Jean looked away from Logan, pacing to the far side. "Just... stay on your side of the stage. Say what you have to say and don’t talk to ."
Logan smirked, leaning against the wall. "Trust , I’ve got no interest in sharing words with soone who lies for a living."
Jean’s fists clenched at her sides. "And I have no interest in soone who hates so blindly."
Silence fell again.
Not calm... just quiet before another storm.
They stood there, enemies trapped in a glass box of mories, waiting for the world to call them out again.
Together.
A soft knock ca on the waiting room door.
"Miss Adams? Mr. Kingsley? You’re on in two minutes."
Jean straightened, smoothing down the front of her white gown. Her fingers trembled. Not from nerves about the speech, but because she’d have to stand next to him. The one man she didn’t want to share air with.
Logan fixed the cuffs of his suit. His expression was unreadable, his jaw locked in silent irritation.
They didn’t look at each other. Didn’t speak. But the tension thickened as they stepped into the narrow corridor leading to the stage.
From the other side of the curtain, applause echoed. The announcer’s voice rang clear, cheerful and unaware of the storm backstage.
"Tonight, we are honored to have not one, but two survivors from the tragic South Korea incident join us. Please welco Miss Jean Adams of the Adams Empire, and Mr. Logan Kingsley of Kingsley Corporation!"
The spotlight hit as the curtains parted.
Jean forced a smile. Her heels clicked onto the polished stage floor, her posture elegant, chin high. Logan followed, looking every bit the powerful mogul he’d beco... cool, confident, and composed.
Gasps rippled through the crowd at the sight of them together. Phones were raised. Caras flashed.
The perfect picture... rivals side by side, tragedy survivors turned symbols of resilience.
As the applause died down, Logan stepped forward to the podium first. His face wore a polite smile, but the glint in his eyes was sharp... targeted. Jean stood just behind him, her expression unreadable.
"Ladies and gentlen," Logan began smoothly, his deep voice filling the grand hall. "I must say, it’s a great honor to be here tonight, sharing this stage with the woman who made my survival... morable."
Polite chuckles echoed through the crowd.
"You know, people often ask how I survived on a deserted island. I tell them... easy. Just bring Jean Adams with you. She’s so clumsy, she’ll trip over every tree root and accidentally discover hidden water sources."
The audience laughed louder this ti. Jean clenched her jaw but didn’t interrupt.
"And I must say... her knowledge about wild plants and animals is quite impressive. She knew which berries were safe to eat, which leaves to avoid, and even how to signal passing ships... not that it worked." He smirked. "Sotis I wonder if she was raised in the forest. Maybe by wolves?"
Laughter exploded in the room.
"And of course," Logan added, feigning a sentintal tone, "she managed to make even a disaster look fashionable. That’s a skill not everyone has."
Logan stepped back with a gracious nod, clearly proud of himself. The applause was strong. Caras clicked. Jean stepped forward next, her face composed, back straight.
"Thank you, Mr. Kingsley," she said calmly into the mic. "And thank you all for the warm welco."
The room quieted.
"My experience on that island was terrifying... and unforgettable. But what made it survivable... apart from my apparent background as a forest creature..." she paused as the audience chuckled, "...was having soone to suffer with."
Jean tilted her head slightly toward Logan.
"I’d like to share sothing that wasn’t reported in any dia. On the first day, Logan accidentally poisoned himself."
There were gasps and then laughter as Logan blinked, caught off guard.
"Yes," Jean continued, her tone dry, "he mistook a wild fruit for a snack and spent the night curled up in pain. I had to carry him to shelter, crush herbs, and feed him like a sick baby bird."
Laughter bood through the room.
"But that’s not the part that stayed with ." Her voice softened. "Because on the fourth day... It was who couldn’t get up. My body gave up. I was cold, sick, and too weak to even drink water."
She turned her head slightly, looking at Logan.
"And he didn’t leave . Not for a second."
Logan’s smirk faded, just a little.
Jean’s voice dropped to sothing real. Raw.
"He kept warm. He brought food. He fought off wild animals I couldn’t even see. That’s sothing I will never forget."
The hall was silent now.
Jean looked at the crowd. "There are people in this room who call family, who’ve known for years. But Logan Kingsley..." She turned back to him. "...is the only person here I can say I fully trust."
A pause.
"Because when no one else was there, he was."
She gave a polite nod and stepped back. The applause was slower this ti but deeper.
Genuine.
Logan didn’t smile. He just looked at her. Eyes unreadable. But sothing shifted in them.
And Jean... she didn’t regret a single word.
_____________________________
As Jean stepped down from the stage, the room remained quiet for a beat longer before the applause rose again... this ti not just polite, but sincere. Whispers spread quickly among the guests. Caras zood in, catching every flicker of expression between Jean and Logan.
From the Kingsley side, Martha was practically beaming. Jared gave Logan a little nudge with a proud smile, while Hannah whispered under her breath, "That didn’t sound like hate to ..."
But on the other side of the hall, Jean’s family was stone-faced.
"What the hell was that?" Darla snapped, barely keeping her voice down as guests mingled around them.
"She just humiliated us with that speech," Derek muttered, his jaw tense.
Alex leaned closer to his parents, his eyes still trained on Jean as she walked back from the stage. "I told you," he said, voice low. "She’s catching feelings for Logan. I don’t know when or how, but it’s happening."
Darla’s hand tightened around her glass. "That cannot happen. Do you understand? We’ve already made the arrangent with the Dominics."
Just then, a deep, calm voice cut through their conversation.
"Who’s catching feelings for whom?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)