Chapter 05

"I clearly remember saying that day that I never wanted to see you again." Jackson's voice was hoarse and rough with anger.

Victória also wanted to stay far away from him, but she had no choice.

She had applied for dozens of jobs over the past six months, and this was the only company that had called her back.

She needed to support her children.

Besides, he wasn’t the only victim of that night. She had accepted the consequences and never sought him out afterward.

But the company was huge, and she simply had to try her best to avoid the man and stay out of his way in the future.

When Jackson saw Victória lost in thought, he assumed it was intentional.

"This is my second warning. Stay away from me. I won’t say it again, understood?"

Victória nodded. She understood perfectly.

But he seemed convinced that she had done it on purpose, that she had planned to be there. Yet her hopes of winning his love had been destroyed long ago, and all she wanted now was a job to support her children.

"I understand. You’ll never see me again!" Victória murmured. Jackson diverted his gaze from her, unwilling to spend another moment in her presence. He simply gave an order.

"Leave!"

Jackson couldn’t bear to look at Victória any longer, so as soon as she left, he pressed the elevator panel and walked away.

Victória just stood there, watching Jackson leave. She knew that, since that night, he would never fall in love with her, and she had already come to terms with that.

She composed herself, took the next elevator, and finally arrived at JB Digital, her new workplace.

Meanwhile, when Jackson exited the elevator, his various assistants were waiting for him. They rushed toward him, but Jackson walked straight past them.

The memory of seeing Victória at his company disturbed him.

Was she here on purpose? Was she trying to seduce him?

Jackson didn’t find Victória unattractive—in fact, she was an extremely beautiful woman. If she hadn’t drugged him, he wouldn’t despise her so much.

But there was something strange about her. She had a faint scent of milk.

Sweet, fresh milk.

He had almost kissed her because of it.

Jackson’s face darkened at the thought. What was he thinking? She was the woman he hated. So how could he still feel attracted to her? Was he going mad?

---

JB Digital was a small company with fewer than 20 employees. Upon meeting her new boss, Jayric, Victória understood why the company was located in this building.

The previous owner of JB had declared bankruptcy, so the Carson Group acquired the company. Her boss didn’t seem much older than she was.

"Hello, Mr. Jayric. I’m Victória Lazer, and I’m starting today!" Victória’s voice caught Jayric’s attention as he was buried in paperwork. He looked up at her.

For a moment, Jayric was captivated by Victória’s beauty.

Jayric rarely felt attracted to beautiful women, but Victória’s beauty was out of this world.

Jayric’s silent stare made Victória uncomfortable, and she wondered if she had said something wrong. Noticing this, Jayric snapped back to reality and offered her a warm smile.

"Miss Victória Lazer, welcome to JB Digital."

In truth, Jayric wanted to ask if Victória had a boyfriend or someone in her life, but that wouldn’t be appropriate on her first day.

At the same time, on the 24th floor of the same building, Jackson’s personal assistant entered his office.

Maison Millans carried a cup of black coffee and set it on his boss’s desk.

"Mr. Carson, here’s your black coffee, no sugar!"

After placing the coffee down, Maison moved to Jackson’s side and began reviewing his schedule.

Jackson brought the coffee to his lips while listening to Maison list his tasks for the day.

"President, you have a meeting at 10 AM, followed by lunch with President Carlos of Magnific Group. Then, Mr. Tuan has invited you for tea this afternoon, specifically at 2 PM," Maison said, reading the details aloud.

"Mr. Tuan? You mean Lazaro Tuan?" Jackson’s tone was icy.

"That’s correct. He invited you for tea."

Lazaro had only invited Jackson to discuss a piece of land his family owned in Campinas—land worth millions of dollars.

That land had belonged to his family for decades, and he would never let Lazaro take it.

"Shall I confirm your attendance?" Maison asked cautiously.

"Please do. Let’s see how Lazaro plans to steal my land."

"Understood. I’ll make the necessary arrangements," Maison said, continuing to review the rest of the schedule.

After the meeting, Jackson’s phone rang. It was his grandmother, Madame Carson, and he knew exactly what she wanted to discuss. With a quick wave, Maison left the room.

As soon as Jackson answered, his grandmother’s voice filled the air, and the first thing she asked about was his love life.

"Jackson, dear, when are you going to bring your fiancée home to meet your grandmother? I’m very old now, and you... you’re not young anymore... I need to meet her before I die! This old woman deserves the chance to play with her great-grandchildren."

Jackson sighed deeply. He wasn’t old—he was only 32. Was that considered old?

He hadn’t even reached the prime of adulthood, which should be at 40, right?

His grandmother was so impatient.

"Grandma, I’ve told you before—if I find someone I like, I’ll introduce her to you."

"I’ve heard that before... You’ve been using that excuse for years, and I’ve yet to see you bring anyone home!" Madame Carson scolded her grandson. "Jackson, you have until the end of the year to introduce someone to me. If you don’t, I’ll find someone for you myself."

Jackson was speechless, and his grandmother knew she had hit the right nerve.

"So, we’re agreed, right?" Soraya Carson said before ending the call, not giving Jackson a chance to respond.

Jackson’s fingers tightened around his phone as he heard the "beep... beep... beep" on the other end, his expression darkening.

There were plenty of women willing to be his girlfriend, but he only wanted to bring back the woman he loved.