Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 1831-1840

Josephine hadn’t accepted even one gift that Luke gave her throughout the time he pursued her, andneither did she ever give any suggestive remarks. Luke had been one-sidedly pursuing her all thiswhile.

“Although Josephine and I have only known each other for a few days, my love for her is no less thanyours. You should back off!” Ethan warned Luke.

“Why should I?” Luke immediately blew his top. He was still reluctant to give up on Josephine and hergrandfather’s connections. He couldn’t just let go, considering how his company needed thoseconnections to build up its network.

This happened to be something about Luke that Ethan had seen through. “It seems to me you’re not inlove with Josephine. You have your eyes on her grandfather’s authority and connections, huh?Someone like you does not deserve to love Josephine.”

Luke was completely triggered by Ethan’s words. He suddenly roared, “Ethan Quarles, this is myterritory. You’d better not mess with me, or I will make life a living hell for you!”

Josephine was taken aback by how Luke suddenly threatened Ethan, and she quickly tried to persuadeLuke to calm down.

“How am I supposed to stay calm? I’ve been pursuing you for a year, and now someone else got in theway and took you away from me! Do I look like a pushover?!” I need to teach him a lesson! he thought.

Seeing how agitated Luke was, Josephine took a deep breath and insisted, “Luke, it doesn’t matterwho came first. I was the one who fell for Ethan and actively pursued him. It has nothing to do withhim.”

Josephine’s words seemed to have stabbed Luke right where it hurt. It felt like he had lost his sanity atthis very moment as his dignity as a man was trampled on. No matter what, he knew he needed to venthis anger toward Ethan. His fists were already clenched as he stared at Josephine with an unwillinggaze. “Josephine, do you really like him that much?”

It was obvious that Luke had lost his temper after being embarrassed. He was also no longer patient orpolite toward Josephine.

She firmly answered him, “Yes, I love him.”

Suddenly, Josephine was roughly shoved by Luke, whose clenched fist was already swinging atEthan’s face.

When he raised his fist, Josephine, who had been pushed aside, almost instinctively pushed back.Luke couldn’t stop his punch in time.

Bam!

The fist socked Josephine straight on the cheek, hurting her so badly that she fell back into Ethan’sarms.

Ethan wanted to protect Josephine, but his hand was a second too late. As he tightly hugged thewoman, he sent Luke flying when he kicked out with his long leg. However, the corner of Josephine’smouth was already torn as it started bleeding as she lay against his chest.

“Josephine!” Ethan’s heart was broken as he called out to her. He wanted nothing more than to punchhimself across the face when he saw the blood trickle from her mouth.

Meanwhile, Luke got up and started panicking. He didn’t expect to hit Josephine in the face.

He finally came back to his senses when he saw the pale woman drenched in cold sweat, leaningagainst Ethan’s chest with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. “Joey, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

He tried to approach her, only to hear the other man angrily yell at him. “F*ck off! Stay away from her!”

Ethan’s gaze shot at Luke like a sharp knife, and he protected Josephine in his arms with his torso sothat Luke wouldn’t hurt her anymore.

Josephine’s cheek hurt so badly that she couldn’t speak, but still, she uttered in a hoarse voice, “Let’sgo.”

“Josephine, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do that. I wasn’t trying to hit you.” Luke finally realized that heand Josephine couldn’t even be friends after his punch.

She glanced back at him. “Luke, I know you didn’t hit me on purpose. I willingly took the punch on hisbehalf.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed when he heard that. “Don’t ever do something so stupid again,” he grunted ashe held her close. His heart ached for her.

Josephine tried to put on a smile, but the movement tugged on her injury, making her hiss in pain.

“Alright, stop talking. I’ll take you to the hospital.” Ethan helped her out of the private room after sayingthat.

Luke was left to blame himself. He truly did love Josephine, but he no longer had the right to seek herhand.

Josephine went for a check-up at a nearby hospital. The examination showed only skin swelling and acut on the corner of her mouth. However, half of her face had become swollen, making her too

embarrassed to see anyone. She didn’t want to see Ethan, as she wondered if he would find herappearance ridiculous and unattractive.

