After that, Ian calmly smiled.“You’re a little sensitive.” He picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.“I bumped into your colleague at the cafe today.” She paused, then suddenly smiled.“Really?”“Did she tell you something?”Elaine’s smile froze, and she looked into his deep- set eyes.She started feeling guilty.‘Did he find out that m y colleague secretly took a photo of him?’If Ian didn’t have great observational skills, could he have been an undercover agent? That would be a terrible choice.She admitted with a smile, “She did, but I don’t question your private life.The outsiders don’t know about our arrangement, so that happened.I’m sorry for causing any inconvenience.”“Was that why you switched off your phone?”Elaine started sweating cold sweat.Sometimes men were sharper than women when it came to observation.“No, I just don’t like being bothered while I work.”She then explained, “I know our situation, so I don’t need to read too much into it.Who you meet is none o f my business either.”He fell silent for a few seconds before smiling.“I thought it made you uncomfortable.”Soon, the waiter brought the food.When Ian took a whiff of the food, she immediately felt hungry and picked up her cutlery.“Not at all.I just don’t like to be a burden.I was just worried that you’re unhappy with what my colleague did.”She then looked at him and teased, “You’re not that petty, are you? Are you going to take revenge?”He smiled.“No.”Elaine poured some tea and smiled. “That sounds about right.I don’t take you for a petty person.”Ian looked at her.“Honestly, do you regret this?”Elaine paused because she knew what he meant by regretting.Before she could speak, Ian added, “Even though I didn’t force you into this, I did convince you.“You’re afraid of getting married, but I found a way t o make this a transaction and tie us together.It does seem unfair to you when I think about it.“I’ve never seen myself as a good person.”Ian’s eyes turned dark as he mocked himself.After speaking to Barbara, he knew he still had feelings for her.While being undercover for so many years, he had never felt bad for using women, regardless if it was Katrina Zalensky, the other random women that the mob bosses gave to him, or the women he approached to get closer to his target.Elaine was different.He never thought of using her because it was a deal.He had looked into her past.She never had a lover, wasn’t crazy about love, didn’t live her life for men, was a career woman, and had a strong personality.He had chosen her because she checked all the boxes.Women who weren’t clingy and were very clear- minded were rare.He admitted that getting engaged and married to her was to get help from Edward so he could join his circle.That would help him when he worked as ‘ Edward Xavier’s son-in-law’.The Saldanas had a strong foundation in Hewston, so removing them would involve insiders.He had to find a good ‘identity’, so he had his eyes on the Xaviers.He had chosen them because Edward had no previous connections with the Saldanas, so it wouldn’t be suspicious when he got into the circles of Hewston as ‘ Edward Xavier’s son-in-law’.
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