that all closed early. Fortunately, they managed to find a little hole–in–the–wall ce nearby and grabbed a seat.

Ste hadn’t eaten much, so she ordered a few simple dishes, and the two of them shared the meal.

“Did Monroe save you?” Jordan asked.

Ste nodded. “Yeah, it’s so weird. There’s definitely something up with that.”

“When Kevin called me, I didn’t expect it either. Kevin didn’t even believe Monroe would help you. Did you ask Monroe why?”

“I did. But he seemed inot /iito /iknow why, either. Anyway, we don’t owe each other anything anymore.”

Jordan looked at her with a confused look. Ste exined, “The day I got kidnapped, I happened to see him get into a car ident, and saved him.

“He was out of consciousness at the time, so I’m not sure if he knew it was me, but

whatever. This timeb, /bbhe /bs

bme/bb, /bbso /bbnow /bbwe’re /bbsquare /b

Jordan thought for a second. “I guess he must have known. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have helped you bthis /btime. That’s bthe /bbonly /bway bto /bbexin /b

it.”

Ste switched her fork ito /iher left hand, then reached out and gave Jordan’s cheek a yful pinch. Jordan looked bat /bbher /bbwith /bbconfusion/b. Ste switched her fork back to her right hand and grinned. “I just wanted to see if it was breally /byou.b” /b

“Of course. I rushed over the moment I heard you were in trouble. I couldn’t stop bworrying /bthe bwhole /bbway /bbhere/bb. /bI bkept /bbthinking/bb, /bif bI’d /bbe /b. with you, maybe none bof /bthis would have happened. Did they find out anything about it?”

bith /byou, maybe

b15:26 /bbFri/bb, /bb8 /bbAug /b

G

Ste felt a warm glow in her heart as she repeated what Cavan had found out.

Jordan’s face grew serious. “We have to dig deeper into thister.” Ste was thinking the same thing.

After they finished eating, they went for a walk nearby. Jordan never let go of Ste’s hand as they walked. This ce wasn’t a city, so at night it was so quiet that there wasn’t a single car in earshot.

Instead, they could hear crickets and bugs in the background. It felt nice. But Jordan was worried. “There are too many mosquitoes bout /bbhere/b. Let’s head back.”

Ste remembered how he’d rushed over here by ne, barely stopping for a breath, so she nodded in agreement. When they got bback /bto bthe /bhotel and tried to book another room, the receptionist told them the ce was already fully booked.

E