Chapter 240
“No,” Jocelyn replied, raking the chips toward her. “It’s called paying attention.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“By the way, Kieran. I know who actually took me to the nurse’s office our freshman year.”
Kieran went still. He looked at Gaston, then back at Jocelyn. The color drained from his face completely.
The lie was over. He was exposed.
Jocelyn didn’t wait for a response. She stacked her chips, feeling the satisfying weight of them in her hands.
The silence in the private room was heavy and suffocating — the kind that usually follows a gunshot, but in this case followed the flip of two cards.
Jocelyn watched Kieran stare at the aces. His face was a map of ruin. The arrogance that usually held his features together had cracked, revealing the desperate, diminished man underneath.
She didn’t feel the rush of joy she had expected. The victory felt hollow, a temporary fix for a wound that ran years deep. She just felt tired. The residual smoke in the room, despite the ventilation, was making her head swim. The adrenaline that had carried her through the hand was draining away, leaving her limbs heavy and her stomach unsettled.
“I need air,” she whispered, leaning toward Gaston.
He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t gloat over the pile of chips in the center of the table. He simply stood, his hand finding the small of her back.
𝖣ow𝗻l𝘰а𝗱 𝘗𝘋𝖥𝘀 frе𝖾 𝗼n 𝗀𝖺𝘭𝗻𝗼𝗏e𝗅𝘀.𝖼𝘰𝘮
“Gentlemen,” Gaston said, his voice cool and final. “We are cashing out.”
He guided her away from the table, past a stunned Xavier and a grinning Harrison, and toward the glass doors that opened onto the private balcony.
The night air hit her like a splash of cold water — crisp and biting, smelling of rain and city exhaust. Jocelyn took a deep breath and gripped the iron railing. The city sprawled below them, a grid of lights and noise that felt a million miles away.
She shivered. The velvet dress was beautiful, but it offered nothing against the wind.
Gaston moved behind her. She felt the weight of his suit jacket settle over her shoulders — heavy, warm, and carrying the scent of him: sandalwood and the faint, sharp trace of expensive scotch. He drew the lapels together in front of her, cocooning her completely.
“You took all his money,” Gaston said, his voice low and close to her ear. “Are you happy?”
Jocelyn turned in his arms. The jacket shifted, but he caught it, his hands settling on her shoulders through the thick fabric.
“I don’t care about the money,” she said. “I’m happy he knows. About the ER.”
Gaston went still. He looked down at her, his eyes dark and unreadable in the shadows.
“I didn’t do it for credit,” he said softly. “I did it because you looked like you were dying.”
“You saved me,” she whispered. “You’ve been saving me for a long time, haven’t you?”
.
.
.
Message from Noa: Lovely readers, hope you liked today’s chapters, have a beautiful morning. God loves you and Noa wishes you all the best.( ─‿‿─)