Chapter 25
“Who would’ve thought that someone as sweet looking as Nadine could be so evil?” Elliot grumbled angrily.
He added after some thought, “Maybe you could look for a reporter and expose her. What do you think?”
Nadine’s reputation would be ruined, and Jeremy would be disgraced.
Joanna shook her head and smiled. “You know as well as I do that Mrs. Hansen Senior raised me like her own granddaughter. I will only ever stand up for the Hansen family during tough times but never put them through shame.”
Elliot clicked his tongue. “You’re such a saint. It’s almost like you’re in love with the Hansens.”
The comment eamed him a wry look from Joanna. He suggested, “What if you talked to Jeremy about this and see if he knows the truth? If he does, there’s no need for you to p easy on him, right?”
Joanne fell silent as she considered this. Knowing Jeremy, he would never have allowed Nadine to do something illegal like buying organs if he knew about it. Chances were, he was kept in the dark.
If that were the case, she could try talking to him. After all, she had promised to help Joy.
When Joanna did not respond, Elliot pressed, “Should I call him?”
Shaking her head, Joanna said, “I’ll do it.”
As things were, Eterna Group was no match for Hansen Group. The last thing Joanna wanted was for Jeremy to get angry at Elliot and launch an all–out attack against him or the
company.
Having guessed where her considerations lay, Elliot hummed gravely in response and nodded at her.
When he left, Joanna didn’t immediately call Jeremy. She had lived with him long enough to know his daily routine and habits. He wouldn’t leave the study until past 10:00 pm, and only then would he shower and call it a day.
She took a shower and lay on her bed reading. Half an hour later, she figured it was the right time to call Jeremy and reached for her phone. She found his number and dialed it.
Over at Clementson Bay Villa, Jeremy was still in his shirt and trousers as he sprawled over Joanna’s bed in the master bedroom. He had never once spent the night here, yet he had half his face buried in her pillow.
Chapter 25
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He had fallen into such a deep sleep that he didn’t move.
Ever since Joanna moved out, Jeremy had been experiencing severe insomnia. There were nights when he couldn’t sleep a wink. After ten days, his body finally caved into exhaustion.
When he got home that evening, he found himself entering Joanna’s bedroom as if on instinct. As his gaze fell upon her bed, memories of the countless times they had tangled within the sheets flashed through his mind.
Jeremy padded over to the bed and fell atop it. As he breathed in Joanna’s faint scent, which still lingered on the pillows, he drifted into sleep within seconds.
It was a deep, dreamless sleep. He hadn’t slept so soundly since Joanna left.
He didn’t know how long he had been asleep before his phone buzzed in his pocket. He was normally hyperaware of his surroundings and extremely sensitive to sounds. On a normal day, he would have woken up the moment he heard his phone buzz or chime.
But not tonight. Even as his phone buzzed, Jeremy didn’t wake up. He lay on the bed as if he were content to never wake up again and showed no response.
He remained asleep even after the call went to voicemail, and not once did he stir.
Meanwhile, Joanna was huddled up in her apartment on the 38th floor of Maplewood Residences, listening to the mechanical beep coming from the other line.
She wondered if Jeremy was deliberately ignoring her calls. Not that it surprised her. If he hated her that much, why would he answer her call?
With that in mind, she gave up on calling him and put her phone on silent mode. She set it on her nightstand and swiftly turned off the lights, hitting the sack.
Jeremy slept soundly through the night at Clementson Bay Villa. When morning came, he remained in the same position he had been in when he crashed upon Joanna’s bed the previous night.
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Chapter 26