Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Jessica’s POV

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I pushed through the revolving doors of the office building, the eavy plastic bag from the corner bistro swinging in my

hand.

I was told early on that as Aaron’s assistant, my duties extended cafeteria’s menu, which meant fetching his lunch from a nearby bistro had become a daily ritual.

his palate; he had a deep-seated disdain for the executive

The lobby air hit me like a cool, sterile wave after the oppressive Los Angeles heat. It carried the faint aroma of roasted espresso from the corner kiosk and the clean smell of polished marble.

The lobby buzzed with the click of heels and the hushed tones of high-stakes business.

My plan was to head straight for the elevators, but my footsteps faltered as my gaze snagged on a familiar silhouette.

Everything in me went still. Standing by the reception desk was a woman with a familiar fall of platinum blonde hair.

It couldn’t be… but the posture, the way she gestured animatedly while chatting with Marilyn, the receptionist-it was unmistakable.

She was dressed in a tailored cream suit that screamed money and power. Her back was faced to me, but the silhouette was etched into my brain from a lifetime ago.

I didn’t want to believe it. I wanted to turn around and walk back out into the sun.

“…oh, that’s his assistant now,” Marilyn, the head receptionist, said, pointing a manicured finger in my direction.

The blonde woman turned. I nearly dropped the bag of food. The aroma of roasted turkey and expensive salad suddenly felt nauseating.

It was Fiona.

The shock on her face mirrored my own, but it was sharper, and more haunting.

She looked at me like she was seeing a ghost, her grey eyes widening until they looked like silver coins.

“Jessica?” she whispered. Her voice hadn’t changed-velvet over gravel.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Marilyn watching us with a look of intense curiosity.

I stood frozen, my fingers cramping around the handles of the paper bag.

“You’re alive?” Fiona mumbled.

The words felt heavy. I wondered, for a split second, if she’d spent the last six years wishing I weren’t.

Well, I wouldn’t be shocked; she’d made my life hell back then

She hadn’t just been my bully; she’d been my shadow, a constanteminder that I didn’t belong in Aaron’s orbit.

But then, the impossible happened. Fiona closed the distance between in three long strides and pulled me into a hug.

My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought it might tually fail. I stood there like a statue, the crinkle of the paper bag the only sound between us.

What the hell was happening?

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Chapter 102

After a long moment, she pulled away, holding me at arm’s leng, her eyes scanning my face.

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I searched her eyes for insincerity, for that old malice, but found none-just genuine relief swimming in those stormy grays.

“Fiona?” I managed to choke out.

She let out a breathy laugh and smoothed her hair back, stretching her hands out in a grand, queenly gesture that was so her.

“The one and only.”

I blinked, trying to reconcile the woman in front of me with the girl who used to ruin my life for fun.

“I don’t… I don’t understand.”

“I am so glad you aren’t dead, Jess,” she admitted, her voice dropping into an exaggerated, dramatic tone.

“Aaron has been on my neck for the last six years. He was convinced-utterly convinced-that I had something to do with your disappearance. He’s been a nightmare.”

She exhaled a long sigh and shook her head.

“This year was the deadline, you know. He told me if I didn’t ‘bring you out’ by December, he’d ruin me completely.”

I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the lobby’s air conditioning.

“He blamed you?”

“Well, I don’t blame him for thinking it,” she said, shrugging with a casual smile that made my head spin.

“I wasn’t exactly your biggest fan in high school. He was my ex, and the moment we broke up, you entered the frame. I taunted you every chance I got. To Aaron, I was the obvious villain in your story.”

Every words that spilled from her mouth became too much to swallow.

“But you were with him that day,” I blurted, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. I was overstimulated, my brain firing on all cylinders.

“The day I left. Weren’t you two getting back together? Why would he blame you if you were right there with him?”

Fiona’s eyes narrowed, confusion clouding them.

“Getting back-? What are you-”

Before she could finish, the private elevator slid open with a sofling.

Aaron and David stepped out, mid-conversation, their steps halung as they took in the scene.

