?
Nis nced at Rusty out of the corner of her eye and noticed her pale face. She fell silent, clearly epting, Sullivan''s words.
From then on, neither of them exchanged nces, speaking only to Ruby individually.
Once dinner concluded, Sullivan offered to drive them home, but N declined
Sullivan quickly resumed his previous gentle facade. "N you''re not still holding onto what happened earlier, are you? If you''re really upset, I can apologize
No need, Sullivan. It''s out of the way for you, so I''ll just take a cab home," N replied.
Just as she turned to walk toward the curb, Ruby grabbed her arm. "N, I''ll go with you. It''s on my way."
N turned to Sullivan and said, "Sullivan, it''s gettingte. You should head home too. Drive safely.".
Sullivan didn''t push further, simply nodding. "Alright, let me know when you get home."
"Sure," Ruby replied.
Sullivan turned toward his car only after N and Ruby hailed a cab and left.
In the taxi, N apologized to Ruby. "I''m sorry, Ruby. If it weren''t for me, the atmosphere wouldn''t have been so awkward tonight."
Ruby shook her head. “It''s fine, N. I think what you said was right.”
She had invited Sullivan to dinner because he''d saved her, and she felt obligated to help him if he needed anything. Yet, she couldn''t shake the feeling "Ruby, I hope you always stay this alert. There are many ways to thank Sullivan for his help, but don''t let your gratitude lead you to ept his feelings
"I understand," Ruby replied.
"Good," N said.
After chatting for a bit longer, Ruby got out of the cab.
N was left alone, her mind drifting back to the scene she had witnessed earlier in the restaurant. A pang of bitterness rose in her chest. Suddenly, her phone buzzed.
Seeing Damon''s name shing on the scree moment, she decided to pick up.
"What''s up?" she asked.
she over whether to answer. After a
it her lip and hesitated
"Didn''t I ask you to send me the address for dinner? Why didn''t you?" Damon replied.
N looked down, fiddling with the tassels on her bag. "There''s no need. I''m soon."
There was a pause on the other end.
on my way back now. I''ll be there
After several seconds, Damon''s deep voice finally echoed. "Alright. I''ll wait for you at home."
1/2
After hanging up, N stared out the
window, feeling a tight knot in her chest. She reminded herself that she and Damon were just putting on an act. She had no right to be angry about h
She would gradually get used to it. Even if Damon kissed another woman in front of her one day, she would remain unfazed.
As the cab pulled up to the vi, N''s mood had calmed.
After paying the fare and stepping out, she saw Damon standing at the entrance, gazing at her with a serious expression.
She hesitated for a moment before approaching him. "Why are you outside?"
"I was waiting for you," he answered.
"Oh, thanks. But you don''t need to do that next time. Let''s go inside," she said, walking past him.
Suddenly, he grabbed her wrist and asked, "Did something happen today?"
SORAS BONUS
N shrugged off Damon''s hand and answered with her head lowered, "It''s nothing. I''m just a bit tired. If you don''t have anything else, I''m going Without waiting for his response, she quickly walked into the vi.
Watching her hurried departure, Damon frowned. He felt that N''s attitude toward him was off.
After hesitating for a moment, he called Spencer. "Check where N had dinner tonight and who was with her."
In less than ten minutes, Spencer sent him the results of his investigation.
Upon seeing the name of the restaurant, Damon''s eyes widened. He had his suspicions immediately.
Back in her bedroom, N had just finished removing her makeup and was about to take a shower when she heard a knock at the door.
"N, I need to talk to you. Can you open the door?" Damon asked.
Hearing his voice, N bit her lip, put down her pajamas, and walked to the door to open it. She asked, "What is it?"
Meeting her distant gaze, Damon became even more convinced she must have seen him with Charlotte Sumner tonight.
Charlotte was Brandon''s older cousin. She hade over for a business
meeting and had taken the opportunity to invite Damon and Brandon to dinner. Since she lived near Prospectus Technology, Damon
had offered her a ride. Because Charlotte had gone abroad for her studies in middle school, it was unsurprising that N didn''t know her, especially as
"The person I had dinner with tonight was Charlotte Sumner, my niece," Damon exined.
N blinked, her expression growing slightly unnatural. "You don''t need to exin. I don''t care who you have dinner with."
Damon looked into her eyes and insisted, "But I want to exin. I don''t want you to misunderstand."
"I''m not misunderstanding," N said stubbornly.
"Really? You''re acting so cold toward me tonight. Are you imagining that I''m flirting with you
while being entangled with other women?" Damon probed..
His gaze was sharp as if he wanted to see into her innermost thoughts through her
eyes.
Feeling a bit guilty, N quickly looked away, insisting, "I''m not! Stop making things up!"
"Okay, okay, it''s my fault. But next time you see me with another woman, can you at least give me a chance to exin before deciding to sentence me
Since their rtionship had just started to warm up, he didn''t want any misunderstandings to push her away again.
"If you just kept your distance from women, how could I misunderstand?" N questioned.
"Fine, I''ll make sure to avoid all women in the future. If any female employeese within three meters of me, I''ll dock their attendance and performa
1/2
N couldn''t help but re at him. "Can you be serious you if they hear it!"
Damon''s eyes were filled with sincerity. "I don''t care if c me"
At that moment, N felt like fireworks were going off i and everything wasing back to life.
"Got it," she muttered..
"Then... you''re not angry anymore?" Damon asked.
"I was never angry," N replied.
"You''re saying you''re not angry? When you looked at me Damon teased.
"What are you talking about? I just ignored you. When d