Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 176

After dinner, they didn't linger at the restaurant. Silas personally drove her back to her apartment before heading out into the night.

Upon entering her apartment, Willow was surprised to find Jade lounging in the living room. "Why aren't you working in the study?"

"I was waiting for you," Jade chirped, hitting save on her laptop and looking up with a bright grin.

"Waiting for me?" Willow shut the front door behind her, slipping off her shoes. "I thought I texted you that I'd be working late."

"You did, but you've never worked this late before." Jade hopped off the couch to take Willow's handbag. "Did you grab dinner yet? We've got some dumplings in the freezer I could boil for you."

"No need, I already ate," Willow replied smoothly.

Instantly, Jade's gossip radar locked onto her target. "Working later than usual, and you grabbed dinner on the way back? Oh, you've definitely got a situation going on."

"What kind of 'situation' could I possibly have?" Willow laughed softly. "I just bumped into a coworker on my way out, and we grabbed a bite together."

"What did you eat? Which coworker? Male or female? Since when do you have work friends you go to dinner with?" Jade fired off the questions in rapid succession.

Willow was a terrible liar on her best days, and Jade was far too sharp to let a flimsy excuse slide. Realizing she was backed into a corner, Willow sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine. I grabbed dinner with management."

"Management?" Jade repeated the word skeptically before her eyes widened in a sudden, dramatic realization. She practically shrieked, "Don't tell me you mean Silas Thorne!"

Wincing as the shrill volume assaulted her ears, Willow was shocked Jade had nailed it on the first try. "Yes," she admitted vaguely.

Out of all that, Jade only registered one critical piece of information: Silas Thorne had gone out of his way to help Willow time and time again.

And that virtually confirmed Jade's long-standing suspicion. Silas had only thrown a lifeline to the Yates family business because of his connection to Willow. She had asked her father about it previously, but Eugene was too proud, convinced his own business acumen had landed them a deal with Merit. Now, the truth was blindingly obvious.

But one massive question still remained. "Willow, why do you think a guy like that is going out of his way to help you?"

Willow shook her head. She had outright asked Silas that exact question during dinner, and he had only offered a cryptic answer about her seeming familiar. It made zero sense to her.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. If I had to guess, he probably just values my professional competence. Aside from my work at Merit, I don't exactly bring anything else to the table."