“I won’t eat dinner. I want to go home. D-Don’t bother walking me back. I’ll take a cab,” Josephine saidas she held onto her swollen face and tried to leave quickly.

Seeing through her thoughts, Ethan couldn’t help but chuckle and ask, “What? Do you think I will findyou unappealing because of your appearance?”

She remained silent without responding, prompting him to state firmly, “I will only feel sorry for you,never disgusted.”

“I can’t face my parents right now. I’m afraid they’ll think I’ve been bullied outside, especially if I tell mygrandfather. I can’t go home.” Josephine quickly thought of this and looked at the man who didn’t mindher appearance. “Can I stay in your hotel suite for two nights until my swelling goes down?”

“Of course,” Ethan replied, thinking he needed to buy a villa as soon as possible. He couldn’t keepletting this girl stay in the hotel with him forever.

Back in the car, Ethan thought about what Josephine had said to Luke earlier and turned to ask her,“Are those words you said earlier genuine?”

Josephine blinked, immediately recalling what she had said earlier. One side of her face blushed asshe mumbled, “I just wanted to dispel Luke’s thoughts of pursuing me.”

She hadn’t given much thought to whether it was sincere or not. Those words had just come outwithout much consideration.

“Anyway, I’m touched tonight,” Ethan said happily, even though she had suffered.

Josephine blinked. She was willing to take that punch for him. She would have been heartbroken ifLuke had punched Ethan in his handsome face.

Forget it. I’ll take the pain!

Since she had insisted on bringing Ethan here tonight, she could not possibly let him get hurt.

Josephine told her mother she had to stay temporarily with her colleague to complete their work. Hermother asked who the colleague was and whether it was a man or a woman. Josephine replied that itwas Wren, and her mother agreed.

With a swollen face, Josephine followed Ethan back to his hotel. He ordered a big meal when theyarrived since they were both hungry.

Josephine went to the bathroom and looked at her swollen, red face in the mirror, feeling bitter inside.

When will the swelling go down? I’m not pretty right now.

They had a romantic dinner seated by the French windows, but Josephine couldn’t shake off the feelingof misery. She lowered her head and ate her food in small bites. However, it occasionally tugged at herwound, causing her to gasp in pain.

“Take your time,” Ethan urged her on the other end.

Josephine put down half of her hair to cover up her swollen face. Ethan saw her small actions, but hedidn’t know how to comfort her. Truth was, he genuinely didn’t care. Even with half of Josephine’s faceswollen, it didn’t affect his fondness for her.

After dinner, Josephine suddenly remembered that she had to work overtime to finish her article thatnight. “Goodness, I still have to write a news article. I need it early tomorrow morning.”

Josephine finished eating and sat on the couch, thereafter turning on her computer to start working.Her slender fingers danced on the keyboard, showing her experience in writing news articles.

It was said that hard-working men were the most handsome, but hard-working women were equallycharming. Ethan sat at the table, holding a glass of red wine, admiring how this woman workedseriously. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Josephine’s hair covered one side of her swollen face, but the other side remained delicate andbeautiful under the light. Her gaze exuded a professional and competent aura. Ethan felt sorry for herand brought a glass of water over, placing it in front of her. “Take a sip of water before you continuewriting.”

Josephine picked up the water glass and murmured gratefully, “Thank you.”

Meanwhile, Ethan sat on the couch, staring at her screen. She blushed a little and mumbled, “Don’tlook.”

It was because she was writing a piece that mentioned the relationship between the sexes. Althoughshe had never been in a serious relationship, her words were delicate and sharp when she wrote thistype of article, as if she were an experienced person in love.

Truth was, Josephine was a girl who often burst out with dirty jokes among her colleagues, andsometimes with her friends too.

“Why can’t I look?” Ethan couldn’t help but ask with a smile when he noticed the headline she wrote,‘Who likes doing the deed more, men or women?’

“I just don’t want you to look.” Josephine covered her computer and blushed.

“Where did you get the experience to write these news articles?” The man did not let her off the hookand continued to ask.

Josephine’s face turned red upon realizing that Ethan had seen what she wrote. “Have you neverheard of someone imagining things?” she stuttered.

