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I smiled awkwardly. “If I said I was working out, would you believe it?”
He stepped forward and took the chair from my hand.
As he came closer, I heard he whisper,
“You look good today.”
He tilted his head and watched me, his eyes filled with an unreadable emotions.
I stared at Jordan in a daze.
Thankfully, the room was dim, so he couldn’t see my flushed cheeks.
I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I just forced a smile and said, “I look good every day.”
Jordan‘ s lips curved into a slight smile as he adjusted the hem of my dress.
“You looked the best the other night.”
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5
It felt like my heart was racing wildly.
I tried to pass him to change clothes.
I wasn’t sure if it was the room‘ s heating, but my face felt unbearably hot.
After taking a few steps, Jordan spoke again.
“The dress… you should check it first.”
His words brought me back to reality.
I almost forgot – there was an issue with the maid earlier.
As expected, I found a necklace in the pocket of the dress.
I took it out and examined it; it was quite valuable.
“It’s Mrs. Hammond‘ s necklace,” said Jordan.
A sudden suspicion formed in my mind, but I wasn’t sure.
I needed to wear this dress, but what about
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the necklace?
I couldn’t just leave it here.
Thinking this, Jordan had already come up
to me.
“Put it on. Trust me, it’s fine.”
He was leaning against the wall, smiling gently.
I chose to trust him.
As I walked down the stairs in the dress, I noticed Ruth’s expression.
The moment she saw me, a hint of triumph flashed across her face.
Then she quickly diverted her gaze and chatted happily with the people around her.
Jordan was nowhere to be seen when he went downstairs.
“Hello, miss. May I offer you a drink?”
A man approached me with a toast.
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Out of courtesy, I should have accepted it.
However, the way he sized me up made me
uncomfortable.
I gave a slight nod and was about to walk
away.
But the next second, he grabbed my wrist.
“I was trying to be polite by offering you a drink. Don’t push your luck.”
The man glared at me.
He grabbed my wrist so tightly it hurt.
As I tried to beckon to the security, the man suddenly moved in close, blocking my line of sight.
If I shouted, everyone would turn to look. I didn’t want to make a scene at the party.
“Looking for trouble, huh?”
Jordan’s voice came from behind me.
He grabbed the man’s hand forcefully.
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11:42
5
The man let out a pained hiss and released
his grip.
“It’s just a drink. Is this really necessary?”
Jordan let out a scoff and nodded. pulling the man to the balcony away from the crowd.
Before the man could react. a bottle of red wine was smashed over his head.
“Of course, it was just a drink. No need to get so mad, huh?”
A few guests had turned their attention toward the commotion. I hurried over to stop Jordan from doing anything else.
“Jordan…”
I called his name softly.
He finally turned his head toward me, still holding the broken wine bottle in one
hand.
“Are you afraid?”
Before I could answer, Jordan reassured
- me.
“Don’t be afraid. His family’s business. still depends on mine, right?”
As he spoke, he looked disdainfully at the man who was clutching his head in pain.
Jordan then picked up a piece of the broken bottle from the ground and pressed it against the man’s hand.
“What? Do I need to remind you to apologize?”
The shard was pressed deep, and the man screamed in pain.
The next moment, he came closer to me
and bent down.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I… I didn’t
mean it. I’m sorry.”
The man kept apologizing to me,
completely devoid of the arrogance he had shown earlier.
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5
“Get the fuck out of here,” spat Jordan.
Hearing that, the man sighed in relief and hurriedly ran away, as if afraid he’d regret it the next second.
Jordan leaned against the railing, wiping his hands with a handkerchief.
I suddenly recalled what Kian had said to me earlier.
“He’s not the one for you.”
Jordan was even harsher than Kian, though the latter’s harshness was directed at me.
Thinking this, I didn‘ t even notice when Jordan came up to me. It wasn’t until he waved his hand before my eyes that I snapped back to reality.
“What are you thinking about?”
I looked at him, who was smiling and shaking his head. He seemed to have a knack for reading my mind.
Tilting his head, he said, “You‘ re
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different.”
In a daze, he had already entered the banquet hall.
The series of disturbances had left me feeling a bit exhausted.
Fortunately, the party was coming to an end, so leaving now wouldn’t seem rude.
I was just about to gather my things to leave when Ruth came over with a woman.
“Mrs. Johnson, hello.”
I greeted the hostess of the party with a smile.
However, she merely gave a nod,
unimpressed.
Everyone here was someone of
importance. I had no idea what I might
have done to upset her.
Ruth stood behind Mrs. Johnson, looking smug.
Catching sight of the dress I was wearing, I
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suddenly remembered the necklace I had
found earlier.
“Miss, I’ll get straight to the point. I heard you‘ re quite taken with my
necklace.”
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