Chapter 73
Listening to Jason’s emotionless voice, Bryce quickly tattled, “Bro, Korey just called Ella.”
On the other end of the line, Jason’s voice dropped an octave. “You went looking for my wife first thing in the morning?”
Bryce hurriedly explained, “I was just reporting to Ella about what happened the other night, and checking her vibe, you know? I gotta redeem myself with you.”
This time, Jason cut to the chase with no extra chatter. “Bryce, if you keep pushing Estrella to divorce me, you can kiss Ravenwood goodbye.”
After Jason finished, Bryce gasped, his voice shot up, “You don’t wanna divorce, huh? Why
I
didn’t you just say so earlier? I could’ve put in a good word for you with Ella.”
your sweet talk?”.
“Do I look like I need shapped back, then, growing impatient, he asked, “What’s Korey’s business with Estrella?”
Back to the matter at hand, Bryce perked up and quickly said, “I didn’t catch it all, just that he asked Ella out for dinner tonight. Ella was so swamped that she refused.”
Bryce’s blood boiled as he continued, “Bro, I’ve said it before, that Korey is no good. He has been eyeing Ella for years. Don’t let your guard down, and don’t let him anywhere near Ella. In my opinion…”
Before Bryce could finish, Jason hung up the phone. With a flick of his wrist, the phone landed on the desk, and Jason’s expression soured. He had told her he was uncomfortable with her being close to Korey, and yet they were in contact first thing in the
morning.
Bryce’s call had ruined Jason’s mood for the day, and by 5:30 in the afternoon, Jason headed straight to the law firm. He waited and waited at the firm, nearly an hour going by. Everyone else had left, yet there was no sign of Estrella. With a stony face, he dialed her number, “Still working late?”
On the other end, Estrella’s voice was nonchalant, “Nope. I’m out of town on a case, looking into Ryan’s file.”
Ryan was the boy who, after 13 years, had killed his father and two uncles.
Hearing this, Jason’s temper flared, “You’re on a trip and didn’t think to inform me ahead. of time?”
Estrella replied, “Isn’t this me reporting in?” Since when did they have a routine of reporting to each other anyway? She had tried calling him before and he wouldn’t pick up, texts went unanswered, and they hadn’t been in touch for days.
Jason growled, “This is me not seeing you, so called.”
1/3
11:31
Estrella laughed, “You came to pick me up today? Jason, you’re really keeping tabs on me. Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for me.”
Estrella’s jest was met with a click – Jason had hung up. He tossed his phone aside, feeling suddenly irked by Bryce’s call from the morning.
Korey had just been in touch with her, and now she was suddenly out of town. Something didn’t sit right with him, so Jason picked up the discarded phone and called Drew, “Drew, check Estrella’s itinerary for me.”
“Right away, Sir,” Drew replied, ready to jump into action after receiving Jason’s command.
In her hotel room, Estrella chuckled softly at the disconnected call, yawned, and then moved over to her desk.
a
She needed to prepare for tomorrow’s visit to Ryan’s neighbors to dig into the
past. She opened her notebook and took up her pen, but her thoughts wandered to Jason’s troubled look the other night, his fear of being too late to save her.
And then there was his sleep-talking, mentioning Holly. She couldn’t make out the words, -but it was clear it was about Holly.
But that had nothing to do with Estrella. Holly’s death was even less her fault. Jason had no right to blame her.
They couldn’t go back to the way things were; neither could let go of the past. Her indifference was just a better performance than his.
Meanwhile, Jason returned to Sandalwood Oasis with a gloom that could darken the sun. Marie called him to dinner, but he went straight upstairs without a word.
Raising his gaze towards the desk, he remembered Estrella’s busy figure there and her smile. It seemed like she was flirting him every time, but in reality, she wasn’t really taking it seriously. To her, work and the Dorvold Group were what mattered most.
Standing by the window, lighting a cigarette, he pondered that Estrella didn’t really need him. She had taken down Richie even before he had arrived that night. A bitter taste settled in his mouth.
At some point, Estrella had grown independent. She could hold up her world, even her parents’.
As he exhaled a plume of smoke and stubbed out the cigarette, his phone rang – it was
Drew.
“Sir, Ms. Estrella is on a business trip to Linwood Town, coming back on Friday,” Drew reported.
11:31
Jason just grunted. Then Drew hesitantly added, “Sir, there’s something else. I’m not sure. if I should say.”
Jason cut him off, “Out with it.”
“Korey also went to Linwood. Ms. Estrella had barely left when Korey followed.”
Drew finished with a stutter, and you could guess how Jason’s expression looked. He had felt it something was off. It wasn’t just women’s intuition that was sharp; a man’s could be too. Korey was up to something.
The call ended abruptly, and the air around Jason seemed to freeze. Even if he didn’t want her, he’d be damned if Korey got a shot.
In the hotel, Estrella was bustling about with her work when her phone buzzed with calls from Bryce and Jesse. Bryce’s voice was tinged with annoyance as he ribbed her for taking a business trip and not inviting him for some fun. Estrella was on the verge of losing her cool. Did he really think she was off gallivanting? She should’ve dragged him along to be her errand boy if he was that bored.
After hanging up, the trio continued their banter in their group chat. Estrella, multitasking as always, sorted through her documents while occasionally firing off a reply to the guys. By the time Bryce and Jesse called it a night, their messages petered out as they succumbed to sleep, but Estrella was still hunched over her desk, immersed in her work.
As the witching hour approached and Estrella had all her case files neatly organized, she stretched languidly, ready to call it a night. That was when the persistent knocking-thud, thud, thud-echoed on her door.
“Who’s there?” Estrella called out, her gaze fixed on the door.
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