Nina Thorne froze for a few seconds, her heart pounding.
She’d almost misunderstood.
She suddenly recalled that Justin Kane had once ntioned having soone he liked.
Combined with what Vanessa Walsh had said, she quickly put two and two together.
’So he wanted to give this watch to the person he likes.’
Nina Thorne’s chest felt tight, as if stuffed with cotton. Hiding the disappointnt on her face, she subconsciously covered the watch with her hand and forced a smile at Vanessa. "I had no idea."
Vanessa Walsh keenly sensed the shift in her mood. She patted Nina’s shoulder a couple of tis and said aningfully,
"Nina Thorne, use your heart to feel who truly treats you the best. What you see isn’t always the truth. Your own feelings are what’s most real."
Nina Thorne nodded. She felt Vanessa had misunderstood, but she didn’t say anything more.
’A misunderstanding it is, then.’
They were husband and wife, after all, and Justin Kane had helped her out of many difficult situations.
The Kane Group was currently competing with Vistara’s Graham Family for the new energy market, so it wouldn’t do for any rumors to start spreading.
It didn’t matter if people mistook her for the woman he loved, as long as it didn’t affect Justin Kane.
...
She returned to the villa that evening.
Miss King told her that Justin Kane had returned early and was in his study. He hadn’t had dinner yet, saying he was waiting for her so they could eat together.
Nina Thorne glanced at the ti—it was already eight o’clock. She had stayed out a little late shopping with Macy Lynch.
She handed the luxury shopping bags to Miss King, asking her to put them away, before saying, "I’ll go upstairs and get him."
Outside the study door, Nina Thorne knocked.
"Co in."
Justin Kane’s crisp voice ca from inside.
Nina Thorne pushed the door open and stepped inside. From the doorway, she could see the man sitting at his desk, his head lowered as he focused intently on the docunts before him.
The top three buttons of his white shirt were undone, revealing a prominent, sexy Adam’s apple. Under the soft light, his chiseled features cast shadows, making him look devilishly handso.
Nina Thorne quickly averted her brazen gaze and said to him, "Let’s eat first. You can get back to work after."
Hearing her voice, Justin Kane quickly looked up. "You’re back."
His eyes were as gentle as ever. Nina Thorne could hardly rember what he used to look like, back when he was as cold as ice.
After humming in agreent, Nina Thorne walked out.
She didn’t know why, but whenever she thought about him wanting to give the watch to the person he liked, her chest tightened with a sense of resistance.
Perhaps it was because she had been born lucky—whether it was her family background, her looks, or the aptitude for computers she’d inherited from her father.
From childhood on, she’d had everything she ever wanted. For the first two years she was dating Cole Kane, she had still been a willful and proud heiress, living a life of flamboyant indulgence.
She was a true darling of fortune, sharp and brilliant—the envied heiress to a billion-dollar family.
After the engagent was broken, she’d had a rude awakening. For her, one experience with a man like Cole Kane and a relationship like that was more than enough.
She didn’t want to go through it a second ti.
...
The two of them sat facing each other at the dining table, and the atmosphere was a little tense.
Nina Thorne ate in silence, not saying a word.
After a mont, Justin Kane looked at her and asked in a low voice, "Did you not have a good ti shopping with Macy Lynch today?"
Nina Thorne shook her head. "No."
"Then why do you seem so down? Did sothing happen?"
"It’s nothing."
"..."
Nina Thorne was being incredibly terse, clearly not in the mood to talk.
Justin Kane didn’t press the issue.
That night, Nina Thorne was packing her clothes.
When Justin Kane entered the room and saw what she was doing, he strode over and grabbed her by the wrist. "What did I do to make you this angry? Are you moving out?"
His reaction was extre, and he looked very tense.
Nina Thorne didn’t flatter herself by reading too much into his reaction. She said coolly, "The production team is going to Vistara for a shoot. I need to be on set with them for a while."
