Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 217

Chapter 217

Daphne’s POV

S

“Stay safe, Daphne,” Aaron said, his tone polite, almost detached. He didn’t wait for a response, he simply turned on his heel and walked toward the stairs.

I stood there for a long moment, watching his back until he vanished around the corner, leaving me alone in the sterile, quiet hallway.

I took a steadying breath, forced my expression into something resembling calm, and pressed my key card against the door.

To my intense relief, David was sitting at the edge of the bed. He was alive, whole, and completely unaware that a conspiracy was tightening around him.

His back was toward me, his shoulders hunched as he wore a pair of noise-canceling headphones, his fingers dancing across the keys of his open laptop.

I hovered in the doorway for a second, watching him.

This was supposed to be a holiday, a break from the relentless grind of the corporate world, yet even here, he was anchored to his work.

I walked over, my movements silent, and reached out to slide the headphones from his ears.

He stiffened, his jaw tightening into a line of frustration before he even turned around.

But the moment his gaze landed on me, the tension drained from his face, replaced by a softer, more unguarded look.

“Daphne,” he said, his voice a gravelly murmur.

He looked at me for a beat, his blue eyes searching mine, before he glanced back at his screen.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Just clearing out some urgent emails,” he replied, not looking up. “I’ll be finished in a couple of minutes.”

I sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed near his knees. “We’re on a trip. You should be resting, not working.”

He gave a small shrug. “My work doesn’t stop just because I’m on vacation.”/

I shook my head. “You should really take a break.”

I stared at him for a moment, hesitating. Part of me wanted to hold onto this fragile peace a little longer, to pretend everything was still okay.

The other part knew there was no point in dancing around it.

I took a deep breath and decided to tell him the truth.

“David… where were you earlier? I looked for you and couldn’t find you anywhere.”

He raised an eyebrow, studying me. “Why do you want to know?”

I met his gaze steadily. “Because I need to talk to you about something important. And because…. I need to know what your relationship with Julie really is.”

He groaned and rubbed a hand over his face.

12:58 Tue, Apr 21

Chapter 217

M

7

56

“I thought we were past this. Why does it matter?”

The frustration in his voice stung, but I refused to back down. I reached over and snatched the laptop from his lap, setting it on the bedside table.

He looked at me, his brows knitted together, his patience visibly fraying.

“I think I have the right to know who she is to you, David.”

He stared at me for a long moment, then let out a long, jagged sigh, rubbing a hand over his face.

He looked exhausted, the kind of tired that sleep wouldn’t fix.

“Julie is the sister of someone we lost months ago,” he finally said.

My heart stalled. My frown disappeared, replaced by a sudden, intense curiosity.

“Who?”

“Fiona,” he said, his voice hardening. “She was Aaron’s ex. That was her only sibling. Fiona died trying to protect Jessica and Aaron from my grandfather.”

He stared off into space for a long moment, his eyes dark with the memory.

“It’s a long, ugly story, Daphne. But you need to understand that I’ve been helping Julie because she hasn’t been mentally or emotionally stable since her sister died. Her entire family was gutted by the loss, and there are predators, people who have been trying to use her grief as a lever to get to my family.”

He practically hissed the last word, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

“Is that why you had her at your house some weeks ago?” I asked softly.

He nodded. “I had just picked her up from her first therapy session. She was in a bád state. I couldn’t leave her alone.”

Relief rushed through me so strongly that it filled my lungs and made my nose tingle

The dark, twisted images that had been haunting me: the scenes of them tangled together in his bed, scenes I’d spent hours agonizing over-evaporated instantly.

They weren’t lovers. They weren’t even close. He had just been playing the part of a reluctant guardian to a broken woman.

I felt almost embarrassed by how far my imagination had run.

I sat there, staring at him with admiration.

Beneath that impenetrable, calculating exterior of the COO, David was a man driven by a desperate, unrelenting need to fix things for the people he loved.

He was a protector at his core, willing to lay his own life on the line if it meant keeping those around him safe.

Seeing this hidden side of him-this caring, compassionate side-made me fall for him all over again, adding a new, permanent layer to the man I thought I knew.

“How certain are you about her medical condition?” I asked.

He raised a brow, clearly not impressed by the direction of my questions.

“Daphne, what is this?”

12:58 Tue, Apr 21 MJO

Chapter 217

56

“I don’t mean to be insecure,” I said quickly, leaning forward to touch his arm. “I have a reason for asking. Please, just tell me. How do you know she’s not… faking it?”

“I went with whatever the specialist told me,” he replied.

I kept my thoughts to myself for the time being.

It was clear that the physician had either been incompetent or deliberately misled David.

Julie wasn’t merely suffering from the expected instability of a grieving sister; she was something far more evil and lethal.

She was a true psychopath. She wanted me gone, and she was actively helping orchestrate a plan to make sure Jessica and Aaron never reached the next port alive.

“David,” I called, my voice dropping to a serious, warning tone. “I have more to tell you. But I need you to answer me first. Who is Lauren Walters?”

David went still. The air in the room suddenly felt thin, charged with a sudden, sharp realization.

“How do you know that name?” he asked, his voice now dangerously quiet. “And why are you asking about her, Daphne?”

I wanted to save the revelation for later, to give him time to breathe, but his glare was so intense, so piercing, that I couldn’t keep it inside anymore.

I started talking. I told him everything.

I laid out the conspiracy piece by piece, watching as David’s expression shifted from confusion to shock, and finally, into a state of pure, volcanic fury.

When I finished. David’s face had turned red.

He stood up abruptly, hands clenched at his sides. He looked like he was about to tear the room apart.

“I should have known,” he growled, the sound coming from deep in his chest.

“Fiona used to be incredibly cruel and ruthless. She was one of the meanest, most heartless people you could imagine. Even if she had changed, I should not have easily trusted her sister.”

He took a step toward the door, his movements violent and unthinking. “I’m going to end this now.”

“No!” I lunged forward, grabbing his arms. “David, listen to me! You can’t just storm in there. If you let them know you’re aware, you’ll only endanger everyone’s life. They’re armed, they’re prepared, and they’re desperate.”

He stopped, his chest heaving, his eyes locking onto mine.

“They’re planning to kill my family, Daphne!”

“And you’ll play right into their hands if you act on impulse,” I insisted, my grip tight on his linen shirt.

“We need to act smart. We need to catch them in the act, or expose them to the security team without them realizing it came from us. If they know we know, they’ll move the timeline forward. They’ll kill Aaron and Jessica tonight.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify