Titan 162

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The atmosphere at the table was surprisingly warm and friendly. A few people were great at keeping the conversation flowing, asking Joelle about her experiences abroad, how long she planned to stay this time, and, of course, the topic everyone was dying to know about–her love life.

Joelle instinctively glanced at Charles, but he was unusually quiet tonight.

One of the women at the table picked up on Charles’s aloofness and let out a sarcastic laugh. “We’re asking about your love life, Joelle–why are you looking at Mr. Sinclair? He’s already married, after all.”

The moment those words were spoken, the mood at the table shifted, becoming tense and awkward.

Panic flickered in Joelle’s eyes. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

The woman rolled her eyes, folding her arms. “I heard you’ve got a boyfriend overseas–he even chased you all the way back here, didn’t he? But you didn’t bring him tonight. What, planning to dump him and pick someone new off the guest list?”

Joelle barely hid her disgust. The woman who mouthed off wasn’t even some high–society queen–she was just arm candy for one of Joelle’s admirers.

Seriously, jealousy really does make people say the craziest stuff.

As expected, the man sitting next to her smacked her across the face. “Beat it. No one wants to hear your nonsense here.”

The woman burst into tears, covering her face as she ran out of the room.

Joelle’s eyes grew red as she sighed. “I swear, it’s not like that. That guy isn’t my boyfriend–he’s just some crazy superfan who keeps following me around.”

She rubbed her temples, a trace of frustration appearing on her face. “Anyway, thanks for coming tonight, everyone.”

She looked a little tired and reached for the glass beside her, but as she did, her wrist was exposed–showing faint purple marks from being tightly gripped.

Quentin was the first to notice; his face went cold, like a block of ice.

“Joelle, your hand…” Quentin said, voice tight with concern.

Joelle hurriedly covered her wrist, giving a strained little smile. “It happened when I was too deep into a movie role–I got so lost in the character I couldn’t pull myself out. That’s all…”

Oscar let out a sigh. “You mean The Ashes, right? The one that got you Best Actress. Honestly, you inhabited that role so well that when I saw you last year, I thought you might still be living it. Glad to see you’re doing much better now.”

Joelle nodded, lowering her eyelashes. “I really appreciate your advice back then, Mr. Rowe. It helped me a lot.”

11:39 Sun, Oct 5

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As soon as the topic settled, people at the table started showering Joelle with praise again.

Leo couldn’t be bothered with all that gossip, so he got up and headed for the bathroom. As he stepped inside, he bumped into lan.

Leo lifted his chin just a touch as he made his way to the sink beside Ian, then turned on the water.

Neither of them said a word. The silence hung heavy until Ian’s phone buzzed–it was Yolanda calling.

Ian answered, “Hey, Ms. Grant. Yeah, I’m done here. I’ll be right down.”

Leo’s hand jerked, his lips pressed tight. He looked seriously uncomfortable, like he just wanted to get out of there.

Ian took a few steps, then paused as he heard the uneasy footsteps behind him. He turned around and gave Leo a look.

“What do you want?” Ian said.

Leo just scoffed and walked straight past him.

Ian let out a quiet chuckle.

Maybe Yolanda’s laugh earlier had rubbed him the wrong way, because Leo immediately bristled. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Ian replied with a shrug.

Leo was fuming.

Ian headed to the parking lot and got into Yolanda’s car.

Yolanda was scrolling through her phone, checking some documents. She’d already totally scrapped the idea of working with Quentin–he was Joelle’s ultimate simp, hopelessly devoted to her. Seriously, every time he went abroad in the past few years, it was just to chase after her.

Yolanda wasn’t the type to second–guess herself. She glanced up as Ian slid into the passenger seat, a small smile tugging at her lips. “So, where do you want to go?”

Ian just snorted and stared out the window, not saying a word.

Yolanda frowned and leaned in closer. “What’s wrong? Didn’t the meeting with the director go well?”

Ian yanked her over, settling her onto his lap. “The meeting with the director went smoothly. It was running into that backup guy, jumping around all over the place, that didn’t go so well.”

‘Backup guy?‘ Yolanda wondered, trying to wrap her head around what Ian meant.

