After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 197

Bonnie paused for a moment as she took the file, watching Lawrence head for his room. She swallowed, a little thrown. What was his deal? Lawrence was practically impossible to get close to.

“Lawrence,” she called, hurrying after him.

As he turned, Bonnie faked a slip, letting out a little yelp as she stumbled straight toward him. This was one of her classic moves. Start with a little accidental touch, and if he caught her, she could land right in his arms. Then, who knew what could happen...

But before she could even finish the thought, Lawrence just stepped out of her way. Bonnie’s face drained of color as she came crashing down onto the hard floor, left kneeling on all fours and looking completely ridiculous.

Pain shot through her elbows and knees, making her wince. What stung even more was Lawrence standing above her, looking down without even the slightest hint of concern, not even offering her a hand.

Still, Bonnie knew how to play this game. She could just act like the fall was a fluke. Her eyes started to well up as she looked up at him, her voice small and pleading. “Lawrence, can you help me up? It really hurts.”

For a second, Lawrence crouched down. Bonnie felt a flicker of hope. Maybe he did care, even just a little.

But no. He didn’t even look at her. He only reached for the scattered files, organized them neatly, then held them out to her. “Bonnie, try to be more careful next time.”

Bonnie looked up at his ridiculously handsome face, but all she saw was cold distance. There wasn't the slightest bit of worry or sympathy.

“Don’t you even feel a little sorry for me?” She forced a tear to linger on her lashes.

Lawrence held the file out for a few seconds. When she didn’t take it, he set it down next to her. “Make sure you keep these organized.” With that, he stood up and walked away, not even bothering to look back as he disappeared into his apartment and closed the door.

At the Blair Estate, Shirley lounged in her room, suddenly struck by a wild idea. She wanted to hack into Catherine’s computer, just to see what she could find.

Maybe she’d even uncover a few juicy secrets. Grinning, Shirley pulled up her favorite hacking tools and started working her way into Catherine’s laptop through the house network.

She was confident in her skills. She hadn’t created Resonance AI herself, but she’d studied it inside and out, picking up all kinds of advanced tricks.

But just as her code started running, trying to break through Catherine’s first firewall, Shirley’s own screen suddenly went pitch black.

Her eyes widened. What the hell was going on?