?Chapter 1033:


    Linsey looked up at him. The moment her eyes met his, her smile grew. She cupped his face lovingly, then leaned in to nt a soft kiss on his lips.


    Collin’s eyes sparkled with affection.


    “Oh? Is that your answer?” he asked, his voice low and teasing. Though he was a tough businessman by day, around her, he was all warmth and tenderness.


    Linsey giggled, her eyes shining. “Can’t I reply that way?”


    Collin answered with a grin, “Of course you can. I’m yours. You’re free to do whatever you want to me.”


    Collin’s tender words washed over Linsey like a balm, dissolving the tension that had coiled tight within her.


    When he watched her shoulders ease and her expression soften, relief flooded through him.


    His fingers found their way to her hair, stroking gently as the silence stretched between them. When he spoke again, his voice carried the hushed intimacy reserved for her alone. “Can you tell me what has happened?”


    Something had clearly upset her today. Collin knew she had spent the afternoon with Dolores, which was supposed to leave her bubbling withughter and stories.


    Yet here she was, wrapped in mncholy like a heavy cloak. Memory struck him suddenly. The message his subordinate had delivered at noon!


    His brow furrowed as pieces clicked into ce. “Are you upset because Gorman is leaving?”


    Linsey’s eyes flew wide with shock. “Collin, what are you even saying?” The genuine bewilderment in her voice made him backtrack quickly. “I was just thinking out loud. I wasn’t using you of anything.”


    Your imagination takes flight on g?lnσν???s


    A spark of mischief flickered in Linsey’s gaze as she raised her hand to cup his chin, her thumb brushing across his jawline with yful firmness. Feigned indignation colored her tone. “Since you brought it up, now I can finally ask. Have you been secretly working to push him out these past few days?”


    The tables had turnedpletely, and Collin silently cursed himself for walking straight into her trap.


    Straightening, he adopted his most sincere expression. “Linsey, don’t let that maniptive man fill your head with lies. The Green family’s power in Grester has been crumbling for years. When business opportunities came up that conflicted with their interests, I simply took them. As the founder of CR Corporation, I have to put ourpany first. You understand that, don’t you?”


    Amusement sparkled in Linsey’s eyes as she studied his face. “You could make robbery sound like charity work. Even when I want to be mad at you, you never give me a proper reason.”


    Collin’s features melted into wounded innocence. “Baby, you wouldn’t really side with another man against me, would you?”


    She exhaled softly, shaking her head. “I’m not siding with anyone. I just don’t see why all this scheming was necessary.”


    Her fingers tracedzy patterns across Collin’s palm as she spoke, her voice taking on that patient tone she used when exiningplex matters. “Gorman came back iming he wanted to expand the Green Group’s reach in Grester. Yet everything he’s done has only hurt his family’s business instead of helping it. Until he sorts out whatever’s clouding his judgment, he’ll never be able to focus properly on work. I can see clearly that the Green family’s foothold in Grester isn’t nearly what it once was.”


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