Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1246

Inside the box was a ruby necklace, elegant and simple but crafted with incredible care.

The pendant was a perfectly closed Möbius strip, its geometric lines symbolizing infinity and forever. In the center, there was a vivid, deep red ruby, the kind known as “pigeon’s blood.” Its beauty was striking, refined in its intensity, and so exactly her style that her heart skipped a beat.

She knew right away this wasn’t something you just picked up at a jewelry store. This was custom work, months or even years in the making, with endless design tweaks and details obsessed over until it was perfect. This kind of gift… It meant someone had been planning for a long time.

The weight of that realization hit her, a wave of warm emotion rising in her chest, threatening to spill over. She blinked hard, swallowing the feeling, and slowly closed the box.

When she looked up again, her eyes had softened. Some of the frosty distance was gone.

“It’s good you figured things out,” she said quietly.

James watched as she accepted the gift, and the tension finally left his body. He sat at the edge of the bed, slid an arm around her waist, and pressed his face against her stomach, mumbling, “Babe, can we promise not to argue over other people anymore?”

Today had truly shaken him.

He was a top-tier special forces soldier. He’d never even blinked in the middle of gunfire. Yet all it took was her turning her back on him for his heart to fill with panic.

Emmy glanced down at this man, his dark hair rumpled where it brushed her skin and tickled. She hesitated for a second, then reached out to softly ruffle his hair.

“I don’t like fighting either. I’m not even good at it,” she said.

“But if you expect me to just swallow my pride and act like nothing matters, I can't. I won’t.”

James shot upright, resting his chin on her leg and looking up at her. “You don’t have to pretend or put up with it. If I screw up, if I make you upset, just say it. Yell at me, hit me if you want, just… don’t ignore me.”

He was so obviously sincere it made her heart ache. Part of her wanted to forgive everything, right then and there. But the argument still lingered in her mind, and her face firmed up again.

“Uh-uh. Explain first. No getting handsy until you talk.”

He gave in. “Alright, I’ll say it. That blond guy… John… he has a thing for you. He crushes on you.”

Emmy stared at him, completely baffled, then let out a laugh. “Where did you even hear that? That's ridiculous.”

“We work together. We respect each other’s brains, and our skills. If that’s what you call a crush, then I’ve got a crush on half the lab. Even my advisor, who’s old enough to be my grandpa.”

James just shook his head. “You’re the only one who can’t see it. Everyone in your lab knows it’s obvious.”

“John’s only a year older than you, you’re both tech geniuses, same age, similar minds. He’s always picking you out, making a point to take care of you, always sitting with you at lunch… He knows all your habits. He’s trying to steal you away from me.”

A sharp glint flashed through his eyes. “But after seeing me face to face, I’m pretty sure he’s going to back off now.”