Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 194

Chapter 194

Daphne’s POV

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By the time Monday morning rolled around, I felt like I had lived through a decade in the span of forty-eight hours.

The weekend had been a slow, agonizing test of my patience.

David was barely home, appearing only in brief flashes; a tall shallow in the hallway, the sound of the front door closing at midnight, the distant murmur of his voice from the terrace.

I had tried to keep my mind from eating itself alive.

I spent hours hunched over my laptop working on my AI automation side gig, losing myself in strings of logic and code because they were the only things in this house that actually made sense.

When my brain finally turned to mush, I’d retreated to the kitchen. Helping Helen cook had become my new therapy.

With Lois gone, I was a culinary disaster waiting to happen, so I leaned into Helen’s expertise, trying to learn how to chop an onion without losing a finger.

It was a distraction, but every time I looked at the second place setting Helen would sometimes lay out for “the guest,” my heart would do a miserable little somersault.

Now, standing outside David’s office at eight in the morning, I felt the familiar stirrings of a secret, simmering malice. One sided, actually.

The door was slightly ajar, just enough for the sound of his voice to drift into the hallway. It wasn’t his corporate shark voice. It was something else-something softer, more intimate.

“I know,” I heard him say, his tone like warm honey. “I’ll make sure everything is taken care of. Just rest. I’ll see you later this evening, alright? Yes… me too.”

The “me too” hit me like a splash of ice water. I stood there, clutching a stack of documents to my chest so hard the paper

crinkled.

Me too? Me too what? Me too, I love you? Me too, I can’t wait to see you in my shirt again? I felt a wave of indignant rage.

Here I was, losing sleep, worrying about my best friend’s brother and my own crumbling sanity, and he was in there playing the role of the doting protector to a mystery woman.

I waited until I heard the click of the phone being placed on the desk.

I didn’t knock. I didn’t wait for an invitation. I pushed the door open with a bit more force than necessary and marched in.

David didn’t even look up. He was already leaning over his massive monitor, and the blue light from the complex data streams illuminated his face.

He looked effortless, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, completely oblivious to the fact that I was currently imagining throwing his stapler out the window.

“You’re late with the morning briefing, Daphne,” he said, his voice returning to its usual clipped, professional frequency.

“Good morning to you too, sir,” I muttered. I walked toward his desk, my shoes clicking sharply on the hardwood.

I set the documents down with a deliberate thud.

He still didn’t look at me. “Read out the schedule. I have a board meeting at ten.”

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44 Wed, Apr 8

Chapter 194

M

O

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I swallowed, my jaw tightening. The “good girl” from Friday night was gone, replaced by a woman who had spent forty-eight hours stewing in jealousy and silk pajamas.

Clearing my throat, i completely ignored his order.

“When are you going to give me my salary for the month?” I asked.

That got his attention. David’s pen stopped moving. He slowly raised his head, his blue eyes narrowing as they searched my face.

“What are you talking about? It’s only the middle of the month.”

“I want to resign,” I said, tilting my chin up with a bravado I didn’t actually feel. “So I’d like to know the payout structure for my remaining days. I’m done.”

David stared at me for a long beat, his expression unreadable. Then, he simply shrugged and returned his gaze to the blueprints.

“You know the protocol, Daphne. Send in your formal resignation letter a week in advance. HR will process your final check according to the contract. Is that all?”

I felt the air leave my lungs.

Is that all? No “Why, Daphne?” No “Please stay, I need you.” Just a casual recitation of the employee handbook.

“Is that all?” I repeated. My voice rose a full octave, cracking at the edge.

The nonchalance in his tone hit me harder than a shout would have. He didn’t care. He was just going to let me walk out the door, settle my account like a utility bill, and replace me by Monday afternoon.

Panic flared in my chest, overlapping with the jealousy.

Wait. What am I doing? I couldn’t actually afford to quit. I had Leis to support, and a life that was currently held together by the very paycheck David signed.

I had let my feelings for a man who hadn’t even looked at me twice this morning drive me toward a cliff.

I needed a pivot. Fast.

“I… I’m resigning because I want to go to China!” I blurted out, the words tumbling over each other as I scrambled to cover my tracks.

“I heard Kelly talking about the expansion. Mr. Aaron Tyrone needs competent people at the headquarters in Suzhou. I’m pitching myself. You already know my capabilities, sir. If you don’t put me on that list, I might actually just end it all right here on your rug.”

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David looked up again, this time with an expression that sat somewhere between boredom and genuine concern for my

mental health.

“China?” he repeated, his voice smooth and maddeningly calm.

“You want to move across the world because you heard a whisper of something I haven’t even confirmed yet? And you think threatening to quit is the most effective way to get a recommendation to my cousin?”

He paused, his blue eyes narrowing. “You are smarter than this, Miss Moore.”

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