Chapter 260 Wild Friend
Chapter 260 Wild Friend
“Ugh!”
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Jessica pressed her palms into her tangled hair, frustration twisting across her face. She let her body fall onto the mattress, burying herself under the blanket until her head was hidden.
When she had slipped out that morning, the man had still been sound asleep.
She had settled the bill herself, left a card behind, and even ordered breakfast for him out of courtesy.
It was her way of making things right, and at the same time drawing a clear line. Anyone who cared to notice would know exactly what she meant.
That was the end of it.
Jessica pulled the blanket tighter around her body, curling herself into a small cocoon, and closed her eyes.
Even though Anneliese usually avoided interfering in Jessica’s private matters, she could not help herself. While chatting with Jonathan, she started asking about Zane.
“Has Zane been in a lot of relationships before?
“Does he have a certain type of woman he likes?
“You mentioned the other day that Jackson was being pulled home for an arranged marriage. Since Zane has already built his career, if he gets married, does he have to follow the same thing too?”
It was the first thing in the morning in Adros, but Jonathan answered her patiently anyway.
He sat at the table, breakfast in front of him. The more he realized how often Zane’s name came up, the less appealing his food became.
He managed a brief reply, and then the phone buzzed again. He unlocked the screen and saw Anneliese asking if Zane was faithful in relationships. His jaw tightened, and the steel fork in his hand drove down with force, piercing straight into the steak on his plate.
While Anneliese was still waiting for his reply, his call came instead.
By that time, she had already reached a restaurant near Astoria University, ready to attend a dinner with her lab group.
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Chapter 260 Wild Friend
She picked up, and Jonathan’s smooth, magnetic voice filled her car.
“So curious about Zane. Do you like him?”
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Anneliese failed to hear the sharpness in his tone. She nodded lightly as though he could see her.
“Yeah. I mean, Zane’s actually a really good guy-”
Jonathan cut her off. “Better than me?”
Anneliese froze in silence. The weight in his voice struck her late, but it sank in quickly.
She blinked. She was suddenly realizing she had spent her whole morning pressing her supposed husband about another man. Not just another man, but his closest friend.
That behavior was not only wrong.
It was shameful. It made her look like she had no sense at all.
Her questions had come from concern, but panic rushed through her, and she scrambled to fix her mistake.
“No, no! There’s no way he could ever compare to you. You’re the best. I only asked about him because he helped Jess so much yesterday, and that meant he helped me too. I thought maybe I could help him find a girlfriend.”
Jonathan’s fingertip tapped against the back of his phone twice, a subtle sound that he chose to focus on while ignoring most of what she said after those first few words.
So, in her heart, he was the best.
Zion sat across from him at the table, eating his own breakfast.
He watched the man’s face shift slowly from clear skies to storm clouds, then from storm clouds to heavy rain, and finally from heavy rain to bright sunlight, all in the span of one meal.
And Zion had been working for him long enough to know what that meant.
That soft tapping against the phone case was Jonathan’s way of being secretly thrilled.
Even when their last project had raked in billions, he had not looked nearly this happy.
Whatever Anneliese had told him, it had turned his strong and mighty boss into something soft and almost unrecognizable.
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Chapter 260 Wild Friend
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Because of Jackson’s confession, Anneliese had worried the gathering tonight would feel awkward.
To her surprise, Jackson never showed. The private room was full of laughter, and soon Professor Baltimore arrived as well.
He spoke warmly to Anneliese, offering her praise and even extending a formal invitation to apply as his graduate student and join his lab.
Anneliese politely refused. Professor Baltimore sighed with regret, then patted her shoulder with a gentle smile.
“All right, I understand. Your bond with Professor Clocke is strong. That’s something I can’t undo. He has spent the past two years devoted to the eVTOL project. It’s one of the hottest
open for it. fields in aerospace, built on the most advanced technology, and the future is wide If you follow him, your career will know no limits. Work hard, make your mark, and I’ll be here to see it.”
“Thank you, Professor Baltimore.” Anneliese lifted her glass and toasted him.
When she sat back down, Imogen walked over holding her own glass.
“Anneliese, let me toast you too. Thank you for all your help these past few weeks.”
They touched glasses, sipping the red wine. Imogen held her gaze steady on Anneliese, then spoke with sudden weight.
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
Anneliese blinked, her eyes clouded with confusion.
“Imogen…”
“Five years ago, at the GAIR Contest. I was there too. I lost to you in the very first round.”
Anneliese’s lips parted, but nothing came out.
She searched her memory with everything she had, but her face still showed only uncertainty.
Imogen gave a small smile, unsurprised. Five years ago, Anneliese had been radiant. She had been the youngest competitor in the room, yet she led her team with unmatched strength, sweeping through the contest and claiming the championship.
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