Ethan burst out laughing. “Are you writing based on your imagination?”

“We conducted a survey report.” With that, she moved her computer to the couch to write. Whilewriting, she muttered, “I will also have to send the manuscript to my desk later.”

Ethan was slightly surprised to hear that. “It’s so late. Are you returning to the company?”

“Yeah!”

“I’ll have someone else send it for you. It’s too late, so don’t go.” Ethan felt sorry for her. After all, shegot beaten up today and needed rest.

“Really? Thank you!” In fact, Josephine didn’t want to face her colleagues now. Their imagination waseven richer than hers. They would surely spread rumors about her being the homewrecker who gotbeaten up by the original partner. There would be no reasoning with them.

It was not until 11.00PM that Josephine handed the manuscript to the person Ethan had summoned.After that, she went into the bathroom and looked around. She didn’t know if it was because of themedicine she applied or her young age, but the swelling on her face had disappeared. She looked nodifferent from usual, except that it was still red.

After coming out of the bathroom, Josephine looked at Ethan, who was in the master bedroom. Shethought she should go over and say a few words before closing the door and going to bed.

She saw that the bedroom door was not closed, so she walked over. However, before she could knock,a warm figure with only a bath towel wrapped around the waist appeared before her eyes.

He had broad, sturdy honey-colored chest muscles and solid, tough muscle lines below the abs. Afterthe shower, there were even some blood vessels showing.

At that sight, Josephine mused, What a great body! He’s parading it for me?

Ethan looked at her dumbfounded expression and was open about it, ruffling his wet hair and askingwith a smile, “Like what you see?”

Josephine gulped discreetly, forcing herself to move her eyes away and stare at the floor. She blushedand mumbled, “I’m returning to my room. Goodnight.”

“Wait a minute.”

“Hmm?” Josephine quickly stopped in her tracks.

The man suddenly picked up a bag and handed it to her. “Here’s the pajamas I prepared for you.”

“Huh? You prepared pajamas for me?” Surprised, Josephine took the bag and saw a thin, burgundynightgown inside. Her mind buzzed for a moment. It’s rather sexy, isn’t it?

“Let me see the injury on your face.” The man was still unsure about her face and wanted to recheck itbefore she went to bed.

Josephine quickly took a step back. “T-That’s alright. I’m fine.”

It was already ugly enough. She couldn’t possibly show it to him.

“Goodnight!” Josephine said and backed out of the doorway, returning to her room. She was still a bituneasy and her mind was filled with the image of Ethan’s perfect body. She realized the handsome

guys she usually saw were nothing compared to him. Ethan’s figure is genuinely top-notch! I shouldhave looked at him more instead of being shy just now! Who knows when I will get another chance?

Josephine quickly took a shower and put on the nightgown that Ethan had given her. It fit her perfectly,revealing her charming curves which were usually hidden under her formal attire.

Josephine wanted to grab her cell phone but left it on the couch outside. She wasn’t sleepy and wantedto watch some news, so she decided to go and get it. She thought that Ethan might have already goneto bed.

Feeling lucky, Josephine opened the door, hoping to get her cell phone quickly and sneak back to herroom. However, life was nothing if not unpredictable. Just as she headed toward the couch, a manwearing only his pajama pants appeared from the balcony where he had just finished a call.

The two of them met in the dimly lit living room.

Josephine’s mind went blank. She hugged her chest awkwardly and said, “I’m looking for my phone.”

Ethan squinted and admired her in her wine-red nightgown. It was just as he imagined. He knew thather perfect body, which men couldn’t help but fantasize about, was hidden underneath her formal workclothes. Josephine searched through the couch cushions, but the more she hurriedly looked for her cellphone, the harder it was to find it.

“Do you need any help?” Ethan shook his cell phone. All he had to do was make a call and they wouldbe able to locate the phone.

Josephine looked at him with a pleading expression. “Please help me find it.”

Ethan called Josephine’s cell phone and discovered it was wedged into the gap in the couch.Josephine was speechless upon seeing that.

I must have accidentally pushed it into the gap.

She tried to retrieve it but couldn’t. At that, Ethan quickly approached her. Bending down, he offered,“I’ll do it.”

