Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 216

Chapter 216

Daphne’s POV

“Daphne? What are you doing here?”

I tried to smile back, but it felt shaky.

“Jessica.” I breathed, moving toward her. “I need to speak to Aaron. It’s important. Beyond important.”

Her brow furrowed immediately.

“You need to speak with Aa-” She stopped mid-word, her eyes searching mine as she really looked at me.

“Why? What’s wrong? You look petrified. Did something happen with David?”

Her voice softened with worry, the warmth she always carried now edged with genuine alarm.

I could see the questions piling up behind her eyes, but she didn’t push.

She simply waited, one hand still resting lightly on my arm, giving me the space to answer while clearly ready to help however she could.

“I’ll tell you later,” I said quickly. “But right now I need to find Aaron. I’ve been looking for David too, but I can’t find him anywhere.”

Jessica studied me for a second, then nodded.

“Hold on. Let me grab my phone and call him.” She stepped inside, returning a moment later with her phone already ringing. While it rang she looked at me again.

“Daphne, you’re scaring me. Please calm down and tell me what’s going on.”

I stayed silent. The truth was too heavy to drop on her without Aaron there-her life and her husband’s were the ones being

threatened.

I paced the narrow hallway, my heels clicking frantically. I could hear the fairit ringing from the speaker. Then, it went to voicemail.

“He’s not picking up,” Jessica said, her voice tightening. She tried again. “Still nothing. Daphne, tell me what is going on.”

I looked at Jessica, the woman who had so quickly become a real friend, and the memory of what I’d just overheard made my throat tighten painfully.

I couldn’t tell her yet. Not right now. If I dropped that kind of bomb on her, she would spiral, and right now we needed clear heads and steady hands more than anything.

I wasn’t sure she had that kind of control in her at the moment.

“It’s better if I tell you both together.”

I turned on my heel, but Jessica caught my arm.

“Wait. Whatever you need to say to my husband, you can say to me first.”

I placed my hand over hers, trying to steady both of us.

“Jessica,” I said, my voice firmer this time. “It’s better if Aaron hears this from me first. And for everyone’s safety on this ship,

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Chapter 216

I have to find him. Or David. Please.”

She searched my face, worry deepening, but she let go.

I didn’t waste any more time, I turned and ran toward the elevators.

I started thinking of where David would go. He’d mentioned a snooker bar on the lower decks, a place where he and his cousins often went to escape the formal family functions.

I asked a passing steward for directions, my voice breathless, and followed his pointing finger toward the gold-tined elevators.

I thanked him and hurried away.

I stepped inside, my heart still racing so hard I could feel it in my ears.

When the elevator reached the lounge floor and the doors opened again, the first person I saw was Aaron.

He was standing near a marble pillar, casually looking down at his watch.

Relief flooded through me so strongly that my knees nearly gave out.

“Aaron,” I breathed, stepping out quickly.

He looked up, offering a small, surprised smile.

“Daphne. Everything okay?”

I shook my head, my voice urgent. “I have something important to tell you. We need a private place right now.”

He raised a dark eyebrow, confusion crossing his face. “What is it?”

“Just get in the elevator,” I urged, grabbing his arm and pulling him back toward the closing doors.

Aaron didn’t argue. He stepped in beside me.

The moment the doors sealed shut, cutting off the noise from the snooker bar and lounge, I turned to face him.

“I just overheard Julie, Eric, and some Lauren Walters,” I said, the words rushing out in a trembling stream. “They’re planning to kill you, Aaron. You and Jessica both.”

Aaron’s entire demeanor shifted in an instant. The relaxed man who had been checking his watch vanished.

His eyes hardened, jaw tightening as he leaned in closer, giving me his full attention.

“Tell me everything,” he said, voice low and controlled, the kind of calm that came from years of handling crises. “Leave nothing out.”

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I swallowed hard and did exactly that. Every chilling word I had heard through that cracked door came spilling out of me, my voice trembling but clear.

When I finished, Aaron didn’t speak right away. He stared at the elevator floor for a long second, the silence stretching between us like a live wire.

“Eric,” he growled under his breath.

“They brought Julie in as a distraction,” I added, my voice shaking. “But she’s gone rogue because of David. She’s obsessed. She threatened to ruin their entire plan if they don’t get rid of me too.”

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