Justin Kane’s hand slowly loosened its grip. His voice was hoarse. "So suddenly? You never ntioned it before."
Nina Thorne replied, "The company only notified a few days ago. You happened to be busy, so I didn’t get a chance to tell you."
Looking at her distant, cold expression, Justin Kane’s Adam’s apple bobbed a few tis. His thin lips moved before he finally asked hesitantly, "How long will you be gone?"
Nina Thorne continued packing as she replied, "It’s hard to say. Probably once filming stabilizes and the script doesn’t need any more revisions."
Her tone was still detached. Justin Kane’s brow furrowed. He grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Nina Thorne, this sudden change in your attitude toward ... Did I do sothing to upset you?"
Nina Thorne wasn’t one to keep things bottled up. She let out a self-deprecating laugh. "No, you’re very good to . The only thing wrong is that we’re not in love."
Those last words were sharp and piercing, stabbing Justin Kane with a pain that left him feeling breathless.
’She really doesn’t love .’
But Justin Kane pressed on, "Is that why you’re unhappy?"
Nina Thorne opened her mouth to speak, but the sudden ringing of her phone cut their conversation short.
She glanced at the screen. It was Macy Lynch.
She answered without hesitation, brushing past Justin Kane as she walked away. "Macy, what’s up?"
Nina Thorne left the room and walked out onto the second-floor terrace to take the call.
Macy Lynch didn’t have anything important to say; she just wanted to gossip about who Vanessa Walsh was. Since Nina didn’t know how to face Justin Kane anyway, she let the chat drag on for the better part of an hour.
After the call, she went back to the bedroom to continue packing. Justin Kane wasn’t there, and she felt a sense of relief.
’We’re adults now.’
She had learned from her ti with Cole Kane not to ask questions that shouldn’t be asked, like "Do you like ?" or "Do you love ?"
Besides, she never again wanted to be the person who gave up her own identity for a relationship, bending over backward to please soone else.
Justin Kane was in his study, on a video call with Seth Lawson.
His frosty glare was palpable enough through the screen to intimidate Seth Lawson.
"It’s common for screenwriters to be on set. It’s standard procedure. Kane, don’t tell you can’t even handle a couple of weeks?"
Seth Lawson was explaining the matter of Nina Thorne going to the filming location with the production team, which Justin had ntioned, while simultaneously marveling at the depth of his friend’s feelings for her.
"Kane, you’re a little too invested in her. Don’t tell ... you’re serious about her?"
The mont he asked the question, Seth Lawson regretted it. It was a stupid thing to ask.
Everyone in the Sylport scene knew that Justin Kane kept to himself and never got involved with won.
To him, even Vanessa Walsh was just one of the guys.
From the mont Justin Kane showed so much concern over sothing as minor as Nina Thorne’s script, Seth Lawson had guessed he was going to fall hard for her.
Justin Kane said coldly, "Mind your own business."
Seth Lawson was used to this reaction. "Tsk, tsk," he clicked his tongue. "Kane, I never would have guessed. The reason you’ve been single all these years... was actually for her."
"Don’t tell you fell for this girl five years ago."
Justin Kane fell silent. His dark eyes were bottomless, and the dim yellow light made his expression look even colder and more profound.
"No one will think you’re mute if you stop talking."
His face was stone-cold, radiating an intimidating chill that made Seth Lawson back off imdiately, not daring to tease him any further.
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop."
Seth Lawson only said he’d stop talking. "But there is one thing I have to say," he continued. "If you really want to be with her, there’s a lot you’ll have to face. Especially the fact that she used to be your brother’s girlfriend and was even engaged to him."
"And once the public finds out you’re together, she’ll be attacked. She’ll have to endure a lot of hostility and criticism."
Justin Kane stared at the starry-sky watch in his hand, his eyes dark and deep, as if mulling over Seth’s words.
After a long mont, his deep voice was firm. "I will protect her."
Reviews
All reviews (0)