Semua Bab HIS RELUCTANT MATE: Bab 1 - Bab 5

JARED'S POV The afternoon sun boiled harshly on my skin, drenching my forehead and shirt with sweat. I squinted my eyes, frantically searching for a cab to take home. But there was none. On the campus road, where numerous cabs should have been working on an afternoon like this, my unluckiness peaked, sending off all available cabs. The sun scorched, and my skin reddened. Discomfort grew from within, chest tightened, and stomach grumbled, not from hunger but from the familiar weakness that had been growing for a week already. It was also the reason I left class so early. I rubbed my nose bridge, trying to keep my thoughts focused on the road as I deliberated walking to the bus stop to take a bus instead. Dizziness swept over me, and I staggered backward. I held my backpack tightly, eyes turning blurry as I silently prayed. What was going on with me?It felt so hot. Uncomfortable and really scary. Heat continued to grow in my chest, and my stomach wouldn't stop growling. I bent o

JARED'S POV I yawned lazily and opened my eyes, taking in the classic decor of the hotel room. I sat up in bed and yawned again while rubbing my sore back. The man seemed to have left. Even his space beside me had turned cold. Well, it was better not to see him again. Especially after the shameful sounds I made last night...I rubbed my temple and forced myself up the bed. I quickly put on my clothes and walked to the bedside stand to pick up my phone, and my eyes fell on a paper behind it. I picked it up and read it out, *Sorry, I had to leave. Call me when you wake up.* then followed by a string of numbers. I stared at the letter for a moment and sneered. Call him? For what reason? I rolled my eyes, squeezed the paper, and threw it aside. Picking up my phone, I strolled out of the room without looking back. A night that would only stay a memory. A man who would never show up in my life... again. And a comfort I might never experience again. I boarded a cab at the entrance o

STERLY'S POVThe ink on the marriage certificate hadn't dried, yet the weight on my chest felt decades old. This had never been my plan. I had always wanted to wait. When my parents discussed my marriage with me, explaining to me how frustrating the marriage alliances they received from various families, intending to match their children with me was, and made me promise them to bring home a partner, I had thought things would go awry. I intensified my search, hoping to find Nate as soon as possible, but things never worked the way I wanted. Even with my power and status, Nate was still nowhere to be found. It had been six years since he left... and he never returned. Nate was a thorn in my heart, pricking and persistent. I could never let go of him. Six years of yearning had turned hope into a ritual until fate played a cruel joke and sent me a man that looked like him... Jared. He had stood by the roadside, eyes fixed on the road, and sweat damped his body in an uncomfortable