Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 197

Chapter 197

David’s POV

Leaving the tomb-like quiet of my study for the warmth of the hallway felt like crossing into a completely different cli

As I descended the stairs, the sound of Daphne’s laughter grew louder; a bright, uninhibited sound that seemed to bounce off the marble floors.

It was a sharp contrast to the clinical silence I’d lived in for years.

Drawing closer to the kitchen, I could hear her and Helen exchanging quick, light-hearted banter over the clatter of pans.

For a second, I stood in the shadow of the doorway, watching.

Daphne had her hair pulled back in a messy knot, a smudge of flour on her cheek, looking entirely too comfortable in a house that usually felt like a museum.

Then, I stepped into the light.

The moment they picked up on my presence, the laughter faded, dying a sudden, violent death.

The air in the kitchen turned brittle, the warmth of their shared joke evaporating as if I’d brought a draft in with me.

Daphne didn’t even look up. She suddenly became very interested in the tomatoes she was slicing, her movements stiff and mechanical, the knife clicking against the wooden board with a sharp, rhythmic finality.

She was ignoring me.

Again.

She’d been doing this a lot lately. There was a new edge to her, a silent treatment that made me feel like I’d been convicted of a crime I hadn’t even been charged with.

She was avoiding eye contact at all costs, keeping her answers clipped and monosyllabic, and making it a point to never be in the same room as me for longer than a minute.

It was as if I’d become an obstacle she had to navigate rather than a person.

I wasn’t sure if this shift had started the moment I told her she couldn’t relocate to China to work directly under Aaron, or if it was something else entirely. My gut told me it was deeper than a denied transfer.

There was a secret angst simmering under her skin, a quiet resentment that radiated off her in waves, and I couldn’t for the life of me pinpoint the source.

I’d initially chalked it up to her being “weird”-she was, after all, whirlwind of unpredictable energy, but the mystery was starting to grate on my nerves.

I wasn’t used to being shut out, especially not in my own home.

Helen sensed the sudden drop in temperature.

She gave me a polite nod, wiped her hands on her apron, and slipped out toward the pantry.

I’ll take my leave now,” she murmured.

And then there were two. The kitchen felt smaller with just us.

I walked toward the island, leaning my hip against the granite.

པར ཏོ

Chapter 197

Daphne continued to butcher the tomatoes as if they had personally offended her.

“What are you cooking?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral.

“Dinner,” she said. One word. Flat. Not even a glance in my direction.

I watched her for a moment, the audacity of her silence actually starting to amuse me.

Most people in this city tripped over themselves to stay on my good side.

Daphne Moore, however, treated me like an annoying fly she couldn’t quite swat away.

“Did I do something wrong, Daphne?”

She finally stopped slicing. She turned her head slowly, a forced, plastic smile stretching across her lips-the kind of smile that didn’t reach her eyes and felt more like a bared set of teeth.

“Well, sir,” she said, her voice dripping with mock politeness. “Did you do anything wrong?”

The way she said “sir” carried just enough edge to be amusing instead of irritating.

I stared at her, marveling at her nerve. She was testing me, pushing the boundaries of the professional and the personal until

the line was a blur.

I wasn’t in the mood for her silly tantrums or whatever riddle she was trying to play, so I decided to drop the pretense entirely. I went straight to the point.

“Be my girlfriend for the next few months.”

The kitchen went into a state of ten-second paralysis. The only sound was the hum of the refrigerator.

Then, she broke.

Daphne erupted in a volcano laughter. It was a cackle of pure disbelief, her head tossing back as she gripped the edge of the

counter.

I stood there with a blank face, my hands shoved into my pockets, watching her lose it.

She reached out, her fingers warm and startling against my skin as she touched my forehead, checking for a fever.

“Are you okay? Did you hit your head on the way down the stairs? Do I need to call a doctor?”

Daphne’s POV

My laughter was loud, a sharp, disbelieving sound that echoed off the high kitchen ceiling, but the more I looked at him, the more the noise began to wither in my throat.

David wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t even twitching a muscle in amusement.

He looked exactly the same as he did when he was reviewing a multi-million dollar merger-dead serious and utterly immovable.

I pulled my hand back from his forehead, my heart starting to thd against my ribs. The realization hit me like a bucket of

ice water.

“Wait… you’re serious,” I whispered. The remnants of my giggle turned into a dry, uncomfortable lump in my throat.

David scratched his brow, looking almost annoyed that he had to repeat himself,

244

Chapter 197

He said it like he was announcing the weather forecast-calm, matter-of-fact, as if proposing something this insane was no bigger deal than asking me to pass the salt.

“I am perfectly serious,” he stated, his voice steady.

“You’ll be my girlfriend for the next few months. We’re going to China this Friday for the expansion meetings. From we’re heading straight to the Mediterranean for a family cruise holiday for the summer.”

I couldn’t even find my voice. My jaw was literally hanging open, my brain trying to process the sheer insanity of the words coming out of his mouth.

China? A cruise? Girlfriend?

“Wait, Mr. Tyrone-”

But he didn’t wait. He didn’t ask for my input, he didn’t offer a contract, and he certainly didn’t stay for the follow-up questions screaming in my head.

He just turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen with that effortless, arrogant stride of his, leaving me standing there

in the wake of his bombshell.

I stared at the empty doorway for a long moment, the spoon still clutched in my hand.

Did he just… command me into a relationship?

The soup bubbled softly on the stove behind me, sending up a puff of steam, but I couldn’t move.

What exactly had just happened? One minute I was laughing with Helen about some silly story she’d told, the next David strolls in, drops a fake-relationship bomb, and strolls right back out.

The words tumbled around in my head, refusing to settle into any kind of sense.

I set the spoon down and pressed both palms to my cheeks, feeling the sudden heat there. My pulse was racing.

Part of me wanted to chase after him and demand an explanation-why me? Why now?

Was this some kind of twisted joke born from the tension that had been building between us? But another part-the part that still remembered how the house had felt too small and too cold after he brought Julie home-kept me rooted in place.

I’d been avoiding him, yes. Ever since that night. Watching him disappear upstairs with her had twisted me I didn’t want to name.

The silent treatment that followed had started small, a quiet res

changed.

something inside

that grew every day he acted like nothing had

I’d told myself it was because he’d shot down my request to go to China, th

my frustration was purely professional.

But deep down, I knew it was more. It was jealousy, raw and bitter. It was hurt, plain and simple.

And now, this?

My mind was a mess of questions and a looming sense of… was ecstasy?

The terrifying, thrilling prospect of being trapped on a boat with a man who could make iny skin tingle with a single look was suddenly a very real possibility.

I looked down at the tomato on the cutting board. It was mangle, a messy heap of pulp and seeds. It felt like a metaphor for my life

3/4

Chapter 197

I leaned my forehead against the cool glass of the window.

My plans for a quiet, professional career were gone, shredded by

0

Comment

Send