Josephine breathed, a hint of an alluring scent emanating from her as her pretty face blushed. She tooktwo steps back, placing one hand over her chest.

She found it amusing that two people dressed like that were here to fetch her phone.

Can’t something elegant and romantic happen between us?

Ethan’s fingers were long and he quickly picked up her phone. Josephine took it gratefully and thankedhim.

Ethan scanned her nightgown. The design of the two straps was subtle under the light. It looked as if itwas made to be easily torn off, arousing thoughts of carnal desire in a man’s mind.

On the other hand, Josephine was getting nervous and flustered. Ethan had just moved the couch withforce, and now it was diagonally in front of her. However, she didn’t notice it. As she turned around, shestumbled over it.

“Ah!” She cried out as her head hit the back of the couch, leaving her kneeling in a miserable heap.

“Are you okay?” Ethan quickly reached out to hold her, his calloused palms filled with manly strengthtouching her waist through her thin nightgown. Before she could react, he had picked her up in hisarms. She covered her forehead, feeling both shy and embarrassed.

The two of them tightly embraced each other, with Ethan’s hand gently rubbing her forehead. “Does ithurt?”

“N-No… I’m fine,” she replied, but at the moment, she was more focused on the fact that she was lyingin his arms.

“I’m going back to my room,” a flushed Josephine added.

However, Ethan suddenly carried her and took her straight back to her room. “I’ll carry you back to yourroom, so you won’t fall again,” he murmured.

“I should’ve checked my horoscope before going out today.” Josephine was rather speechless at thatpoint as she wondered why she kept getting hurt today.

Ethan laughed and said, “Do you remember what you said?”

“What?” Josephine didn’t have a good memory.

“You said I’m a jinx reborn and whenever you’re around me, you have bad luck,” Ethan commented.

She immediately covered her face in regret. “I take back that statement!” she muttered. “I was justangry at the time. Please don’t take it to heart!”

Josephine had both hands covering her face, which meant that her chest was not covered. Coupledwith her being held in Ethan’s arms, the nightgown’s low V-neck neckline was open to Ethan.

Ethan’s sexy Adam’s apple bobbed twice. The woman emanating a light fragrance in his arms keptstirring up the fire hidden in his heart for twenty-seven years.

Ethan carried her directly back to the bed while Josephine covered her face as if she was ashamed. Atthis moment, the man leaned over and kissed her on her delicate collarbone as if demanding payment.

Josephine was shocked and she exclaimed out loud. She opened her eyes, only to see Ethan holdingher head between his hands, his burning gaze fixed on her. “I’m sealing the deal.”

Josephine blinked her beautiful eyes, not understanding what he meant.

The man looked at her and growled hoarsely, “Mine.”

Josephine suddenly understood what he meant and buried her face in the blanket. “Ethan, go back toyour room and sleep.”

Ethan laughed and looked at the embarrassed woman before him. He didn’t tease her anymore andgot up to leave.

Although Josephine was shy, she was still happy deep down. It was just that she had a feeling of beingwatched and unable to escape.

…

The next morning, Josephine got up and hurriedly went to the bathroom. She was relieved to see thather face was much better. However, she still had to stay with Ethan for two more days.

Josephine wondered if she could ask for a day off today. She couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.

Isn’t the boss of the company right by my side? It shouldn’t be difficult to take a day off!

And so, she put on a bathrobe and went out. Meanwhile, Ethan had already gotten up and wasstanding on the balcony, enjoying the scenery.

“Mr. Quarles, can I take a day off?” Josephine asked.

“Sure.” Ethan turned around and added, “Is one week enough?”

“Huh? Really? I can take a whole week off?” Josephine was overjoyed upon hearing that. Taking timeoff from the TV station was difficult.

“It’s a piece of cake for me,” Ethan said. He suddenly realized that becoming her boss meant providingher with these benefits.

“I’ll take three days off first, then!” Josephine didn’t need a week off. Three days would be enough.

Ethan quickly made a phone call to Atticus to approve Josephine’s three days off.

Josephine felt utterly relaxed as she was able to take three days off. She held her face and looked atthe scenery of the bustling traffic in the distance. Being able to have a day of leisure made her veryhappy.

