“Why would I like her if I don’t even know who the hell she is?” A creamy magnolia fragrance wafted from the tissues Nancy had given him. He put down the tissue and continued solemnly, “I have, and only ever will, have one marriage contract in this lifetime.”
This was one of those instances where people blurt out their thoughts without considering the consequences. It happened subconsciously and unexpectedly as people tended to blunder out the thoughts that they had suppressed in their hearts for a long time.
Jory cringed after the words left his mouth. Did I just indirectly confess to her? He had his fair share of experiences with women, but he had no idea what it meant to confess his feelings. All he knew was that he sounded like he was saying, “I only ever had that one marriage contract with you, and you were the wife that got away from me then.”
However, Nancy didn’t respond. She was still stunned by the new information that she had discovered: Jory doesn’t like Joan. So what is Jory’s true motive then? The weight behind Jory’s confession had gone completely over her head as she had stopped paying attention to him halfway.
“I know you have some kind of motive that you won’t tell me, so I won’t bother asking. Just knowing that you’re S is reassuring enough,” Nancy sighed relievingly.
“How are you so sure that I won’t tell you?” Jory instinctively responded.
Little did he expect that she would beat him to speaking. She waved her hands at him, signaling him to halt. “No, no, no! Don’t tell me. Because if you do… I won’t be able to keep it a secret!”
Although she was also born into a powerful and influential family, her heart was much purer than his. She said whatever came to mind in an unapologetic manner which was unlike the way he behaved. Since young, he had learned to prepare default responses when talking to others for fear of saying the wrong thing and negatively affecting his family’s reputation.
He initially believed that people who were born into such wealthy families were all like him; they acted friendly but deep down, they were scheming on how to maximize their own interests.
Not her, though. She was as pure as the driven snow—untrodden and untainted. Then there were also times when she was like a blizzard, cleansing his tarnished soul.
Nancy propped her head up with her hands and frowned. She questioned her own actions. Did I agree to keep Jory’s secret from the others simply because he asked me to? Or was I not planning to expose his secret in the first place?
She felt like a horrible person. How could she think of such messed-up things despite already being married to Caspian? Especially since she was the one who insisted on canceling the wedding. I shouldn’t think about my ex like that. Wait, no. Can Jory even be considered an ex? Nancy mentally scolded herself. What am I thinking? I should be grateful that Jory and I don’t know each other well enough to be enemies. Thankfully it’s not as bad as Dad says…
A hearty laugh erupted from Jory as he saw the massive frown on Nancy’s face. With amusement laced in his voice, he comforted, “Don’t worry about these things anymore. It’ll just make you feel more troubled. Hmm… how about this? Since I made you think of such unhappy thoughts, why don’t I take you somewhere to make it up to you?”
“Where will you take me?” Nancy asked.
“It’s a secret!” Jory gave her a cheeky wink before waving the server over. “Check, please!”
Jory’s Volkswagen was parked outside the restaurant. He unlocked the car and opened the door to the front passenger seat. With a mocking tone, he invited Nancy in. “I guess you’ll have to take my cheap car this time around.”
She hadn’t expected Jory to use that incident against her. A bright red burned onto her cheeks as she said, “Why’d you bring it up? That was because I misunderstood you as being a conceited prick, so obviously, I felt like you needed a good beating to be humbled!”
Jory drove at a speed that was abnormally fast. It was the kind of speed that people like Nancy, who had just gotten their driver’s license, would never even consider driving at. She reminded him throughout the drive, “S-Slow down! Go slower! I’m literally about to fly out of my seat.”
