Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 121

Chapter 121

Jessica’s POV

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“I’m sorry. My aunt was being discharged and I had to make sure-”

“I sent a car so you wouldn’t be late, Jessica. I didn’t send it so you could give me excuses.”

He finally turned around, and the breath hitched in my throat.

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He looked exhausted. His eyes were rimmed with a weary red, the skin beneath them bruised with shadow, but the intensity in his gaze was enough to pin me to the spot.

It was the look of a man who hadn’t slept, a man who had spent the night wrestling with demons I had helped

create.

He walked toward his desk but didn’t sit. He leaned against the edge, crossing his arms over his chest.

He stared at me with a blank, unreadable gaze for a long moment.

I felt my body visibly shaking, my knees threatening to buckle.

I hated how much power he had over me, how one look could make me feel like the small, terrified girl who had run away six years ago.

He finally looked away, his jaw tight, and picked up a brown envelope from the desk. He stretched it toward

My heart did a sickening roll. I looked at the paper, then at him, my eyes wide and stinging.

I prayed it wasn’t what I thought. I prayed he wasn’t about to sever the last thread connecting us.

“Wh… what’s this?” my voice was a mere whisper.

Aaron chuckled, but the sound was dry and hollow, devoid of any real humor. “It’s right in front of you, Jessica. Take it.”

I swallowed hard and forced my feet to move, inching toward him like a condemned prisoner.

My fingers trembled so violently that I nearly dropped the envelope as I took it.

Opening it was a Herculean task, it felt like trying to solve a puzzle while drowning,

I unfolded the paper, my eyes scanning the text until the bold words at the top punched me squarely in my face.

Notice of Termination.

“Aaron?” I looked up, my lips quivering. The room began to blur as tears filled my eyes. “A sack letter? You’re firing me?”

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Chapter 121

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He didn’t blink. He just stared pointedly, his expression a heap of rocks.

“Aaron, please. I’m sorry,” I sobbed, the words rushing out in a desperate, pathetic heap.

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“I know I hurt you. I know I’ve made a mess of everything, but you can take it out on me outside of work. Don’t take this from me. I need this job. I need to prove-”

“I’m pretty sure you don’t want me taking full custody of Adrian instead?”

His brow shot up, a challenge in his voice, and I visibly froze, ice flooding my veins.

The room spun for a second, the threat sucking the air out of my lungs.

“I’m sure you don’t want me to drag you into court for parental kidnapping and throw you behind bars, Jess,” he continued, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy low.

“So don’t ask me for things you can’t handle. Don’t test my patience further.”

I looked at him, searching his face for even a glimmer of the boy I had loved for years.

But his eyes were frosty-like chocolate melting into the snow. Dark, rich, but utterly cold. There was no warmth, no mercy.

He looked at me as if he wanted me to drop dead right there on his office rug, and the realization broke something deep inside me.

I stood in silence, clutching the termination letter to my chest.

My mind was a kaleidoscope of panic.

How would I support myself? How would I take care of Aunt Lydia?

I knew Aaron would take care of Adrian’s needs in a heartbeat; he was already proving that with the outings and the protectiveness.

But my own survival, my independence, was hanging on a thin thread.

Thick tears rolled down my cheeks, hot and shameful.

I wanted to run. I wanted to fly back to our tiny apartment, crawl under the covers, and cry until I couldn’t feel anything anymore,

I couldn’t withstand this-his anger, his hatred.

All my life knowing him, he’d been the bad guy, the high school tormentor, and I’d been the victim.

But looking at the wreckage in Aaron’s eyes, I realized the roles had reversed, and it tasted like ashes.

Without saying anything, I turned my back, ready to flee the office, the building, this confrontation.

“Wait,” his voice stopped me at the door. I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t.

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Chapter 121

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“My grandfather is already hunting you,” he said, his tone shifting from cold anger to a grim, professional seriousness.

“He knows you’re back. For now, he doesn’t know about Adrian. I cannot-and will not-take the risk of what happens to my son if that man finds out he exists.”

I finally turned, wiping my eyes.

“He’ll start his investigation here, at the firm,” Aaron explained, walking around his desk.

“That’s why I’m sacking you. You cannot be seen here. You’re going to move apartments today. I’ve already secured a place. You will be heavily guarded, twenty-four hours a day. I will take care of your finances, your bills, everything. You won’t want for a cent.”

“Aaron, I can’t let you just-”

“Jess,” he snapped, stepping closer until I could smell the faint, familiar scent of his cologne.

“You don’t have a say. Not after what you did. I call the shots now. You and Adrian are my family, and as the head of this family, you will follow my lead. Do you understand?”

The authority in his voice silenced me. I didn’t argue. I couldn’t.

The Aaron I knew was gone, replaced by the Tyrone patriarch he had been born to be.

I just stared at him, feeling the weight of his protection and his hatred all at once. It was a golden cage, but a cage nonetheless.

“I’ve looked into freelance journalism opportunities for you,” he added, his voice leveling out.

“Firms where you can work from home with a high pay grade. You’ll receive a final check for this month, plus a bonus for the Spain trip. Go pack your things.”

I nodded numbly after he was done, the fight draining out of me. What choice did I have?

As I turned to leave, the door swung open, and David walked in.

He stopped short, his eyes darting between my tear-streaked face and Aaron’s rigid posture.

I looked over my shoulder. Aaron’s fist was clenched white-knuckled against the edge of the mahogany table.

He looked away, refusing to meet David’s eyes or mine.

A pang of guilt pierced my heart. I had turned these two best friends into a source of tension. I had brought the war into their sanctuary.

I turned back to David and offered him a small, apologetic smile,

He didn’t say anything, but he winked at me and shook his head subtly-a silent message telling me not to worry, that he would handle the storm brewing in the room.

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Chapter 121

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I headed straight to my workspace-well, the desk that had been mine.

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In the few short weeks I’d been here, I’d actually started to find a rhythm of normalcy, a way to feel like a person again instead of just a ghost running from her past.

Even with the tension between Aaron and me, the work felt like a solid ground I could finally stand on.

I’d loved the high-stakes hum of the executive floor, the frantic energy of managing a schedule that moved billions of dollars, and the quiet pride of being the one who kept Aaron Tyrone’s world from spinning out of

control.

It had given me a sense of competency I’d forgotten I possessed; it was the ultimate distraction from the wreckage of my personal life.

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