Betrayed and Dumped She Rose Stronger Than Ever novel Chapter 215

Avery’s face was unreadable, all business as he thought for a moment. “To keep things simple, I’ll bring up the marriage alliance with the Lamonts as soon as I can.”

“That’s what I was thinking too.”

When Sonja stepped out the door, she nearly bumped into her stepfather, Alan.

Alan rubbed his hands together, trying too hard to be friendly. “Sonja, hi.”

“Yeah.” Sonja’s answer was chilly. “Mom’s in the study.”

Alan gave her a weak, awkward smile.

He’d been in the Campbell family for over twenty years, but Sonja had always kept her distance. She was never warm to him, never really let him in.

She wasn’t his own child. She wasn’t going to be the one to look after him when he got old, that much was clear.

He let out a quiet sigh. He’d have to keep working on things with the Harper family. Getting Rebecca to accept him as her father felt more important than ever.

…

After the meeting wrapped up, Rebecca didn’t leave right away. She stayed back to talk with Dr. Palmer, sharing some thoughts on her recent work.

Only when they finished did she finally head out to the parking lot.

She wasn’t alone. Someone else had waited too.

She stopped when she saw the young man leaning against her car.

Paul looked up and caught her eye, then smiled. “I was waiting for you.”

“You’re waiting for me?” Rebecca blinked, a little thrown. “What for?”

That weird thought popped back into her head. Was he really… into her?

Rebecca took a breath, stepping back just in case. Whatever he wanted, there was no way anything romantic could happen between them. No chance.

“Congrats, by the way. You were amazing in the meeting. Really impressive.” Paul’s voice was warm, maybe even a little admiring.

“Thanks.” Rebecca’s reply was polite but distant.

She glanced at him, feeling impatient now. “Anything else? If not, I need to get going.”

She reached for the car door, but Paul moved to block her.

“There’s one more thing I wanted to ask you.” Paul hesitated, searching her face. “Is the patent for the automated interest rate curve model in your name?”

Rebecca hadn’t expected that. She froze for a second, but didn’t try to hide it. “Yeah, it’s mine.”

He hated the idea of being her rival. Before, he couldn’t stand the thought of hurting her. Now, his feelings were even more tangled.

Everything he felt for her had changed.

“That’s funny. NovaStack Cloud’s new product comes out in March too.” His voice was quiet, almost sad.

Rebecca nodded. Her eyes were steady, her words clear and sharp. “That means we’re competitors now. We should probably keep our distance.”

She hoped he’d get the message.

But Paul just shook his head, like he either didn’t understand or didn’t want to. He blocked her car door again.

“We’re never going to be enemies.”

He smiled at her, almost teasing. “Remember, you and Judy are friends. And I’m Judy’s brother.”

Rebecca opened her mouth, ready to argue, but the words just wouldn’t come.

“I know what you want to say,” Paul said softly, reading her so easily.

He lowered his voice. “Whatever happened with you and Bruce… that’s all in the past now, isn’t it?”