“Come on! Let’s go downstairs for breakfast,” Ethan said to her.

Josephine suddenly thought, Can I take him shopping?

She wanted to go shopping during her time off. Usually, she didn’t have time to buy clothes.

“Okay. After breakfast, can you come shopping with me?” Josephine asked while looking up.

“Of course.” Ethan smiled. He wanted to buy her some clothes too.

After finishing breakfast, Josephine used the only makeup she had in her bag to apply some lightmakeup, mainly covering the slightly red half of her face. The injury was not visible under the lightmakeup.

Ethan drove her to the mall in his sports car. While shopping, Josephine was finally able to experiencethe feeling of being envied by others because when Ethan held her hand, the women around themlooked at her with envy.

After browsing several branded stores, Ethan picked out eight sets of clothes for her, which Josephinecould tell were intended as gifts. She didn’t refuse and willingly went along with it this time.

She also realized that she had given him something to hold over her head and had to be prepared forthe consequences.

When they were tired from shopping, they went to have lunch and continued in the afternoon.Josephine thought that Ethan would get tired, but it turned out that she was the one who got tiredbecause he couldn’t stop buying things.

They went from clothes to jewelry, and he finally took her to a real estate agency, where he wantedJosephine to help him choose a house. He wanted to settle down in this city.

At first, Josephine was surprised and asked, “Why do you want to settle down here?”

Ethan looked at her and said, “Because of you.”

Josephine was shocked.

Ethan wants to settle down in this city for me, eh?

However, looking for a house wasn’t easy, so Ethan left it to his assistants to handle. When theyreturned to the hotel after dinner, it was already 9.30PM and Josephine was exhausted from walkingaround. She took off her makeup and looked at herself in the mirror, her expression betraying a hint ofexhaustion. All she wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed.

Josephine took a shower and thought about it, then decided to go out and bid Ethan good night. Shewore one of her shirts over her pajamas before pushing the door open. She knew it looked a little odd,but she didn’t care.

At that moment, the man was elegantly opening a bottle of red wine at the small bar. Josephine wasslightly stunned to see that.

Is he going to get drunk?

“Would you like a glass?” Ethan asked her.

Josephine was delighted. She didn’t love drinking, but she didn’t want to miss this beautiful moment.Drinking a glass with Ethan would feel great.

Nodding, she walked over and sat on the chair as she waited for him. Meanwhile, Ethan poured half aglass of wine and handed it over. Josephine took a sip, noting that it was sweet grape wine.

“Delicious.” Josephine smiled.

Ethan raised his glass and clinked it with hers, enjoying the wine. Josephine looked at his sexy andcharming jawline, not to mention the throbbing of his Adam’s apple when he swallowed the wine, whichwas almost lethal.

Ethan Quarles was elegant and attractive in everything he did. Even his drinking a glass of wine couldmake people swoon.

“Cheers!” Josephine also took the initiative to clink her glass with his. Ethan smiled and took anothersip. He propped his chin up, and the duo’s faces were instantly inches apart.

They gazed at each other under the light, sizing each other up.

Josephine also plucked up her courage under the influence of alcohol, and just like that, she greedilystared at the man’s face. She found a small mole on the tip of his nose, adding a different sense ofdimensionality to his appearance.

“Am I good-looking?” Ethan asked her.

“What do you think?” Josephine countered.

The man chuckled deeply. “Can’t get enough of it.”

Josephine blushed, then puffed her cheeks and murmured, “Me too.”

“Is this a confession?” Ethan asked again.

Josephine took a sip of her red wine before pursing her lips and smiling. “You can think of it that way.”

“Let’s date, then!” Ethan stated in earnest.

Meanwhile, Josephine blinked and didn’t pretend anymore. “Okay, but I have to ask you two questionsand you have to answer me truthfully.”

Ethan was taken aback but he hoarsely murmured, “Sure thing. Ask away.”

“Firstly, do you have a formal girlfriend overseas?” Josephine asked.

Ethan thought about it momentarily before shaking his head seriously and replying, “No.”

“Would your family approve of you dating a girl from a family like mine?” Josephine asked again.

