?Chapter 1428:


    After a pause, she continued, “The second possibility… She might have nned this from the beginning. That whole ‘ying hard to get’ act? It could’ve been designed to make you drop your guard—to convince you she had no romantic interest in you at all, so you’d agree to her n more willingly.”


    Belinda narrowed her eyes slightly. “If it’s the second case… then she’s ying quite the clever game.”


    Johnson’s face hardened. “I started sensing something was off when I caught wind of her meeting with my mother behind my back. But my mother had already grown suspicious about my rtionship with Cathy, and I still needed Zoie to pretend to be my girlfriend. So I didn’t do much about it. But clearly, that was a mistake.” His voice dropped, a glint of cold resolve shing in his eyes.


    At the mention of Cathy, Belinda and Bethany exchanged another nce, this oneced with a hint of resignation.


    Belinda exhaled softly before speaking again. “Johnson, after observing Catherine recently, I believe her feelings toward you have shifted. I won’t go so far as to say she’s in love with you, but there’s no doubt she sees you as more than just a foster…”


    “…brother. Therefore, I think you can end your fake rtionship with Zoie now. You don’t need it to make Catherine realize her feelings for you anymore.”


    “Exactly,” Bethany added. “The real issue is that Zoie might not be content with keeping it fake anymore. She could very well be aiming to be your real girlfriend. You need to act before things spiral out of control.”


    Johnson understood their words.


    He replied, “Understood. I’ll deal with this as soon as possible.”


    “Good,” Belinda said. “As long as you know what needs to be done. I’ll hang up now.”


    “Alright.”


    gα?ησν????s?c???? brings imagination alive


    As the call ended, Johnson began to contemte how to resolve the issue.


    What he hadn’t expected was that what happened next would only strengthen his determination to end his fake rtionship with Zoie.


    In the evening, at the Hoffman family mansion.


    As the family gathered for dinner, Ste broke the silence. “Johnson, you and Zoie have been together for a while now. Your father and I have discussed it, and we think you two should get engaged soon.”


    As Ste finished speaking, a sudden tter echoed—a fork fell onto the table, drawing everyone’s attention.


    “Sorry,” Catherine mumbled, her face flushing as she apologized.


    Ste shot her a disapproving look.


    A servant quickly reced Catherine’s fork.


    Johnson’s gaze lingered on Catherine, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.


    Then, he turned to Ste, his tone icy. “Who said I’m ready to get engaged to Zoie?”


    Ste replied, “You’ve been dating for some time, and you two seem to get along fine. Why shouldn’t you take the next step and get engaged?”


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