‘Wait… backup guy? Who’s backup guy is he talking about?‘ she thought, totally lost.

Ian grabbed a disinfectant wipe from the side and started wiping his fingers, one by one.

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Yolanda sat on his lap, just staring at him in confusion, wondering what he was about to do. Suddenly, he reached over and grabbed her chin, prying her mouth open with his fingertips.

She could only keep her mouth open, unable to say a word, glaring at Ian with wide eyes.

Ian gripped her tongue firmly between his fingers, giving Yolanda a possessive look. “Didn’t I tell you–you belong to me and me alone?”

Yolanda couldn’t reply; with her tongue trapped, she just froze and didn’t dare to even flinch.

She let out a couple of muffled protests, urgently signaling for him to let her go.

He did release her–but the very next second, his lips descended on hers in a fierce, demanding kiss.

After making out for what seemed like ages, Ian finally let her go. He held Yolanda tight, staring out the window. “I don’t want to be mad at you.”

Yolanda tried everything to figure out why he was upset, but Leo didn’t even cross her mind.

I mean, Leo meant absolutely nothing to Ian–definitely not someone worth getting jealous about.

Yolanda reached out and turned his face to look at her. ‘Damn, he really is good–looking–even up close, he’s just crazy gorgeous,’ she thought.

‘Everything about Ian is a mess of contradictions, Yolanda mused.

‘He’s still kind of inexperienced, but somehow so domineering–and then there’s that brooding, possessive vibe that never really goes away!‘

‘Put all those together, and seriously, who could resist softening up to him?‘

“Backup guy? What are you even on about?” Yolanda shot back.

“So, have you ever actually thought about divorcing your husband?” Ian pressed.

Yolanda’s smile faded instantly and she started to slide back over to the driver’s seat.

Ian dropped his lashes, shielding whatever was in his eyes. “Fine, I’ll stop asking, alright?”

He pulled her close, tucking his head down against her neck. “Honestly, you’re one of a kind–won’t give me a proper label and still have other guys dangling around you. What do you expect me to do? Of course I’m getting worked up…”

“I’m not stringing anyone along–I seriously don’t know who you mean. If you’re talking about that lunatic Leo, you’re really reaching. I don’t even count him as an actual person. God knows what he’s flipping out about,” Yolanda retorted.

“Oh?” Ian shot back, a sly smirk tugging at his lips.

“Ian, divorce isn’t something I can handle right now. Just… can we wait a little longer?” Yolanda muttered.

11:39 Sun, Oct 5

Ian’s voice instantly lightened up. “Alright, I’ll wait. Wanna come back to my place tonight?”

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Yolanda figured she had been neglecting him lately, so she drove to his place. She was pretty sure Charles wouldn’t be home tonight–after all, his first love had just come back to the country.

Just to be safe, Yolanda texted Sophie the hotel where Charles and Joelle were meeting.

Yolanda had just washed her hair and finished her shower. When she came out, lan was already waiting with a hair dryer in hand. “Yolanda, let me dry your hair for you,” he offered.

Yolanda couldn’t help but feel a wave of warmth in her chest. She sat down on the carpet, turning her back to him, feeling a little soft inside.

Ian clearly wasn’t used to fussing over someone like this–his hands were awkward at first, fumbling through her hair, but as the minutes passed, he grew gentler and more confident with every motion.

Yolanda was still in her robe, and with Ian gently blow drying her hair, the soothing warmth soon lulled her to sleep. She just curled up nearby and dozed off.

Ian carefully lifted her onto the bed, then retreated to the bathroom for an exceptionally thorough wash–he was so meticulous it was like he was going to disinfect every tooth, one by one.

Yolanda shifted groggily in her sleep, trembling a little, and Ian’s hands gripped her thigh just enough that she almost woke up feeling the imprint of his fingers.

When you’re dying of thirst and suddenly find an oasis, you can’t help but want to drink every last drop- devouring it all until there’s nothing left.

She felt utterly helpless, squirming under his touch like she was trying to escape, only for him to pin her down even tighter.

As her eyes fluttered open, Ian leaned in, his thumb softly brushing away the tears at the edge of her

eyes.

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