Ethan was startled for a moment. After giving it some thought, he stated, “My family hasn’t made anysuch demands of me. They want me to be with a girl I like.”

After hearing this, Josephine nodded and said, “Okay, then. Let’s date!”

She didn’t want to let Ethan go. He was sent to her by fate, so she was determined to seize theopportunity. Whether she was after his money or his person, the fact was that she had fallen for himand had a strong desire to be with him.

Ethan put down his glass and stood up. He leaned close to Josephine, his handsome face closing thedistance. Josephine’s breathing hitched as she thought, Is he going to kiss me?

She closed her eyes and let his thin lips press down on hers, but it wasn’t a deep kiss. Josephine wasa little confused as to why it was only a brief kiss, but the man chuckled and explained, “Your lip wasinjured yesterday. You should rest a few days before we kiss again.”

Josephine blushed, realizing that Ethan had noticed that detail. However, she felt slightly unsatisfied.

“Okay!” Josephine then finished her drink and said, “I’m going to bed. You should get some rest too.”

At that, Ethan gently bid her good night.

“Goodnight,” Josephine turned back and replied before going to her room, feeling satisfied and filledwith expectations for the future.

The following morning, Ethan received a call from Jared. Jared thought Ethan had returned, notknowing the latter was still in Averna.

“You’re still in the city?”

“Yes, I’m staying here for half a year for now.”

“It seems you’re serious about Miss Jacobson.”

“We’re officially dating now.”

“Let’s have lunch in the afternoon and get to know each other!” Jared invited.

“Sure. Let’s meet!” Ethan replied.

Josephine came out of the room, feeling honored when she heard she would have lunch with thePresgrave couple. At 12.00PM, Jared brought Ellen along, who was already five months pregnant andhad a slightly protruding belly. However, her figure was still as slender as a young girl’s. She wore a

delicate champagne satin dress that exuded an elegant aura. She had naturally cultivated hertemperament as befitting Jared’s wife.

“Jared.” Ethan went up and gave Jared a fist bump. The two men had their own way of greeting eachother.

Ellen looked at Josephine. She had heard that the latter had met and fallen in love with Ethan at theirwedding, which was why she remembered Josephine.

“Miss Jacobson, you caught my bouquet, didn’t you?” Ellen asked with a smile.

Josephine nodded proudly. “Yes, I caught it.”

“It seems fate brought you together. It means that the next wedding will be yours!” Ellen said excitedly.

Josephine blushed a little but still yearned for it in her heart. After all, once she got together with Ethan,she would surely want to get married.

“I hope so!” Josephine murmured with a smile.

The two women were of similar age and had many topics to discuss. Their personalities were alsosimilar and their other halves were good friends, so they naturally wanted to become best friends andbe close to each other.

After lunch, the two couples parted ways. Jared accompanied Ellen to have a prenatal check-up in theafternoon while Ethan took Josephine for a drive to relax.

The three-day holiday passed quickly, in which Josephine rarely checked the group messages. Therewere lively discussions about her relationship with Ethan and various rumors were spreading in thegroup she had set to ‘Do Not Disturb’.

In some private groups, Josephine was labeled as a vixen who seduced the major shareholder to getpromoted by any means necessary.

Katrina was the first to take the lead in every group where she was present. She would harshly criticizeJosephine and reveal how the young woman had seduced Ethan at the dinner table. It instantly piquedpeople’s interest in the drama.

Finally, Wren couldn’t help but ask Josephine directly.

Josephine was stunned for a few seconds as she looked at the message sent by Wren. Wren hadasked, ‘Joey, did you seduce our new boss for Miss Ain’s position?’

Josephine quickly asked, ‘Where did you hear that from?’

‘Everyone in the company’s groups is talking about you. Don’t you know?’ Wren replied.

‘What?’ Josephine felt overwhelmed.

Who is spreading rumors and causing trouble?

‘Is it true that the sports car was a gift from the president?’

Josephine knew she couldn’t hide it anymore and replied, ‘Yes, it was a gift from him.’

‘Are you really dating him?’

Just then, Josephine was reading a message in the group that said, ‘How could Josephine do this?Seducing the boss to get promoted is so unethical!’

