My Gorgeous Wife is an Ex-Convict Novel Chapter 26
Lily frowned and glanced at Sean. After all, the ad was being projected by the Stevens family.
Sean stayed calm, “Let me ask about the situation…”
He had barely finished speaking when his phone rang suddenly. He strolled out of the dining area and picked up the call, his expression abruptly turned unpleasant.
“What? What do you mean, taken down? They were all taken down? Aren’t they afraid of paying the penalty fees?”
“The order stated that even if they have to pay the penalty fees in full, the ads must be removed.
“Who the hell authorized this? Fine. Replace the ad agency, and get them back up. Immediately.”
The manager in charge cried as he reported through the phone. “President Stevens, we rushed to contact other companies but none of them were willing to project these ads.”
“Who is it that’s trying to go against the Stevens family?” Sean asked, his face ghastly pale. He was flooded with equal parts of rage and fear.
“It’s the Reed family,” the manager replied. “This issue was personally handled by the Reed Group’s secretary Terrence
Klein.”
Sean was stunned. Terrence … That’s Jason’s personal secretary! Does that mean, this was done by Jason? Was it Jason who
wanted to take down these projection ads?
What does that mean? Did Jason object to the Stevens and Atkinson wedding?
And how far would he go to stop it? As he thought of that, Sean broke out in a cold sweat.
***
The projection ads placed by the Stevens family in ninety-nine spots around the city had been taken down in a single day, generating heated discussions within the city. There were
plenty of people debating online about whether the relationship between Sean and Lily had changed.
It was a bad omen, others said.
One gossip column ran with the rumor that Lily had called off the engagement.
That night, Sean and Lily made a joint statement affirming the solidity of their relationship. The projection ads had been taken down due to the time limit, but their love would never expire.
This statement was upheld by Lily’s many fans.
Back at the apartment, Grace scrolled through the webpage and
came across this news. She could not help being taken aback. She had just mentioned the projection ads to Jay yesterday and they had all been unexpectedly taken down today.
“The ads have been taken down. Sister, are you happy?” Jay’s voice suddenly rang through the room.
She snapped out of her trance. She didn’t know when he had walked over to stand by her side and it seemed as if he had noticed the article on her phone. He looked at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
For a split second, she had a wild idea that this incident was related to him as if he was the one who had taken down the ads.
But that was ludicrous.
She laughed out loud. “Well, it was a bit of a surprise to see their publicity campaign end so abruptly.” She shrugged.
“But…?” he pressed.
She shrugged again. “There isn’t actually anything to be happy or sad about. What happened between Sean and me is in the past. I have no feelings for him anymore, so whoever he marries or loves has nothing to do with me,” Grace replied.
“Really, sister, you don’t care about him at all?” He stared at her with a burning gaze, as if those beautiful eyes of his were trying to see through her.
“Would you care about a person who abandoned you?” she retorted.
Another female figure suddenly appeared in his mind. That woman I call mother, did she not also abandon me?
She abandoned me without reservations. Even when I knelt down and begged her, she never once looked back.
The smile around the corner of his lips deepened. “You’re right, that was a dumb question. Who would care about a person who abandoned them?”
She stared at him, beginning to better understand his moods and feelings. If she’d not spent so much time with him, laughed with him over a cup of coffee in the morning, listened to him talk about his day, and then tucked into bed with him sleeping beside her…she might have missed it. But she saw it, the flicker in his gaze.
He’d been hurt. Abandoned.
She recalled him saying he had no family.
She caught the barest glimpse of his pain and realized it was always with him.
He was just really good at hiding it.
As she thought of that, she raised an arm and wrapped it around his neck, pulling him towards her.
Jason’s body tensed slightly but he did not resist. He lay his head on her shoulder and felt her smell enveloping him.
Her scent with its faint fragrance inexplicably gave him a feeling of contentment.
It was as if being by her side allowed him to relax completely.
“Jay, didn’t you say that you would never abandon me? I vow the same, I will never abandon you. No matter what happens in the future, I will stay by your side.”
Her voice was a whisper in his ear.
“Would you really stay by my side no matter what happened?” he mumbled.
“Of course,” she replied matter-of-factly.
“Won’t you be scared of me?” he asked.
She chuckled lightly. “Why would I be scared of you? My Jay…” She leaned back to smile at him.
My Jay… there she went again with that wording. Like he belonged to her. Oh, he wasn’t averse to hearing it. He might even be happy about it.
But right now he was thinking too much and when he raised his head suddenly their faces were only inches apart. The tips of their noses were almost touching.
And he stopped thinking entirely.
Her face flushed red, and when she instinctively backed up, he looped his arm around her waist, stopping her from moving away.
Grace froze. It felt like all the blood in her body was rushing to her head. When Jay was this close to her, she felt lightheaded.
The arm wrapped around her was strong. She could feel the thick muscles that he held in check.
His eyes were nearly black, the pupils were blown out making her wonder what could affect a man like this.
Surely not her, with her scars, baggage, and worthlessness. But in his arms, she didn’t feel so insignificant. She felt seen.
As something more than an ex-con.
As a human.
As a … woman.
She stayed there, suspended in his arms as her gaze darted between his eyes and mouth.
“Still see me as your brother?” Jay whispered.
No. There was nothing brotherly about him at all.
His big body was strong and he cradled her like she was something precious.
And his face. When his dark eyes crinkled at the corners and
his mouth turned up in a knowing grin, she realized that he saw straight through her.
She was attracted to him. The way a woman wanted a man.
And he saw it.
Jason’s phone rang and the moment was shattered.
Or maybe she’d been saved by the bell, so to speak.