It's him?

The next morning, Valerie woke up on the couch with a stiff back. Her first thought was Jason.

'He might be upset about Mia' she thought.

But then, she heard sounds coming from the kitchen. Her eyes widened with horror.

'Wait, is Jase picking up a knife to actually hurt David?' she thought before she raced inside the kitchen, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw Jason flipping,

"Pancakes?" she muttered.

He turned his head slightly and gave her a big grin.

"Val, don't you like Pancakes the most? Here, I made blueberry pancakes with lots of maple syrup, just how you like it" Jason declared.

Valerie tried not to grimace. She doesn't like to eat sweet things first thing in the morning. But Jason does. So she pretended that she likes it too, just to impress him.

"Thank you, Jase. Let me go wash up." She locked herself inside the washroom and quickly washed up a little before joining Jase on the couch, where he was digging into his Pancakes. She sat beside him, pretending that her heart was not fluttering at all.

'Now that Mia is out of the picture, this is my chance. This time, I have to let him know how I feel' she decided.

"I am sorry about Mia," she said half heartedly.

Jason waved his fork in the air.

"Good riddance that I saw through her sooner. She managed to fool me for a whole 6 months. That David, he is a scum bag. They are better suited to each other," Jason said angrily.

Valerie sighed with relief.

'So does this mean he was never serious about Mia?' she thought, feeling a little happier inside.

"Jase, a guy stole my wallet last night..." She shared the details of the accident and how the guy took her wallet from her, and also about his visiting card. She didn't tell him about how the guy touched her.

"What? Someone who works for my brother actually bullied you? How dare he? Don't worry. I will take you to the Oswald Corp to meet my brother. Show him that guy's card. After that, my brother will take care of everything," Jason promised.

Valerie relaxed.

"Thanks, Jase,"ssaididm casually, like she always did.

He punched her shoulders playfully, like how he punched his guy friends.

"Don't worry about it," he replied casually.

After an hour, Valerie found herself sitting inside one of the most minimalist but expensive corporate offices ever on the 54th floor of the Oswald Corp. The black wood with which all the furniture in that cabin is made is super expensive. A huge desk is sitting in the middle of the room, which is bigger than her entire apartment. A huge couch and two cushioned chairs were arranged to the left. The carpeted floor looked rich. The floor-to-ceiling wall behind the desk overlooks the ocean, which is down the hill. The location where the Oswald Corp is built is the most expensive and the center of the city. It's a financial hub.

"Val, my brother is in a meeting. He will be here soon," Jason assured her, just as his mobile started ringing. Valerie recognized the ringtone. It's from Mia. Jason set a special ringtone for her when they started dating. Jason looked like he wanted to disconnect the call.

"Let me take this call," he murmured before he walked out of the cabin, leaving Valerie in a daze. She thought Jason might break up with Mia. She thought he would move on. But looking at how he still answered her call after everything that happened last night, her heart clenched with pain.

She was so lost in her head that she didn't notice the man for whom she had been waiting entering his cabin. He noticed her sitting on his couch, looking lost.

"So, you brought the money?" his voice, which sounded familiar, pulled her out of her head within a split second.

When Valerie saw the guy who bullied her and even stole her wallet sitting in the chair meant for Jason's elder brother, her stomach dropped. She stood up from the couch so fast that she was unsteady on her feet for a second.

"Y...Y...you? What are you doing here?" It took her a few moments to even speak those words without stuttering.

That guy raised his thick masculine brow. Today he is wearing a charcoal Grey suit, which made him look devastatingly handsome.

"You came to my office, and you are asking me what I am doing here? Funny, I thought you were a bad driver. But looks like you are simply stupid," he murmured with a blank stare.

"What the hell? You cannot insult people like that. Last night was a mistake. How could you simply steal my wallet? That was just a scratch. My friend's brother owns this company. If you keep bullying me like this, he might not be happy," she threatened him.

Something like realization flashed in his gaze.

"I am scared now. But still, pay up and take your wallet back," he replied without batting an eyelash.

Valerie huffed, clearly pissed. She stormed towards his chair and pointed her finger at his face.

"I don't care. Last night was an accident. Give me my wallet back," she insisted. She was thinking that Jason and his brother would protect her. She completely missed the fact that he already mentioned that this is his cabin.

He grabbed the front of her loose shirt like he did the other night. Her eyes widened, and her cheeks turned pink.

"Because of you, I lost that man whom I was searching for a while now. And then you damaged my favorite car. How are you going to compensate me?" he demanded.

Valerie pulled her finger back, looking clearly flustered.

"Let go," she tugged at her shirt, which he was still holding.

"You dress like a man, but blush like a woman? Don't tell me that this is new technique to trap men," he taunted her.

That made Valerie so mad that she didn't realize what she was doing until her palm landed across his cheek in a hard slap. The sound of the slap echoed around his cabin, leaving them both shocked.