With that in mind, Stephen did just so.
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He looked straight at Reba, met her eyes, and spoke calmly, “You knew I had my own reasons, yet you still told me everything. Does that mean you want to use this against Jeffrey?”
Reba replied, “Yes.”
Stephen was surprised.
He hadn’t expected her to be so straightforward.
He’d seen all kinds of people in his circles. Some were far more open than Reba.
But after five years with Jeffrey, she still had that innocence. Either she was incredibly strong, or Jeffrey had protected her well. Either way, Stephen was impressed.
“I did have a reason for saving you,” Stephen admitted. “I wanted to use you to mess with Jeffrey and get what I wanted.”
Reba paused, raising an eyebrow. ‘Is that all?‘ she thought skeptically.
Stephen folded his arms over the nket. “You don’t believe me?”
“Please. You’re a businessman,” Reba said, a bit sarcastically. “Businessmen always weigh the risks and rewards. Risking your life just to upset Jeffrey? That’s not you.”
She’d never pull a stunt like that. And certainly not Stephen, who was in opposition to Jeffrey. It was just in stupid.
“I had someone rig the chandelier beforehand,” Stephen exined. “I knew I’d just get some minor cuts.”
“But you were bleeding heavily!” Reba protested. That wasn’t fake blood. It was real.
“If I hadn’t bled like that, would you have believed I was really trying to save you?” Stephen shrugged. “If you didn’t believe me, how could I drive a wedge between you and Jeffrey?”
The more Stephen spoke, the more Reba felt like she was wandering in the dark.
Is his n just too clever for me, or has he turned something simple into a mess?‘ she wondered, feeling increasingly confused.
“Still don’t get it?” Stephen caught the puzzled look on her face,
Reba shook her head. ‘It’s like trying to solve a riddle with half the clues missing,‘ she thought.
“Even if you were suspicious of my motives when I saved you, without any real evidence, you’d still see me as your savior,” Stephen exined. “And over time, any doubts you had would fade as I showed concern for you and Jeffrey.”
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Reba looked up, ready to argue.
But Stephen continued, “As for Jeffrey, he’d be sure I set everything up and tried <i>to </i>keep you away from me. Because I saved you, you’d defend me. Maybe you’d say things that upset him…”
“You’re wrong,” Reba cut in. She already knew what he was about to say.
Stephen raised an eyebrow. “Wrong?”
Reba stayed calm. “You’re assuming that in this situation, Jeffrey will think I don’t trust him, while I’ll see him as unreasonable, like he’d trade his humanity for power and profit. And that’ll cause a big fallout between
us.”
Stephen pressed his lips together, silent. ‘Isn’t that how it’s supposed to go?‘ he thought, confident his n would work just like that.
But he didn’t say it. Reba’s expression made it clear she’d seen through his scheme.
“You got it all wrong from the start,” Reba said, genuinely surprised that Stephen, always so clever, hade up with such a wed n. “No matter how long you wait, I’ll never stop doubting you.”
“Why?” Stephen asked, genuinely puzzled.
He’d saved her, and every time they met, he’d shown no hidden agenda. He’d always acted like he had their best interests at heart. There was no real reason for her to still doubt him.
Reba said bluntly, “Jeffrey told me not to trust you.”
Stephen asked, “That’s all?<b>” </b>
Reba replied, “Yeah.”
Stephen scanned Reba’s face, searching for any hint of a lie, but all he saw was honesty. That only made him more suspicious. “He’s with someone else, and you still trust him?”
Reba kept her tone light. “My trust in him has nothing to do with who he’s seeing.”
Stephen raised an eyebrow, half–mocking. “So, you’re just thinking about divorcing him for fun?”
“No,” Reba answered firmly.
Stephen was confused.
For the first time, Stephen waspletely stumped. He always thought he understood people’s feelings, but everything Reba said today turned his whole view upside down.
“Fine, I’ll go along with your n,” Reba said before Stephen could even process what was happening. “But I don’t guarantee if you’ll make it or not. For all I know, Jeffrey might see right through us.”
Between them, it was just cooperation. Each got what they wanted.
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Stephen froze for a second, and then pieced it together. “Why?”
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“Because I want a divorce,” Reba said, not hiding it. “If I act like I don’t trust him, he’ll be <i>so </i>disappointed that breaking up won’t be so hard.”
On the other side, Jeffrey and the other two heard every word loud and clear.
Stanley felt like running away again. ‘This drama is way too intense. I’m not sure my heart can handle it,‘ he thought.
With her chin propped up, Riley clicked her tongue. “Wow, she’d rather y along with Stephen than be with you. You’re not much of a husband.”
Stanley shot her a look, silently begging her to tone it down.
Jeffrey’s coldness really gave him the creeps.
Jeffrey kept his lips tightly pressed. His dark eyes were glued to theputer screen. Beneath his calm exterior, a storm of emotions brewed quietly.
Just then, Stephen’s voice came through theputer again, directed at Reba. “If you really want to make him lose faith in you, you could hit him where it hurts, his childhood. That’d be way easier.”
“I’m not crossing that line.” Reba tossed over her shoulder as she headed out.
‘I’ve got plenty of ways to deal with Jeffrey, but digging up his old scars isn’t one of them, she thought. She’d never use his past pain against him.
Stephen called out, “Wait.”
Reba froze and nced back at him.
Stephen had never encountered anyone so straightforward about their feelings as Reba. It really piqued his interest. “You seriously don’t trust me just because Jeffrey told you not to?”
“Pretty much,” Reba replied honestly. She knew she couldn’t outsmart the schemers in their circle, so she decided long ago that her safest bet was to trust Jeffrey. After all, he was the closest person she had.
Reba thought to herself, “There are plenty of people out there who might hurt me, but when ites to this, Jeffrey just wouldn’t.‘
Stephen pressed on, “And the other reason?”
Reba’s eyes were fixed on him.
Feeling a little uneasy under her stare, Stephen adjusted his silver–rimmed sses.
“You don’t see Jeffrey as your brother,” Reba said, her tone unwavering. “Every time you look at him, all I see is your determination to utterly defeat him. Nothing else matters to you.”
“Jeffrey is lucky to have you,” Stephen said, his voice settling back into that calm, gentlemanly ease.
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Reba kept walking, casually saying over her shoulder, “If you’ve got a n, justy it out next time. No need toplicate things with all these twists and turns.”
She didn’t care how Stephen reacted. She just turned on her heels and walked out.
As Stephen watched Reba walk away, his usual warmth turned cold. For a moment, his feelings he hadn’t felt for ages.
He thought, ‘Jeffrey has someone like Reba, who trusts him without a second thought.
‘But what about me? That person never truly believed in me.’
eyes showed
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