LOGINCole returned to the office immediately after the meeting and sent a brief file to Britney's laptop, telling her she could draft the meeting minutes. Britney looked at the notes, though she noticed it was unusual—Cole always used to explain everything to her in detail himself, but today he was completely wrapped up in work and unusually distant. A strange knot tightened in her gut, leaving her feeling unsettled. Was he angry with me? Was he upset? Or had he decided to give up on dating me after I ran off yesterday after the kiss? When lunchtime arrived, Britney pulled her lunch box out of her bag. She walked to Cole with his lunch box. The moment Cole saw it, he dismissed her sharply, saying, "You can go down to canteen and have your lunch. Give another one to someone else—I had a heavy breakfast this morning and I'm not hungry at all." "Sir, even if you had a heavy breakfast..." Britney started to protest, but
Britney entered her room and placed her hand over her chest, her mind racing. What had gotten into Robin? How could he be so against Cole? He hadn't reacted even remotely like this when he found out that Alex—her boyfriend at the time—had proposed to her or wanted to build a future with her. But with Cole, Robin was acting as if Cole were some dangerous mafia boss or a violent criminal.Britney shook her head, feeling a knot of frustration twist in her stomach. Robin was interrogating like a mother ; for a moment, she actually thought she might end up spilling everything to him. Thank goodness she hadn't mentioned the kiss, and thank goodness she hadn't confessed that the night she had been drugged, she had spent the night with Cole. If Robin knew that, heaven only knows what he would have done.She changed out of her clothes, but as she got into bed, her thoughts drifted right back. What on earth was wrong with Robin?Just then, her mobile phone lig
Robin arranged the table just like before, and they both sat down to eat. As soon as they settled in, Robin eagerly demanded, "Now I want all the gossip. Tell me how your interview went, how your first day was, and everything else."Evading the full details and dodging the question slightly, Britney shared a bit about how Ryan had interviewed her, giving a brief account of the process before mentioning, "Anyway, I got selected."Robin then pressed further, "Alright, now tell me about your boss. I've heard a lot about Cole Raven."Averting her gaze to hide her expression, Britney replied, "He's fine. It's only been two days since I started working, and he looks out for me, but he works me to the bone all day long. Last night I got quite late, but today I left on time."Hearing the word "late," Robin immediately asked, "How much late?""We must have hit around 10:00 PM," Britney admitted.Robin frowned, visibly concerned. "There has to be a way for him to
Britney, completely shocked, picked up the phone and said, "What? Robin? Are you actually the one talking on the phone, or did someone else take your phone and called me?"Robin replied, "Stop your drama."Britney retorted, "Drama? Really? What drama? Until now, it has never happened that you took the initiative to call me after staying in the city for two or three days. You always go MIA after staying in city for day or two, then you don’t call for a week. Even if I call you, you never pick up unless it's a real emergency. What happened? Didn't you have to go to work?"Robin snapped back, "Stop your overacting. I always pick up your phone. And earlier, when you were enjoying college life, you used to call just to argue about nonsense, so I wouldn't answer. Besides, now you've been newly treated to a fresh start. You're beginning a new life, so it's my duty to keep an eye on you. Your grandmother has left me as your guard, otherwise, wherever she is, she would chew me."Britney a
"Hello?" Britney answered cautiously."Oh, Britney! Hey! It's Rihanna," came the familiar voice on the other end.After a brief exchange of polite greetings—asking how each other has been and if they were holding up. "So, did you end up landing a job yet?"Hoping to keep her private life under wraps, Britney played it vague, replying, "I'm still looking around.""That's so weird," Rihanna remarked. "I applied to a bunch of companies too, but overnight, out of nowhere, all their application portals were shut down. I'm just waiting for them to reopen so I can try again.""Yeah, I actually noticed that application windows were closing abruptly everywhere," Britney replied. Then, curiosity getting the better of her, she asked, "Wait, didn't you apply during the initial college recruitment drives?""I did, but none of the job listings really made sense to me," Rihanna sighed. "Being a top student, I guess I just had higher expectations.""True, that makes sense," Britney agreed. Pau
Cole smiled softly as he looked down at Britney, his amber eyes burning with an intense, consuming fire that left no room for escape. Leaning in close, his warm breath brushed against her sensitized skin as he murmured, "Every single moment we spent together that night... your soft touch, your desperate kisses, the way your body arched and trembled beneath mine—it drove me completely wild." Hearing his deep, rough voice and feeling the undeniable, rigid hardness of his body pressed so intimately against hers, Britney gasped softly. A sharp, sizzling jolt of electricity raced through her nervous system, making her whole body jump in reaction. "That was the best night of my life," Cole continued, his voice dropping to a low growl that vibrated directly against her chest. "And I want to experience a night like that every single day. I want to make you completely mine, Britney.” Britney blinked up at him, caught entirely off guard by the raw, overwhelming weight of his declaration







