Claimed by the Man I Shouldn't Love

Jessica always had a way with words-sharp enough to sting without ever being crude. Wasn't that just calling Chloe a maid in disguise? Chloe's fingers quietly swept aside the crab shell she'd been working on. She was gonna pass it to Alan, but after Jessica's comment made it sound like cheap takeout, she didn't even want him to see it anymore.

Right then, Alan gently took Chloe's hand, pulled out a wet wipe, and started cleaning her fingers one by one with surprising care. His tone was warm, his eyes full of spoil, "Don't do this stuff anymore, alright? You're with me now. Just enjoy life-I'll take care of the rest."

Chloe's face lit up with joy, and she shot a glance at Jessica loaded with challenge. This kind of guy? Totally worth going all in. Jessica might've lost him, but she was going to hang on to her own happiness no matter what.

Jessica chewed slowly, swallowed, and kept that cool-as-ink-painting expression on her face-like she hadn't even heard the jab.

Across from them, Paul didn't spare the other two a single look. His eyes had been locked on Jessica the whole time. Ever since deciding to chase her, he'd found himself getting pretty into it. He kept piling food into her bowl, unconsciously doing the same sweet little things Alan used to do for her.

The meal wrapped up with everyone lost in their own thoughts.

Later that night, Chloe dragged herself back to her room after reluctantly seeing Alan off. But the second she walked in, her eyes went wide in shock-someone was half-lounging on her bed like some ghost out of nowhere!

Panicked, she slammed the door shut and stammered, "W-what are you doing here? I told you-I'm getting married! You can't be showing up like this!"

William Knight let out a low, eerie chuckle, his whole vibe straight-up icy. "Married? But you're not yet, right? What, you gonna pretend I'm not your future little brother-in-law already?"

"William! Aren't you scared Alan's gonna find out?"

"He just left, didn't he? Looks like you really don't want him to go. If you're that hung up on him, why didn't you ask him to stay?" He gave her a twisted grin. "Or... maybe you did, and he just wasn't having it?"

That last line hit Chloe hard-like he'd jabbed a stick straight through her chest. Yeah, she'd dropped hints to Alan more than once, but no matter how sweet he acted, it had never felt like love.

"Hurry up and say what you came to say! All the staff's under Jessica's thumb now. If they catch you here, you and your plan are both toast. I hope you know that!"

William stayed reclined, one hand reaching out. "Come here."

Chloe stepped closer, but before she could even find her footing, his hand yanked her onto him. She tried to scramble off, but he held her down, strong and unyielding."Well, look at that! You actually remembered what we talked about. I almost thought you'd fallen for Alan." William lifted Chloe's chin with one slender finger, a smile playing at his lips, though his tone was cold enough to send chills down her spine.

Chloe stiffened. She knew that kind of smile. It meant trouble-big trouble. She'd once seen him grin like that right before casually snapping someone's neck.

"Of course not. How could I fall for him?" Her voice trembled slightly, whether from nerves or guilt, even she wasn't sure.

William's smile deepened, his sickly pale face twisted with a dark amusement. His narrow eyes burned with something cruel and twisted. "You better not. But even if you did, doesn't matter much. I've got plenty of ways to make sure you stay put with me."

Chloe's pulse raced. The man had enough dirt on her to destroy her ten times over.

William's fingers toyed with the button on her blouse, his movements slow and deliberate. "Didn't you say Alan's in love with you? Then why hasn't he even tried touching you?"

Chloe slapped his hand away and gritted her teeth. "You know how he is. He's like... super restrained. He never touched his ex-fiancée, either."

But in that second, her mind betrayed her-with an image of Alan pinning Jessica beneath him burning straight through.

"There are only two reasons a man doesn't touch a woman. One, he literally can't-which I doubt applies to Alan-or two, his heart's already taken and no one else can match up to her. Now, be honest... who do you think he's still hung up on?"

That hit Chloe right in the gut. "You mean... he still can't forget his ex?"

"His ex? Come on, you just said he never even laid a hand on her."

"That makes Jessica even less likely! I mean, back then she literally climbed into his bed, and he still didn't budge. Not to mention the whole blood-feud thing between him and Richard. How could he be in love with her?"

"Thing is... I know for a fact he's been secretly trying to find Jessica all these years. She was declared dead in that bombing incident, but he never stopped looking. Don't you think that's a little weird? What's even weirder is-she actually came back alive. So tell me, how would he have known she survived? Unless... he knew all along the explosion wouldn't kill her."

"But if he was the one who saved her, how could he not know where she went? Why would he search for her for years?" Chloe instinctively rejected the idea.

William's eyes darkened further. "That part, I don't get either. But whatever. Doesn't really matter who Alan's heart belongs to. What matters is this-Richard and Alan are ready to rip each other apart. And Jessica? She's right in the middle of it. If she suddenly dies... or just disappears from the picture... what do you think Richard will do to Alan then?"