Chapter 160
Jonathan’s behavior tonight made it seem like he’d shown up just to pick a fight.
Niamh honestly couldn’t figure out what she’d done to offend him.
If anything, shouldn’t it be the other way around?
She’d had her eye on a raw ruby with a heart–shaped flaw–Marina wanted it too, and Jonathan had swooped in to help Marina snatch it right out from under her.
Today was the opening of her new studio, and–what a coincidence–Marina had scheduled her own opening on the very same day. Jonathan had gone out of his way to poach a client Niamh had already lined up.
By rights, it was Jonathan and Marina who’d wronged her–yet she’d never once gone looking for a fight. But now, here Jonathan was, making trouble on her doorstep.
“Jonathan, what exactly do you want?” Niamh asked bluntly.
He closed the distance between them, each step pressing in on the cooling air
between their bodies.
Jonathan had always carried a certain intensity, an almost suffocating presence.
Niamh refused to show weakness. She stood her ground, refusing to back away.
They ended up face to face, bodies nearly touching.
The tension between them shifted–something charged and ambiguous replaced
the confrontation.
“Niamh, those best–selling pieces at The Thomas Group… you designed them, didn’t
you?”
Niamh froze.
He hadn’t exactly phrased it as a question, but his voice didn’t sound all that certain
either.
She couldn’t quite tell if Jonathan was looking for confirmation, or just stating a
fact.
The streetlight outside cast sharp shadows across his face, highlighting every angle.
As their eyes met, Niamh searched his gaze for a flicker of admiration or surprise,
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Chapter Tou
something that would acknowledge her talent–but found nothing.
“Yes. I designed them.”
Even after she admitted it, Jonathan’s expression didn’t change–not even a flicker. If anything, his eyes grew colder.
“If you wanted to impress me, you could’ve just said so,” he said, his voice as chilly as the set of his jaw. “There’s no need to go through my grandfather to make your point. That’s just childish, Niamh.”
Niamh was completely baffled.
When had she ever tried to get his attention through his grandfather?
Honestly, she was more curious about how his grandfather had found out in the first place.
She was just about to ask him what on earth he was talking about when Jonathan
cut her off.
“Come with me.”
Before she could refuse, he added, “It’s my grandfather’s request.”
Niamh hesitated. His grandfather had never insisted on anything from her before, not even when he wanted to see her.
Still, her curiosity got the better of her, and she followed Jonathan out to a midnight blue Bentley parked at the curb.
འགཁ་བ་བཀང་བ་དང་་ན་ངས་ད་ན་
She hovered for a moment, torn between the front seat and the back. In the end, she chose the back, and Jonathan didn’t object.
The Bentley glided away from Ivory Heights Gardens.
Not far down the road, beneath the streetlights, Julian stood alone beside his cherry–red Ferrari. He’d arrived an hour early that evening–and had been standing there ever since.
He’d watched, helpless, as the man by Niamh’s side changed first from Peter to Preston Winslow, and now from Preston to Jonathan.
There was never a place for him.
Julian’s hands curled into fists. He slammed one down on the hood of his sports car in frustration.
Seabreeze Villa.
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Chapter 160
By the time Niamh climbed out of the car, she felt dazed.
“Your grandfather’s here?” she asked.
Jonathan didn’t answer.
The villa glowed with warm light, but as far as Niamh knew, this was Jonathan’s property–she’d never known his grandfather to visit.
Jonathan, ever the gentleman, let her go in first.
Niamh entered the house, glancing around, only to find the place completely empty. “Where’s your grandfather?”
She was still trying to puzzle it out when she heard the sharp click behind her.
Jonathan had locked the door.
“I never said my grandfather was here,” he replied.
Chapter 101