Josephine snorted and replied directly, ‘Sorry, we’re dating.’

Josephine’s response in the group chat shocked all the employees who were online as the personinvolved had now admitted to it.

Just then, a message from Katrina came in. ‘Josephine, how shameless can you be? You say you’redating, but do you have any evidence?’

‘Yeah! That’s not enough! We want to see the evidence!’

‘Right! We won’t believe it unless you post a selfie with Mr. Quarles. Josephine, I dare you to send it!’

Some employees who didn’t like Josephine were eager to kick her while she was down. They wereconvinced that Josephine was putting on a show, thinking she was fake dating the boss.

‘You are ridiculous! Pick a better lie to tell!’ another employee replied.

At that, Katrina chimed in, ‘She’s delusional!’

Just then, the group administrator received a request from a new member to join the group. Theadministrator immediately approved the request and the group’s profile picture, which used to be aphotograph of a landscape, was replaced with a male selfie. The nickname was also changed to‘Ethan’.

‘I, Ethan Quarles, hereby certify that Josephine Jacobson is my girlfriend.’

This sentence came as a bombshell to the group. Silence ensued and no one dared to speak up foralmost a minute. Even the voices that had previously criticized and suppressed Josephinedisappeared. No one dared to question the man’s identity or the authenticity of his statement.

‘Are you Mr. Quarles?’ Katrina asked boldly.

‘Yes,’ came the concise response.

At this moment, Josephine was staring at her phone, leaning on Ethan’s shoulder on the hotel couch asshe happily read the messages in the group. She accidentally showed the chat to him, and Ethaninsisted on joining the company’s group chat, leading to the current situation.

‘Hello, Mr. Quarles.’

‘Mr. Quarles, you’re so handsome.’

‘Good afternoon, Mr. Quarles.’

Ethan’s appearance was a slap in the face for many people in the group, effectively making them shuttheir mouths and stopping them from gossiping.

Meanwhile, Katrina, who was seated at her desk in the company, couldn’t help but think about whetheror not she should add Ethan on Telegram so they could chat privately.

Feeling bold, she gritted her teeth and sent him a friend request. However, after waiting for half anhour, there was no response from Ethan’s end. She couldn’t help but feel frustrated, wondering ifJosephine had discovered her private request. Her face turned red out of embarrassment and shehoped Josephine didn’t know about it.

What if Ethan simply hasn’t seen it yet? Maybe he will add me if he does!

Ethan only said a few words in the group before disappearing, and the previously lively group was nowsubdued by his imposing presence. It caused the gossip-loving members to avoid chatting there, forfear that the boss might catch them.

Soon, the group administrator announced, ‘Mr. Quarles has left the group.’

‘What? Why did he leave? I wanted to say hi to him!’ someone typed.

‘The boss just came on to prove that Josephine is his girlfriend! Oh my God! He spoils her so much,’another added.

‘He’s so cool! So mysterious and sophisticated! I love him!’

‘Forget it. He belongs to Josephine,’ Wren replied.

‘Goodness! This is awesome! I just clicked on his profile picture. That face of his is killing me!’someone else texted.

‘He looks so good in the selfie. Did she save the galaxy in her past life to have such luck?’

‘Maybe it’s good karma!’

At that moment, Josephine was holding Ethan’s cell phone. She was the one who had left the group forhim. She understood everyone’s feelings. With him around, no one would dare to chat.

But as Josephine read the flood of messages that followed, she couldn’t help but feel amused andbemused. It seemed like leaving the group had only made people pay more attention to her.

The next day, Josephine would start her work again, and she couldn’t imagine what kind of treatmentshe would receive at the company now.

At this moment, Katrina, who was waiting for Ethan to accept her request, was left disappointed whenhe didn’t do so even after work. She was so embarrassed that she bit her lip hard.

She couldn’t help but go to the restroom and check herself in the mirror. She knew she was beautiful,but why wouldn’t Ethan notice her?

Why won’t he accept me? Katrina thought to herself.

That night, Josephine watched a game with Ethan. She grew tired, so she leaned against him and fellasleep. After some time, Ethan turned off the TV and carried her in his arms. Josephine woke up butpretended to be asleep.

