Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 164

Chapter 164

Jessica’s POV

秘密:47%畜

65 vouchers

The car pulled up to a secluded spot near the Pingjiang Road district, but far from the tourist crowds. It was a private garden pavilion overlooking a quiet branch of the Grand Canal.

The walkway was lined with small, traditional stone lanterns that cast a warm, amber glow on the water.

The dinner was set on a floating wooden terrace.

A single table sat in the center, surrounded by dozens of white candles of varying heights.

There were no bright overhead lights-only the soft flicker of flames and the reflection of the moon on the ripples of the canal.

The scent of blooming jasmine and damp stone filled the air

As we sat down, the quiet of the night settled over us,

We talked about the small things first, but as the wine was poure and the first course was served, the conversation shifted toward the horizon.

“When we finally get a place that’s truly ours,” Aaron said, leaning forward, his eyes caught in the candlelight. “Not a safe house, not a rental. A home. How do you see it, Jess?”

I leaned back, a wistful smile on my face.

“I don’t want a mansion with twenty empty rooms. I want something cozy. Lots of natural wood, big windows that let in the sun, and a garden where I can actually grow things. Colorful rugs a kitchen that always smells like cinnamon, and a big, messy craft room for Adrian. Simple. Warm.

“Sounds like peace,” he murmured. He reached across the table, cing his fingers with mine.

“And… do you want more? Besides Adrian?”

“One more,” I said softly. “I think Adrian would be a great big brother. I’d love for him to have someone to grow up with. Just one more, though. I think four of us would be perfect. Or maybe 5 of us.”

“I can do that,” he grinned. “What about the career? I know you’ve been doing the anonymous blogging, but is that enough for you?”

I took a sip of my wine, thinking carefully.

“In college, I wanted the limelight. I wanted to be the face of a major news agency, the one everyone recognized. But now? I like being my own boss. I enjoy the investigative side, the ‘anonymous blogger’ persona lets me dig into theories and stories without the corporate red tape. Maybe later, I’ll turn it into something bigger, a platform of my own. I like being the one who cooks up the theories rather than just reading them off a teleprompter.”

“You’ve always been the smartest person in the room,” Aaron said his voice full of a pride that made my heart swell. “Whatever you build, I’ll be there to help you hold up the walls.

“And you?” I asked. “Where do you see yourself? In five years, when the noise of your grandfather finally fades?”

He looked out at the water for a moment.

“In five years, I want to be the one owning the court-not just as player, but as an executive. I want to build my own league, or at least a franchise where the players aren’t treated like chess pieces. I want to build the name Aaron Charles, leaving the

1/3

12:27 Tue Feb 24 19 A.

Chapter 64

(

“Tyrone legacy in the dirt. I want to be the man who changed xure no talented Aid has to sell their soul to a man like my

* 3.47%@

મોબા

me for the next era of the Tyrone generation, making

er just to get a shot.”

I reached across the table, squeezing his hand

‘You’ll do it. You’re already halfway there.”

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, the only sound being the distant chime of a bell from a nearby pagoda and the soft lap of water against the terrace.

“Jess,” Aaron called suddenly. His tone had shifted, losing its casual edge.

“Yeah?” I looked at him, my heart skipping a beat at the intensity his eyes.

“You’ve been through a lot because of me, Jess. And I don’t just f tear us apart before we even had a chance to breathe.”

the running, the hiding, or the way my family tried to

He stood up, but he didn’t come around the table yet. He stayed fight there, his hand disappearing into his blazer pocket.

His gaze dropped for a second, a flicker of genuine regret crossing his face before he looked back at me.

“I think about high school a lot. I think about how much of a cord I was-how I used to tease you and bully you just because I didn’t know how to handle the way you made me feel made your life a nightmare back then because I was too small to admit that the nerdy girl’ was the only person who actually saw me. I put you through hell long before we ever left home.”

He took a slow, steady breath, his fingers tightening on whatever he was holding in his pocket.

“But through all of it, the years of my cruelty and the months of his chaos-you’re the only thing that’s ever made me feel like I wasn’t just a Tyrone, another piece of a legacy I never asked for. You’re the only one who looked past the jersey and the

name. You made me Aaron.”

My breath caught. “Aaron?”

He moved slowly, stepping around the table until he was right side my chair.

He didn’t just stand there; he lowered himself until one knee hit the wooden planks.

The candlelight danced in the reflection of a small, velvet box he held in his hand.

He flicked it open, revealing a Ceylon Sapphire that seemed to old the entire night sky within its facets.

“I don’t want another day where you’re just my ‘girlfriend’ or the mother of my child,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

“I want the world to know you’re mine. I want to be yours, officially, forever.”

I was visibly shocked, my hands flyng to my mouth as the world seemed to narrow down to just him, the ring, and the sound of my own thundering pulse.

“Jess…” he prompted, his eyes searching mine with a vulnerability I’d never seen before.

“Aaron?” I managed to whisper, my voice trembling. “Are you… this real?”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify