Chapter 10
Joyce’s face flushed red, then turned ghostly pale. Just moments ago, she’d sneered that Aline was nothing but a delu- sional clown.
Now it seemed like the real joke… was on her.
Even Clayton was stunned. He had no idea. Aline had never once mentioned any of her achievements. And suddenly, this woman he’d been married to for three years felt like a stranger.
Just then, a calm, clear male võice broke through the silence.
“Professor Olson, is she your student?”
“Yes,” Frankie replied, before introducing them. “This is my student, Aline Moore. Aline, this is Mr. Mitch Fuentes, from the Fuentes Group.”
The moment that name left his lips, everyone at the table froze.
Antony had just passed away, and Mitch was the one stepping in to take control.
Instantly, the atmosphere shifted. If anyone could make even the faintest connection with Mitch, it could mean end- less opportunities.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Moore,” Mitch said, extending a polite hand.
Only then did Aline realize-he was the man she’d seen earlier outside the funeral home.
Now, without the umbrella hiding him, his features were crystal clear: slicked-back black hair, a broad forehead, sharply defined brows, a high nose bridge, water-toned lips, and those jet-black, unreadable eyes-like a deep sea that let no light in.
He wore a gentle expression as he spoke to her, but it revealed nothing. It was impossible to tell what he was really thinking.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Fuentes,” Aline replied, shaking his hand.
His hand was clean and well-defined, with strong joints-yet as soon as she touched it, an instinctive chill ran down her spine. These were hands that could kill.
Their handshake lasted barely a second before parting.
Everyone else around the table looked eager to jump in, hoping to seize a connection.
But Mitch didn’t even glance at them. “Professor Olson, let’s head to the private room.”
Frankie nodded, said a few kind words to Aline, then followed Mitch away.
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Once they were gone, Clayton stepped up beside her, visibly annoyed.
“You were top of the science exams? You graduated from National Defense Academy? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Aline looked at him calmly. “Would it have mattered?”
He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could speak, a gunshot suddenly rang out through the restaurant.
Someone had drawn a weapon-firing in the direction of Mitch!
Screams erupted. Chaos broke out all around them.
In that split second, Aline felt a hard shove. She stumbled backward, nearly losing her balance.
From the corner of her eye, she saw it-Clayton had scooped up Joyce and shielded her behind a nearby privacy
screen.
It was Clayton who had pushed her.
In a moment of life-or-death crisis, he had chosen to protect Joyce-not his wife.
Aline felt her heart go ice cold. She stood still, expressionless, staring at him.
Did it even occur to him that pushing her like that could’ve gotten her hit by a stray bullet?
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Clayton looked up. His expression was laced with guilt.
He hadn’t thought at all-he had just acted. The moment he heard gunfire, he instinctively moved to protect Joyce. By the time he realized what he’d done, it was already too late.
He told himself he’d apologize later. He’d explain. He knew Aline-she was easy to console. In the past, even when he’d screwed up, a few sweet words were usually enough to smooth things over.
He clung to that hope.
Until he saw her lips move, slowly and clearly. “Clayton, I don’t want you anymore.”
In a flash, a sharp pain stabbed through Clayton’s chest.
“What’s wrong?” asked Joyce, cradled protectively in his arms. She seemed to sense something was off.
“It’s… nothing,” Clayton said, pressing his dry lips together.
He thought, ‘There’s no way Aline would reject me. I must have imagined it.’
