Chapter 25

At that moment, Brenden was having dinner with his girlfriend at Golden Days when a sudden sneeze caught him off guard.

His girlfriend, already irritated, shot 'm a glare."Brenden, looks like some woman is thinking about you,huh?"

Brenden threw up his hands, exasperated.

He might be a serial dater, but he always ended things cleanly before moving on. Even if he had his eye on someone new, he made a point to break up first-he was careless, not a cheater.

Clearly,someone was out there talking trash about him.

Meanwhile,Gabriela stared in disbelief at the phrase "thirty-ninth girlfriend."

For a moment, she was speechless, floored by just how casually Brenden seemed to cycle through relationships.

Jaw clenched, she shot back. "Keep dreaming!" Wesley caught the message and a faint smirk flickered across his face.

The cloud over his mood finally eased, and he resisted the urge to tease her further.

Next to him, Loretta's praise for Fiona grew even more effusive, her disapproval barely masked as she noticed Wesley glued to his phone.

"Wesley, listen to me," Loretta announce J her tone brooking no argument. "I'm very fond of Tiona.Tomorrow's the weekend, so I've invited her for dinner. You'd better be on your best behavior-no hiding behind work excuses."

Loretta took great pride in Fiona's polished family background, impressive education, and gentle disposition. She made up her mind to push Wesley and Fiona together.

Wesley let out a weary sigh. "Grandma, my career is only just getting off the ground."

"You already have more money than you can spend in a lifetime!" Loretta shot back, her glare sharp. "You're thirty-one, Wesley. If you don't settle down soon,how am I supposed to live long enough to see my great-grandchildren?"

Knowing she was about to launch into another tirade, Wesley relented. "Grandma, I actually like someone.I'll bring her over to meet you someday."

Loretta's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Who is she,then? What's her family background? Are you seriously telling me she's a better catch than Fiona?"

In Loretta's mind, nobody could possibly measure up to Fiona.

Wesley's relentless dedication to his ca eer made it impossible for her to believe he'd developed foelings for anyone overnight. She remained convinced he was simply dodging any talk of marriage.

With sincere composure, Wesley offered, "She's a decent person."

The only flaw he saw? She could provoke his anger effortlessly-while remaining completely oblivious to what sparked it.

Loretta was ready to press the subject further when Wesley's phone buzzed again. He glanced down at the screen,immediately reaching for it.

This time, it wasn't Gabriela's message that popped up,but Fiona's-a contact he found increasingly irritating

"Wesley,weekend kicks off tomorrow-are you free?"

Lately, Fiona's messages kept flooding in, making Wesley even more determined to tune her out

Elsewhere, Fiona sat in front of her phone, irritation simmering.

She'd fired off message after message, but Wesley hadn't bothered replying-not even with a perfunctory emoji.

Usually, with so many suitors clam oring for her attention, Fiona never had to chase anyone Wesley's aloofness, however,left her baffled.

She debated whether she had stooped to something as childish as hurling an insult just to get a reaction.

Thinking back to the faint, almost amused smile she'd seen flicker across Wesley's face last time, Fiona steeled herself and typed out a gamble. "Hey, jerk,want to go watch a movie with me tomorrow?"

Instead of ignoring her, Wesley actually responded-if a question mark even counted as a reply.

That tiny sign of life only fueled Fiona's determination.

She shot back another message. "Seriously, you jerk,is that all you can manage? Too busy to even answer me properly?"

Wesley glanced at his phone, then at Loretta,who was still waxing poetic about Fiona's many charms. A sly idea flickered through his mind.

He replied, "And you are...?"

Fiona's anger simmered dangerously

How could he act like she was a stranger? She was used to being admired and chased. Now, barely a week after they'd become friends on WhatsApp,he had forgotten about her?

No matter how many texts she fired off, ia stayed silent-until she threw an insult his way.

That alone made her suspicious. Was this legendary business genius actually into being scolded?

The possibility left he both irritated and oddly intrigued. Refusing to back down, Fiona typed with swift, determined fingers."It's me, Fiona. How dare you forget me, you jerk?"

He fired back, "Really? I don't think you are Fiona."

Without hesitation, Fiona hit record,her voice sharp and taunting. "You jerk, does my voice finally ring a bell?"

Wesley switched his phone to speaker, letting Loretta hear every word for herself.

Loretta sat frozen in disbelief, the elegant image she'd built of Fiona crumbling in an instant.

"But Fiona always seemed so poised and sweet. How could she possibly say such things to you?" she stammered, her voice thick with shock.

