Listening to Jason’s emotionless voice, Bryce quickly tattled, “Bro, Korey just called Ella.”
On the other end of the line, Jason’s voice dropped an octave. “You went looking for my wife first thing
in the morning?”
Bryce hurriedly explained, “I was just reporting to Ella about what happened the other night, and
checking her vibe, you know? I gotta redeem myself with you.”
This time, Jason cut to the chase with no extra chatter. “Bryce, if you keep pushing Estrella to divorce
me, you can kiss Ravenwood goodbye.”
After Jason finished, Bryce gasped, his voice shot up, “You don’t wanna divorce, huh? Why
I
didn’t you just say so earlier? I could’ve put in a good word for you with Ella.”
your sweet talk?”.
“Do I look like I need shapped back, then, growing impatient, he asked, “What’s Korey’s business with
Estrella?”
Back to the matter at hand, Bryce perked up and quickly said, “I didn’t catch it all, just that he asked
Ella out for dinner tonight. Ella was so swamped that she refused.”
Bryce’s blood boiled as he continued, “Bro, I’ve said it before, that Korey is no good. He has been
eyeing Ella for years. Don’t let your guard down, and don’t let him anywhere near Ella. In my opinion…”Before Bryce could finish, Jason hung up the phone. With a flick of his wrist, the phone landed on the
desk, and Jason’s expression soured. He had told her he was uncomfortable with her being close to
Korey, and yet they were in contact first thing in the
morning.
Bryce’s call had ruined Jason’s mood for the day, and by 5:30 in the afternoon, Jason headed straight
to the law firm. He waited and waited at the firm, nearly an hour going by. Everyone else had left, yet
there was no sign of Estrella. With a stony face, he dialed her number, “Still working late?”
On the other end, Estrella’s voice was nonchalant, “Nope. I’m out of town on a case, looking into
Ryan’s file.”
Ryan was the boy who, after 13 years, had killed his father and two uncles.
Hearing this, Jason’s temper flared, “You’re on a trip and didn’t think to inform me ahead. of time?”
Estrella replied, “Isn’t this me reporting in?” Since when did they have a routine of reporting to each
other anyway? She had tried calling him before and he wouldn’t pick up, texts went unanswered, and
they hadn’t been in touch for days.
Jason growled, “This is me not seeing you, so called.”
11:31
Estrella laughed, “You came to pick me up today? Jason, you’re really keeping tabs on me. Don’t tell
me you’ve actually fallen for me.”Estrella’s jest was met with a click – Jason had hung up. He tossed his phone aside, feeling suddenly
irked by Bryce’s call from the morning.
Korey had just been in touch with her, and now she was suddenly out of town. Something didn’t sit right
with him, so Jason picked up the discarded phone and called Drew, “Drew, check Estrella’s itinerary for
me.”
“Right away, Sir,” Drew replied, ready to jump into action after receiving Jason’s command.
In her hotel room, Estrella chuckled softly at the disconnected call, yawned, and then moved over to
her desk.
a
She needed to prepare for tomorrow’s visit to Ryan’s neighbors to dig into the
past. She opened her notebook and took up her pen, but her thoughts wandered to Jason’s troubled
look the other night, his fear of being too late to save her.
And then there was his sleep-talking, mentioning Holly. She couldn’t make out the words, -but it was
clear it was about Holly.
But that had nothing to do with Estrella. Holly’s death was even less her fault. Jason had no right to
blame her.
They couldn’t go back to the way things were; neither could let go of the past. Her indifference was just
a better performance than his.
Meanwhile, Jason returned to Sandalwood Oasis with a gloom that could darken the sun. Marie called
him to dinner, but he went straight upstairs without a word.Raising his gaze towards the desk, he remembered Estrella’s busy figure there and her smile. It
seemed like she was flirting him every time, but in reality, she wasn’t really taking it seriously. To her,
work and the Dorvold Group were what mattered most.
Standing by the window, lighting a cigarette, he pondered that Estrella didn’t really need him. She had
taken down Richie even before he had arrived that night. A bitter taste settled in his mouth.
At some point, Estrella had grown independent. She could hold up her world, even her parents’.
As he exhaled a plume of smoke and stubbed out the cigarette, his phone rang – it was
Drew.
“Sir, Ms. Estrella is on a business trip to Linwood Town, coming back on Friday,” Drew reported.
11:31
Jason just grunted. Then Drew hesitantly added, “Sir, there’s something else. I’m not sure. if I should
say.”
noveldramaJason cut him off, “Out with it.”
“Korey also went to Linwood. Ms. Estrella had barely left when Korey followed.”
Drew finished with a stutter, and you could guess how Jason’s expression looked. He had felt it
something was off. It wasn’t just women’s intuition that was sharp; a man’s could be too. Korey was up
to something.
The call ended abruptly, and the air around Jason seemed to freeze. Even if he didn’t want her, he’d be
damned if Korey got a shot.In the hotel, Estrella was bustling about with her work when her phone buzzed with calls from Bryce
and Jesse. Bryce’s voice was tinged with annoyance as he ribbed her for taking a business trip and not
inviting him for some fun. Estrella was on the verge of losing her cool. Did he really think she was off
gallivanting? She should’ve dragged him along to be her errand boy if he was that bored.
After hanging up, the trio continued their banter in their group chat. Estrella, multitasking as always,
sorted through her documents while occasionally firing off a reply to the guys. By the time Bryce and
Jesse called it a night, their messages petered out as they succumbed to sleep, but Estrella was still
hunched over her desk, immersed in her work.
As the witching hour approached and Estrella had all her case files neatly organized, she stretched
languidly, ready to call it a night. That was when the persistent knocking-thud, thud, thud-echoed on her
door.
“Who’s there?” Estrella called out, her gaze fixed on the door.
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