Aaron was wearing a dark forest-green three-piece suit that made him look ravishing, the color bringing out the warmth in

his skin.

He looked every bit of handsome, but for the first time, his beauty didn’t distract me.

I was watching the way his face hardened into a mask of pure granite the moment his eyes landed on Fiona

David and Aaron exchanged a quick glance before focusing on the two of us

“Fiona,” Aaron called, his voice was a low growl that made the ha on my arms stand up.

Fiona gave a dismissive roll of her eyes, unfazed by his tone.

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“No need to use the ‘big boy’ voice, Ron. You’ve found her. She’safe, she’s sound, and she’s apparently your assistant. What a sweeping, suburban love story.”

She threw her hands out dramatically, her gray eyes sparkling with mischief.

Then, her expression shifted, becoming more business-like.

“But in all seriousness, this means I’m off the hook. Can you finally call off the dogs and drop the lawsuit against my company?”

My brows furrowed-lawsuit? What lawsuit? The pieces weren’t ting, my mind reeling from the overload.

“Fiona,” Aaron said again, his tone even, controlled. “What bring you here today?”

She smiled slyly, a look that made my skin crawl. There was a secret behind that smile, something dark and heavy.

“You sure you want me to say it out here, in front of your employees and the cameras?”

Aaron’s jaw tightened. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath that spoke volumes of restrained frustration.

When he opened them, he gave a stiff, almost imperceptible no

“Let’s go.”

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Without so much as a glance in my direction, he turned back toward the elevator. Fiona trailed after him with a satisfied smirk.

As she passed David, she gave him a small wave. “Hello, Dave.”

David scowled, but it wasn’t the kind of look you give a stranger. It was the look you give a difficult sibling-exasperated, but familiar.

I stood in the center of the lobby, clutching a bag of lukewarm food, watching the elevator doors seal them away.

Fear rose in my throat like bile, and my thoughts began to spiral into dark places.

What was she doing here? What “business” did they have that couldn’t be said in public?

My grip tightened on the plastic bag, the crinkle loud in the now quiet lobby.

“Don’t overthink it, Jess. There is absolutely nothing going on between those two.”

David’s voice slithered into my ear, making me jump. I turned to find him watching me with a knowing, frustratingly calm smile.

“It’s not that, I just-”

“No need to explain,” he cut me off gently, stepping closer. “There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Fiona..” He sighed, looking at the closed elevator doors.

“I hate to say this, but over the years, she changed. Drastically.”

I looked at him, skeptical. “She hugged me, David. She actually gged me.”

“I know. It’s weird,” he agreed with a dry chuckle. “We’re all still utious about her-Aaron especially. But she isn’t the same girl who used to trip you in the hallways. Believe it or not, she actually cared when you vanished.”

I shook my head, unable to wrap my brain around it.

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“Aside from the fact that Aaron made her life a living hell because he thought she’d hidden you away,” David continued, “she really did call me. At least twice a week for the first three years. She wanted to know if you’d been found. She felt… guilty, I think.”

His words hung there, painting a picture I hadn’t expected. Fiona-caring? The girl who’d tormented me, who’d been the face of my heartbreak? It didn’t compute, but David’s sincerity chipped at my doubt.

The “truth” of my past was shifting, turning into something I didn’t recognize.

“She really cared?” I whispered.

He nodded. “Yeah. She’s not the villain she used to be. Life kicked her around a bit. I guess it made her… human. But Aaron’s cautious; we all are. Old habits die hard.”

I exhaled shakily, the fear easing a fraction, though suspicion lingered.

“Thanks, David. I just seeing her here, after everything

“I get it,” he said, squeezing my shoulder. “But trust me-whatever she’s here for, it’s not what you think. Aaron’s moved on from that chapter. Now, get that food to him before it gets cold. He’s probably starving by now.”

I managed a small smile, nodding as he headed off. Alone in the lobby again, the encounter replayed in my head.

What had Aaron sued her for? And why blame her for my disappearance? The pieces didn’t fit, stirring a cocktail of confusion and unease.

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