Jasper held back the urge to roll his eyes as he tapped out of the chat.


    Alyssa, seated in another room, repeatedly scrolled through the maliciousments online.


    Heartbroken and tearing up, she nearly crushed the phone screen. Ss and Liam kept herpany,


    not knowing what to do except to exchange looks because they''d nevere across such a situation.


    "Lyse, don''t fret about it. Jonah and Julien aren''t in the entertainment industry. The scandal will die


    down after a while," Ssforted Alyssa.


    He sighed, feeling sorry for Jonah.


    "Sure, the gossip will eventually die down, but Jonah and Julien will be scarred forever." Alyssa closed


    her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself. "Jonah is the president of KS Group. We might own the


    company, but Jonah''s reputation and public image have taken a huge hit.


    "This is what the mastermind wishes to see—to tarnish Jonah''s reputation so that he couldn''t face the


    public.


    "Julien isn''t a public figure, but the Lovce family is difficult. Now that they''ve heard about the


    scandal, I''m afraid Julien can''t go back to them."


    The thought of it upset her to no end. After hanging out with Julien for a while and going through ups


    and downs together, she had already considered him family.


    Upon learning that Julien had suffered beatings by the Lovce family, Alyssa felt an overwhelming


    urge to retaliate on his behalf. She nearly stormed to their residence.


    Just like Jonah, she did not wish to see Julien suffer.


    Liam immediately knelt beside her upon seeing the tears in her eyes. Holding her hand tenderly, he


    peered into her eyes. "Lyse, don''t worry. If the Lovces are ignorant enough to abandon a fine young


    man like Julien, we''ll take him in."


    "Liam..." Alyssa softly called out to him as tears welled up again.


    Liam chuckled. "I always wondered who Jonah would end up with, given how perfect and arrogant he


    was. Now, I realize that Julien is his perfect match."


    Alyssa fell into a daze, recalling how Jonah and Julien always stayed by each other''s side—how Julian


    had always tried to fulfill all of Jonah''s requests to the best of his ability and the way they lovingly


    looked at each other like they''d found the universe in the others'' eyes.


    There were signs all along.


    "Liam was right. We should celebrate Jonah finding himself a partner." Ss grinned cheerfully after


    shedding the gloom from before. "Hehe! One of the Taylor sons finally started dating. Jonah is a role


    model to us all."


    Liam replied, "Ss, you should follow suit, then. You''re not any younger."


    "Damn it! Look, we were born a few minutes apart. You should look in the mirror. You hang out with


    guys all day, with no women in sight. I''m worried you might end up forever alone."


    Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    Hearing that, Liam joked in an unbothered fashion, "Whatever. If I can''t find ady, I''ll pick a


    goodlooking man from the guys around me."


    That prompted Alyssa and Ss to re at him. "No. You''d better not!"


    At that moment, they heard a dull knock on the door. Ss answered the door and looked flustered. "J-


    Julien?"


    Alyssa shot up from the couch when she learned that Julien had arrived.


    "Ss, is Lyse in the room?" Julien managed to squeeze a few words from his parched lips. "I... I would


    like a quick chat with her in private."