Chapter 248 Alone Time
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Anneliese suddenly said, “I think I left my phone in the room. You two go ahead. I’ll catch up after I grab it.”
Jessica stared at her, wide–eyed. Anneliese winked, then turned to Zane, who was watching silently.
“Please take care of Jess, Mr. Shayman. Don’t let Johnson push her around again. I owe you a proper dinner. I’ll make sure Jackson comes too.”
Zane’s eyebrows lifted. “You know my brother?”
“Yes. Jackson was my junior back in school, and now he’s my senior,” Anneliese explained with a soft laugh that seemed to float in the air.
Zane had heard all sorts of rumors about her after their first meeting.
They said she was the true daughter of the White family. But even after her return, she could never live up to her status. She had dropped out of high school, liked to play around, and gotten into trouble with small–time criminals.
And then she’d run off for love. She left home for Zacharias. The stories about her were less than flattering, to say the least.
Yet Jonathan had chosen her, and they were married. As his friends, Zane and Joel respected that decision.
Most of the rumors were clearly false. Jonathan would never go for a woman with nothing but a bad reputation and no real talent.
And now that he’d found out she was an Astoria University alum, Zane understood just how unreliable the gossip had been.
Even though he was busy, he knew his younger brother had a crush that lasted for years.
And now that Anneliese had told him about her friendship with Jackson, that gave him the final piece of the puzzle. He knew why Jonathan told him to come up with a lie to lure Jackson home.
He rubbed his temple, feeling a dull ache spreading through his head.
His brother had terrible luck. He fell for the wrong girl, and worse, she belonged to Jonathan.
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Chapter 248 Alone Time
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Having a crush would have been fine, but he had been too soft when it came to courtship. It was embarrassing and pitiful.
Zane looked at Anneliese with a mixture of frustration and concern. “You better not call him
He did not want the kid to get caught in Jonathan’s crossfire.
“Sorry?” Anneliese paused, caught off guard.
Zane continued, “That confession you made about Jonathan? I recorded it. I’m going to send it to him. He’s going to be very happy.”
If Jackson kept holding onto his fantasies, Zane would make sure he heard the truth as well.
Better to end impossible feelings early and force him to let go.
“What?”
Anneliese’s eyes went wide. Her stomach dropped.
She wanted to take back what she had just said. Zane was ruthless.
No one should act this way.
But Zane ignored her panicked glare. He tilted his chin at Jessica, signaling her to follow him, and then he strode forward without hesitation.
Jessica glanced at Anneliese’s horrified face and could not help a small laugh. She waved her hand and fell into step with Zane, ignoring the glare.
Anneliese shivered. The memory of that little speech was haunting her, especially how she called Jonathan her husband so naturally. It had gone straight to him. She nearly died of embarrassment.
She quickly pulled out her phone and opened the chat with Jonathan.
No new messages. He must still be on the plane and had not received the recording yet.
There was still time to explain.
Anneliese typed, deleted, and typed again as she walked, running her fingers through her hair in frustration.
Should she tell him the truth?
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Chapter 248 Alone Time
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That she had only pretended to be affectionate to use his name and intimidate Marcus?
No, it was too early. The plane would not land for another seven or eight hours. She could explain later.
Just as she was about to close the chat, a voice message appeared unexpectedly. Anneliese nearly dropped her phone.
She rubbed her eyes, sure she was not imagining it.
It was really Jonathan. Her hands trembled as she pressed play.
“Of course I have changed. My husband loves me, protects me, and spoils me. Jess is family to me, which makes her family to him too. And my husband would never allow anyone to harm his family.”
Her own voice. Her own spoiled tone. The exact words she had just said now came from the phone, hitting her like a bucket of cold water.
She fumbled and quickly closed the message.
Another voice message arrived immediately.
Anneliese froze, gripping her phone, before she gathered the courage to press play. She lifted it to her ear, and his low, amused voice filled her senses.
“So, you spent ten minutes staring at my chat, thinking about how to explain this recording?”
Anneliese froze completely.
D*mn it. He had received the recording from Zane and had been watching her chat all along. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, frozen. She had no idea how to reply.
Seeing the “typing…” indicator on his end made her fingers burn. She yanked the phone away and closed the chat completely.
She shut off the screen and tapped her forehead, mortified.
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