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Chapter Eighteen

Penulis: jengreyy
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-08-05 10:34:08

* Jana *

The next morning, the city shimmered under a pale haze, as if the sun itself was holding its breath. I sat on the edge of my bed, still wrapped in the velvet robe I hadn't yet shrugged off. My phone vibrated again, another email reminder for the Dankworth Company's anniversary dinner party.

Tonight.

A company-wide celebration cloaked in prestige and champagne, where spouses came dressed in diamonds and polished ambition, and where Lawrence's parents, the Jullianne and Lance Dankworth, would be in attendance.

The thought curled inside my chest like smoke. I stood slowly, walked to the wardrobe, and slid the doors open.

My fingers brushed past sleek black suits, crisp white blouses, safe blazers. Corporate armor. But tonight called for something else. Not a disguise. Not entirely. Just... the right kind of clarity. The kind that made people watch. The kind that made them wonder.

I pulled out the dress I'd been saving for this night. It was a long, charcoal silk gown with a low,
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  • Mister Dream Man   Chapter Forty Five

    * Jana *I froze, my bag halfway slung over my shoulder. The noise of the office dulled, conversations fading into a distant murmur as my eyes locked with his. No mask this time. No polite pretense. Just him, watching me, as though the air between us was thick with everything we weren't saying.I swallowed hard, breaking the stare first, pretending to fuss with the zipper of my bag. My pulse was a drumbeat in my throat. He couldn't, he shouldn't, look at me like that. Not here. Not with so many people around."Jana," Clarisse's voice broke through, bright and casual. "Want to grab lunch with us?"I forced a smile, grateful for the excuse, though my voice wavered. "I'll catch up later. Need to finish something first."She nodded and left with the others, their laughter trailing behind them as the office slowly emptied. My chest tightened. Silence pressed in, heavier than before.When I glanced back, Lawrence was gone from his doorway. Relief rushed through me, too soon. Because when I

  • Mister Dream Man   Chapter Forty Four

    * Jana *The alarm clock on my nightstand blinked 6:45 a.m., its red digits far too sharp for the fog still clinging to my head. Monday. The beginning of another work week. But I couldn't move. Not yet.I lay staring at the ceiling, listening to the faint hum of traffic outside my apartment window, my chest tight with indecision. The thought of walking into that office, passing in his office, made my stomach twist.Lawrence knew. Or at least, he suspected. I had seen it in his eyes last night, the way his voice sharpened when he demanded the truth, the way his silence carried more weight than any accusation.Part of me wanted to stay hidden behind the mask I had built so carefully. My new name, my quiet life, the illusion of being just another employee, invisible and safe. If I went back to work, I could pretend again, bury it all under professionalism and distance.But I knew it wouldn't last. Lawrence was not the kind of man to let go once he had a thread to pull. And I... I was tir

  • Mister Dream Man   Chapter Forty Three

    * Lawrence *I hadn't set foot in this villa for months, maybe a year. Yet the moment I stepped through the doors, the past came rushing back like a tide that refused to ebb.My father sat in his usual chair near the window, glasses low on his nose, a newspaper open but unread. My mother was at her vanity, touching the pearls at her throat, as though compensating for what was no longer there the pink diamond ring on her finger.The infamous diamond.That cursed jewel had done more damage than anyone dared admit.I could still hear my mother's voice from that night at Magnolia resort. "It's gone! My pink diamond is gone!" Panic had cracked her perfect composure, the staff scattering like frightened birds.I closed my eyes. Even now, the memory clawed at me. Jana, just a teen standing with her older sister, her brother standing between them like a shield. Their faces stained with tears as I made the decision."You all have to leave!" I had said, cold and final, though my heart thundered

  • Mister Dream Man   Chapter Forty Two

    * Jana *My chest rose and fell unevenly, the weight of his demand pressing down on me. His words scraped against every fragile wall I had built over the years."I'm not hiding," I whispered, but even to my own ears, it sounded weak, defensive.His eyes narrowed, sharp and relentless. "You think I can't see it? The way you flinch at my name. The way Dianne's accusations tore through you last night. You're carrying something, Jana. And I won't—" he broke off, exhaling hard, dragging a hand through his hair. "I won't stand here pretending I don't notice."I backed away, needing distance, needing air. The kitchen suddenly felt too small, the walls closing in around me. My hand throbbed where the water had cooled the burn, but it was nothing compared to the heat flooding through my chest."You don't understand," I muttered, turning my back to him."Then make me understand." His voice was deep, steady, but beneath it lay a desperation that rattled me. "If Dianne is lying, then prove it. Lo

  • Mister Dream Man   Chapter Forty One

    * Jana *I know Dianne must have recalled me, or recognized the resemblance between me and my mother. My hands were still trembling as I drove my car back to the apartment, hoping that Lawrence would not listen to what Dianne has been whispering behind my back.To him I am Jana Salazar, not Jana Kramer. I don't owe anything to Dianne, not when my mother is still missing for many years. While her father is declared dead, my mother's fate remains unknown. For years I convinced myself that they ran away together, that maybe they had loved each other enough to abandon everything. But the silence that followed...the absence... it gnawed at me.I reached my apartment, the dim light of the hallway flickering above me. My chest felt tight as I locked the door behind me, leaned against it, and finally allowed my knees to buckle. My breaths came shallow, broken."Why now? Why does the past have to chase me now?"The shadows of my small living room wrapped around me. I didn't turn on the lights.

  • Mister Dream Man   Chapter Forty

    * Lawrence *The moment Dianne slid into the alcove, her hand curling around my arm like a shackle, I felt the ground shift. Jana's eyes sparked with triumph, taunting, tempting, daring me, while Dianne's smile cut the air like a blade dipped in honey. I should have pulled away. I didn't. Restraint was my weapon, and restraint was all I had left."Enough," I said, but the word was low, dangerous, meant for both of them.Dianne leaned in, her perfume sharp, too sweet. "She looks familiar," she murmured, her voice low enough to pass as curiosity but edged with venom. Her eyes lingered on Jana like she was a memory clawing its way out of the past.Jana tilted her head, unbothered, sipping her own silence like fine champagne."Does she now?" I asked, my voice flat.Dianne's gaze flicked to me, lingering, her grip tightening. "Yes. I've seen that face before. Years ago... Magnolia Resort."The name landed between us like a stone dropped into still water. Magnolia. My family's crown jewel,

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