Chapter 1033

"Mhm," Juniper hummed, her eyes remaining shut. Curled up against his chest, she mumbled something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Shanley couldn't quite catch it.

Her brows furrowed in her sleep as three distinct words left her lips: "I love you."

Hearing that, Shanley's smile widened until it reached his eyes. He leaned down, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead, his heart completely melting. "I love you too."

Only you.

The next morning, Juniper woke up early. She specifically told Dana not to wake Shanley—he had pulled an all-nighter for her homework and deserved to sleep in. After breakfast, she hopped onto her e-scooter and headed for Eclara University. Just as she parked and started walking toward the campus, her phone rang.

"Luella!" Juniper groaned, holding the phone away from her ear as Luella's deafening voice echoed through the speaker.

"Guess what?!" Luella practically screamed. "That old creep from Sanctum Holdings actually agreed to our price!"

"Eighty billion! Eighty billion dollars!" Luella was beside herself. "Do you know how much equipment and raw materials Subterra Vanguard can buy with that? We're rich! Hahahaha!"

"And the catch?" Juniper asked dryly, entirely unfazed.

"They need Dr. Nocturne to join their organization," Luella replied. "I told them we're still negotiating that part, but it shouldn't be a dealbreaker."

"Oh, and..." Luella paused. "They also need you to do another house call at that secret location. Same patient as last time."

"Why?"

"The guy has been paralyzed for over a decade. His organs are failing. The boss wants you to give him some aggressive treatment-something that can get him back to normal within three months."

"Tell them I agree." Juniper climbed the steps toward her faculty building, lowering her voice. "I actually want to see how he's holding up anyway." She was genuinely worried that the sickly man wouldn't survive whatever torture they were putting him through.

"Got it," Luella confirmed. "Once this is done, we can move straight into final negotiations."

And then-Juniper and Shanley

could orchestrate an inside-out

takedown. They'd wipe out Sanctum

Holdings, neutralize a massive threat and walk away insanely wealthy. The thought alone was thrilling.

"But I'm bringing someone with me this time," Juniper added.

"Who?"

"Shanley."

...

The weekend arrived.

In the quiet living room of the

Cloudscape Community estate,

Dana stood nervously in the conet

ло

watching the couple with a bewildered expression.

"Are we done yet?" Shanley sat stiffly on the couch, enduring Juniper's ministrations

as she fussed over his face.

"Not yet." Juniper swiped a makeup brush across his jawline.

Soon, a flawless, hyper-realistic mask was secured perfectly in place. It was undetectable, even to high-tech scanners.

"Done." After about fifteen minutes, Juniper stepped back and admired her work. "What do you think?"

Shanley turned toward the mirror.

Staring back at him was the face of the person he found most annoying on the planet His brows pinched together so tightly they could have crushed a diamond.

"Can we use literally any other face?" he grumbled, thoroughly displeased. "I hate this."

"No. If I bring in a stranger, Sanctum Holdings will get suspicious," she explained. "Luella is the only one who has been there with me."

That was why she had custom-made a replica of Luella's face specifically for him.

Shanley remained silent, visibly sulking.

Finding his grumpiness highly entertaining, Juniper stepped into his personal space and looped her arms around his neck. "Want a kiss?"

Shanley's face darkened, and he actually took a step back in sheer horror.

Kissing her while wearing Luella's face? Absolutely not.