Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Jessica’s POV

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The door suddenly flew open, slamming against the stopper with a violent bang.

“Aaron! Enough is enough!”

A woman stormed in, and I felt my breath hitch.

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She was stunning in a way that felt aggressive-platinum blonde hair styled into perfect waves, wearing a cream-colored power suit that probably cost more than my college tuition.

Her skin was porcelain, her lips a sharp, blood-red pout, and her grey eyes were currently burning with a manic sort of rage.

Marilyn, the receptionist, hovered behind her, looking frantic.

“Mr. Tyrone, I’m so sorry, I tried to tell her you were in a meeting-”

Aaron didn’t even look at Marilyn. He just nodded stiffly, his eyes never leaving the newcomer.

“It’s fine, Marilyn. I’ll take it from here.”

The blonde woman didn’t even acknowledge my existence. She marched right up to Aaron, her heels clicking harshly.

“Why aren’t you taking my calls? And why did you have your security escort me out of the building last night like a common trespasser?” she shrieked.

“That was beyond disrespectful, Aaron. We have a wedding to plan, a public image to maintain, and you’re treating me like an inconvenience!”

My chest tightened. Wedding. Fiancé. It was one thing to hear the word; it was another to see the woman who owned the title.

I felt like an intruder in my own life.

“I have work to do,” I whispered, clutching my tablet to my chest. “I’ll leave you two to—”

“Stay where you are, Jessica,” Aaron commanded, his voice sharp.

That’s when Lauren finally turned. Her eyes raked over me, starting at my sensible shoes and moving up to my face with a look of pure, unadulterated disgust.

Her face, already flushed from yelling, turned a deeper shade of red.

She looked at Aaron, then back at me, letting out a bitter, sharp laugh.

“I guess she’s the reason,” she spat. “The reason you’re suddenly too ‘busy’ for your own fiance? Who is she,

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Chapter 82

Aaron? Another charity case?”

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I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. “I’m his assistant, Miss-”

“I was talking to my fiancé, not the help,” Lauren snapped, her voice dripping with venom.

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“Lauren, that’s enough,” Aaron interrupted, his voice dropping into a dangerous, low register. I could see the muscles in his neck straining as he controlled his temper.

“You are causing a disruption in my place of business. You have absolutely no right to speak to my staff that

way.

Lauren scoffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She stepped closer to me, circling like a predator.

“Staff? Is that what we’re calling the ‘side piece’ these days? You think I don’t know your type? You’re just another girl looking for a paycheck and a way into a bed that’s already occupied.”

The insult landed hard, sinking where bruises never did. I opened my mouth to defend myself, to tell her I wanted nothing to do with her complicated mess of a life, but Aaron moved faster.

He stepped between us, his shadow completely eclipsing Lauren.

“If you say one more word against her, Lauren, I will forget that you are my fiancé,” Aaron hissed. “And I will forget every single agreement our families made. Get out. Now.”

Lauren recoiled, her eyes wide with shock.

“You’re threatening our union? For her?”

“I’m not threatening anything,” Aaron said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “I am telling you that you are overstepping. Go home, Lauren. We’ll talk when you’ve regained your dignity.”

Lauren glared at him, then shot me a look so filled with hatred it made my skin crawl. She grabbed her designer bag, turned on her heel, and marched out, the scent of her expensive, cloying perfume lingering in the air like a bad memory.

The silence that followed was heavy. I stood there, shaking, my mind spinning. Aaron didn’t move for a long time. He just stared at the closed door, his chest heaving.

“I should go,” I whispered, already pivoting toward the door. My skin felt too tight for my body, my heart hammering against my ribs in a frantic, uneven beat.

“Jessica,” he called out. His voice wasn’t a command this time; it was weary, worn thin by whatever battle he was fighting behind those eyes.

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Not when I realized that I was the “disruption” in a life he had already built without

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I was a “disruption” in a life he’d spent six years building without me. I was the ghost who had no business haunting a man who had a fiancé like Lauren waiting in the wings.

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Chapter 82

She wasn’t just a fiancé; she was a woman who was ready to fight for what she thought was hers.

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And I was just a girl with a secret at home that was about to make everything a thousand times more complicated.

I reached for the door handle, but before my fingers could graze the metal, his hand clamped firmly around my forearm.

His touch burned. It was a searing, electric heat that traveled straight to my core, and for a split second, I just wanted to dissolve into him.

I wanted to stop running and let the world outside this room vanish.

He stepped closer, moving into my personal space until the warmth of his body was messing with my head, blurring the lines between the past and the present.

“Jess,” he murmured again.

My heart reacted before I could stop it, at the way he said my name.

His other hand moved, slowly wrapping around my waist, pulling me back against the solid plane of his chest.

Memories of that night on the ship, and the tender, desperate morning that followed, crashed into my mind with the force of a tidal wave.

My chest ached, a deep, hollow throb that only one thing could soothe. I had to admit it, even if only to myself: the love I had for him hadn’t died. It had just been buried alive, and now it was clawing its way back to the surface.

Then, the image of Lauren’s face-her grey eyes filled with ownership-flashed in my mind.

I snapped out of the trance, pulling away and putting a cold, hard distance between us.

“This is wrong, Mr. Tyrone,” I whispered, staring at the floor because I knew if I looked at him, I’d lose my

nerve.

The silence that followed was long and suffocating. I could feel his gaze on the back of my neck, heavy and questioning.

“We’re leaving for Spain this weekend,” he said suddenly, his voice returning to that professional, detached iron. “There’s a game, and a series of meetings with the investors. You’re coming.”

I spun around, my eyes wide. “Spain? This weekend?”

Panic flared in my throat.

Aunt Lydia had her specialist appointment this weekend, the one we’d waited weeks for.

I couldn’t leave her, and I certainly couldn’t leave Adrian for a cross-continental trip on forty-eight hours’ notice.

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Chapter 82

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“Aaron, I… I mean, Mr. Tyrone, I can’t,” I stammered, shaking my head. “I have personal matters to attend to. Important ones.”

The vulnerability I’d seen in him seconds ago vanished. His eyes turned into a pair of dark chocolate rings surrounded by a hot, flickering fire.

He leaned back against his desk, crossing his arms.

“I’m pretty sure David read out the pros and cons of this position before you signed the contract, Jessica?” He raised a brow, his expression unreadable and harsh.

“Availability is not an option. It’s a requirement.”

He took a step toward me, the CEO back in full force. “If you’re not okay with the travel, you’re welcome to quit. But don’t expect a graceful exit.”

I stared at him, stunned by the whiplash. One minute he was holding me like I was his entire world, and the next, he was holding my career over my head like a loaded weapon.

He was testing me, pushing to see which I’d choose-my secrets or my paycheck.

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16:03 Wed, Jan 21