Betrayed and Dumped She Rose Stronger Than Ever novel Chapter 163

Since they were already here, of course he had to invite them upstairs.

On the way, Paul glanced at Bruce and noticed he looked even thinner than before. Paul frowned, worry clear in his voice. “You’re still not feeling better?”

“I’m fine,” Bruce replied.

Fine? He didn’t look it. Paul wondered if it was because of that phone call at the hospital.

They got into the elevator together. Out of nowhere, Sonja piped up. “Who were you seeing off just now? That license plate looked familiar. Was it someone we know? Maybe a certain beautiful girl?” She grinned, teasing him. “I’m pretty sure it was a girl. I only caught a bit of her from behind, but I just know she’s gorgeous.”

The other two immediately turned to look at Paul.

Morris elbowed him, eyebrows waggling. “Are you dating someone? When do we get to meet her?”

Paul froze. “You’re imagining things. There’s nothing going on.”

“Oh, so you’re still in hot pursuit?” Morris slung an arm around Paul’s shoulders, acting like the love expert. “Want some advice? I’ve got plenty of experience, you know.”

“No thank you,” Paul answered, his tone cool.

Bruce was surprised. He’d thought they were just joking around, but Paul’s reaction said otherwise. Maybe he really did fall for someone.

They’d all grown up together, and Bruce had never seen Paul in a relationship, or even heard a rumor about him crushing on anyone.

A faint, almost ghostly smile appeared on Bruce’s pale face. “Good. She must be something special.”

Paul glanced at him but didn’t say anything.

When they reached the ballroom, Bruce and the others went to greet the Larson family elders first, then walked over to Judy.

“Happy birthday, Judy!” Sonja said, handing over a gift.

Sonja hesitated for a moment. “I really think this product would be a game changer for the company. As far as I can tell, nothing else like it exists right now.”

Just then, Bruce spoke up. “We shouldn’t give up just because we hit a wall. We need to keep pushing for that patent. With the connections our three families have, I think we can definitely get a meeting with Dr. Palmer.”

Paul nodded. “Alright. Sonja, you mentioned we need to hurry before someone else gets there first. Who are you talking about?”

Sonja’s lips curved into a sly smile. “Sunforge Tech. They’re working on a new project too. They’re trying to buy the same patent.”

Paul looked stunned.

No wonder Rebecca wouldn’t help. It all made sense now. He couldn’t blame her.

Sonja scoffed. “But come on, Sunforge Tech? Their team is tiny. They’re no match for NovaStack Cloud.”

“Our R&D team alone is ten times bigger than theirs.”