Without a word,Wesley handed her his phone, letting the barrage of Fiona's sharp-tongued messages speak for themselves.

Loretta slipped on her reading glasses, scrutinizing the screen as her expression shifted from co, fusion to utter dismay. She simply couldn't reconcile this with the girl she thought she knew.

Stunned by her discovery-and embarrassed by how enthusiastically she'd just praised Fiona-Loretta let out a weary sigh. "Did spending a few years overseas really turn her into a different person?"

Wesley didn't let the chance slip by. "Grandma, you can't just judge people based on how they look or what they say. You really have to take your time and see what they're actually like."

With a heavy sigh, Loretta admitted, "I got it wrong this time."

That realization finally convinced her to stop pressuring Wesley about marriage-at least for now.

A wave of relief swept over Wesley. Without hesitation, he unfriended Fiona on WhatsApp right there in front of Loretta.

Meanwhile, Fiona was left staring at her phone,perplexed by the silence that greeted her latest voice message.

She remembered how gently Wesley had replied to that rude message and wondered if her rebuke hadn't been sharp or inventive enougl

After trawling the internet for clever ults, Fiona composed another cutting message and hit send-only to discover, moments later, that she'd been unfriended.

Her features shifted from confusion to disbelief,then settled into a frown.

What was happening here? Why did the other person receive a polite reply from Wesley after sending insults, while she ended up being unfriended for doing the same thing?

For someone used to being the center of attention,Fiona found it unbearable to be dismissed so abruptly and without explanation. The slight gnawed at her pride.

Her mind drifted to Brenden-the ever-smiling one who seemed to get along with everyone, Wesley included. Reluctant but determined to get answers, she sent a message to him. "Hey Brenden,are you free today? Want to grab a bite with me?"

Brenden had just picked up his phone to ask his new girlfriend out when Fiona's message landed, catching him off guard.

She'd been practically icy toward him at Loretta's house-so why was she suddenly asking him to dinner?

Though the invitation seemed suspici 'is, Brenden never minded making time for a pretty won n.He agreed without hesitation.

The next day, they met at Golden Days.

Fiona tamped down her revulsion, offered him a plastic smile, and tossed out a few half-hearted pleasantries, even going so far as to apologize for her aloofness back at Loretta's place.

Brenden found her sudden sweetness downright unsettling. He shifted in his seat and cut to the chase."So,why the dinner invitation out of the blue?"

Fiona lowered her gaze and spoke in a careful,tentative voice. "Brenden, you're close with Wesley,aren't you? Do you know what he's actually into?Back at Loretta's, he barely looked my way."

Brenden rubbed his jaw, lost in thought for a moment. Wesley's life revolved around work-he was cool,distant, almost impossible to approach. Loretta was the only one who ever coaxed out a trace of warmth from him.

After a pause, Brenden replied, "Wesley's just...reserved. He needs time to let anyone in. Stick around long enough, and you'll figure him out."

Fiona's face fell. "But he untric nded me on WhatsApp."

Unfazed, Brenden just shrugged. That's classic Wesley.His whole world is work-women don't even register on his radar."

She studied Brenden, voice wary."Does he have any odd habits or, like, unusual preferences?"

Brenden stared at her, completely thrown off by the question, because as far as he knew, Wesley had no unusual preferences.

He was just about to say so when Fiona, gnawing her lip,pressed on. "Is he the type who actually likes being scolded?"

That question nearly sent Brenden tumbling out of his chair. He shot her an incredulous look."Are you even hearing yourself right now?"

Fiona began her explanation. "I saw him texting

someone the other day. The person kept calling him a jerk and insulting him, but instead of getting mad,Wesley was grinning the whole time. It honestly looked like he was into it."

Brenden was left speechless, floored by her revelation.

Beneath Wesley's polished exterior lurked a merciless workaholic, the kind of boss who could freeze an entire boardroom with a glance. No one in the company dared cross hin -not even the top executives.

Brenden never imagined anyone would have the nerve to talk back to Wesley, let alone scold him.

The idea made him curious, almost amused, about who could be that audacious.

But then he snapped back to the matter at hand."Hang on-what does this have to do with him dropping you from his contacts?"

Fiona wavered, her lips pressed together as she struggled to answer. "I sent Wesley a few messages,and he ignored every single one. So I figured...maybe if I scolded him the way that person did, he'd respond."

Brenden's jaw practically hit the floor. "Are you serious? That actually happened? I don't buy it!"