Chapter 419 Jealousy (2)
She was just about to confront him when the man turned, and Karen froze.
K had a rugged, hard-edged face.
But this man... his features were sharp in a different way—wicked, almost careless, the kind of face that promised trouble.
Their eyes locked.
Karen felt a flicker of disorientation. His gaze was predatory, a challenge wrapped in amusement.
It made her uneasy. She cleared her throat lightly. "Sorry. Wrong person."
Glenn frowned.
Karen studied him a moment longer. "I haven't seen you before. New faces in Southern City are rare."
Glenn lifted his champagne glass in a lazy salute. "Big forest, plenty of birds. New faces aren't worth the surprise."
Everyone who came to this venue came to do business. Every guest was a connection.
Across the room, the party hummed on.
Juniper had made a full circuit of the hall, exchanged over a dozen business cards, and now, wrapped in a white fur stole, she slipped away to the private lounge on the top floor.
The lounge's ceiling was a dome of stars—an artificial galaxy glittering above her. Breathtaking.
She took a few photos on her phone, meaning to send them to Jenny, when her gaze caught on the pinned WhatsApp chat at the top.
Y: [Why are you ignoring my calls?]
Juniper's lips pressed together. Was that supposed to be an olive branch?
That afternoon, Jenny had called him, but Magnus hadn't picked up.
Now, she noticed several missed calls from him. But her phone was always on Do Not Disturb, so she hadn't heard them.
She ignored them. She intended to let him wait a few days. Trust was a fragile thing, and she wasn't going to let him break it a third time. The rules had to be clear.
Magnus's WhatsApp name was just a single letter: Y.
She had never changed it before. Now, she did—renaming him simply: "Dog."
Juniper stared at the new label and let out a quiet chuckle.
Behind her, a familiar male voice called her name. "Juniper?"
She turned, phone still in hand, surprise flashing in her eyes.
"Michael? What are you doing in Southern City?"
He crossed the room with long, easy strides. "Invited by a partner company. End of the year, no one waiting at home, so I thought I'd get out for a bit."
Juniper asked without thinking, "Sinclair really left?"
"Yeah. Over a month ago."
There was a shadow in his eyes, though his face was calm, almost serene.
Juniper started to speak, then hesitated. In the end, she only said, "If it's meant to be, you'll meet again."
Michael smiled faintly. "Meeting at all is already a gift. I'm not as lucky as you and Magnus."
Reunions were something he didn't dare hope for.
Juniper hadn't planned to argue, but the words slipped out anyway. "Magnus and I have never been lucky. We just choose to wait for each other."
Michael's smile was soft, tinged with envy.
Snow fell over Southern City.
Michael and Juniper stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the silver-white flurry outside.
In the distance, the night sky bloomed with a burst of color—fireworks, scattering light across the snow.
They stood in silence, neither speaking for a long time.
For Michael, the moment felt strange, almost like stepping into another life. Once, he had cared for Juniper. Watching fireworks with her had been a dream—beautiful, but unreachable.
Now, they stood side by side, and yet his thoughts were with someone else.
After a long pause, still watching the snow, he asked quietly, "Do you think it's snowing somewhere else right now?"
It was as if he was asking her, and himself.
When Juniper finally decided to leave, she found the top-floor passage locked.
Michael tried the handle a few times and shook his head. "Looks like someone wants us to spend the night up here."
Juniper's brow furrowed.
Her body didn't feel right either—a restless heat spreading from her chest to her neck.
She tugged at the fur around her shoulders, pulled out her phone, and called Karen. No answer.
She tried Ronald next: [I'm locked on the top floor.]
Ronald arrived quickly with a few men.
By then, Juniper's cheeks were flushed unnaturally. Ronald's eyes narrowed in concern. He slipped an arm around her and steered her toward the elevator.
That night, a photo of Ronald and Juniper under a single black umbrella hit the top of the trending list.
In the picture, Ronald held the umbrella in one hand and opened the back door of a car with the other. Juniper, one hand pressed against the white fur at her chest, her beautiful face tilted down, dark waves of hair spilling forward like silk to hide half her expression. Snow swirled around them, the image almost cinematic.
One figure stood with head bowed, shielding the other from the snow. The other bent slightly, hand on her dress, about to step into the car.
They didn't touch, yet the air between them hummed with suggestion.
And Juniper's flushed cheeks and neck only deepened the impression.
The internet exploded.
[Harper is unreal. How did she end up getting close to the Abbotts again?!]
[Damn, I have to say, Harper looks expensive. And gorgeous.]
[I'm done. Don't tell me SY's getting played!]
[Please. SY never even liked her. Stop flattering her.]
[Wait! I have a theory. Is SY about to marry Ms. Abbott, while Harper moves in on the Abbott heir? That's… insane.]
[Well, well! Are rich people always this... open-minded?]
[Harper sure knows how to play her cards! If she marries Ronald and SY ends up with Ms. Abbott, does that mean SY will have to call her sister-in-law?]
[My god. This is messy!]
Paul sent the trending post to Magnus with no small amount of dread.
Magnus had just stepped out of the shower, sitting on the edge of the bed with his phone in hand, ready to call Juniper. The moment he saw the post, the air around him seemed to drop eight degrees.
His brows drew tight.
As he read the comments, his eyes turned cold.
Random CP shipping? Really?
He switched to a burner account and typed a reply: [Who told you Harper is marrying Ronald?]
The troll responded almost instantly: [Are you blind? This photo is proof enough. What do you need, a bedroom shot?]
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