I won’t mind if he wants to break the boundaries of our relationship, she mused. After all, as a 25-year-old, I have needs too.

Ethan only kissed her forehead and tucked her in before leaving the room, though.

Josephine was left speechless and frustrated.

Josephine opened her eyes after Ethan left the room, feeling a little disappointed in his reaction. Afterall, she had decided to pretend to struggle a bit before giving in and offering herself to him if he made amove on her. To her surprise, Ethan was a gentleman.

Her hands circled the edge of her blanket as she cursed herself for having a dirty mind. In themeantime, she was fascinated by Ethan’s character. He’s an excellent man. I’ll cherish such a kindman like him from today onward.

After tossing and turning on the bed for a while, sleep finally took her. She snuggled under the blanketand fell asleep.

The next morning, Josephine’s preset phone alarm woke her from her sleep without mercy. Shegroggily reached out a hand from under the blanket and turned the alarm off. A moment later, sherealized that it was another working day. At that, she reluctantly opened her eyes.

Why do I have to leave my bed? I don’t want to go to work!

Even though Josephine was reluctant to wake up, she was dedicated to her job. After rolling out of herbed, she applied light makeup on her face. The bruise on her face had faded and her skin had been

restored to an intact state. Everything seemed fine, aside from the little scrape at the corner of her lip.

Josephine thought to herself, I’ll just go to work without bothering anyone. I should let Ethan sleep. I bethe stayed up late last night.

When she opened the door, the sight of a well-groomed man on the couch greeted her. She blinked insurprise. “Why are you up so early?”

“I want to give you a ride to work.” Ethan smiled at her.

However, Josephine turned down his offer. “There’s no need. I’ll take a cab to work. You should goback to sleep.”

Ethan rose to his feet. “No way. I won’t allow it on my watch.”

At last, Josephine had no choice but to allow him to send her to work in his eye-catching sports car.She thought about the matter over on the way to the office. Now that everyone knows Ethan and I areseeing each other, I don’t think we should do it in secret anymore as if we are ashamed of ourrelationship. That’s right! I’ll make our relationship public.

The sports car eventually rolled to a stop in front of the company. Ethan wasn’t able to accompanyJosephine due to him having an appointment with the realtor later. And so, she got out of the car andwaved goodbye. “Be careful on the road.”

Ethan nodded. “I’ll pick you up after work.”

With that, he took his leave.

Meanwhile, tons of envious eyes fell on Josephine.

Holding her head high, Josephine walked into the company lobby at a steady pace. Her colleaguesfrom other departments, whom she seldom dealt with, approached her and greeted her.

“Good morning, Josephine!”

“Congratulations, Josephine!”

“I’m looking forward to your wedding!”

“Mr. Quarles is a handsome guy. You’re so lucky to have him.”

The statements took Josephine aback. What’s next? Are they going to urge us to start a family? Shecleared her throat. “Calm down, everyone. Let’s not discuss personal matters at work.”

After that, Josephine returned to her seat. Just as she sat, people gathered around her. “Josephine,why did Mr. Quarles leave the group chat?”

“Do you think he’ll rejoin the group chat?”

Josephine chuckled and replied, “I’m not sure. Let’s get back to work, everyone. We’ve got a long dayahead.”novelbin

Wren got Josephine a cup of coffee to go and set it on the table. After taking a seat beside her, Wrensmiled. “Mr. Quarles did a good job! The way he announced himself in the group chat and told Katrinaoff was like a slap in the face to her! Even her supporters didn’t dare contradict him.”

Josephine had to admit that Ethan’s behavior was satisfying. After all, people around the office didn’tdare stand up against Katrina. Even Josephine herself got ridiculed by Katrina a few times. Katrina hadit coming!

Later, Josephine headed to the copy room. Katrina’s voice caught her off guard. “Josephine, you mustbe very proud.”

Josephine turned around and queried, “What do you mean?”

I’m the victim in the story. It’s all thanks to Ethan showing up in the group chat and backing me up, orelse they wouldn’t have stopped in the first place.

“Did you take Mr. Quarles’ phone and make everything up? A man like him will never bother to join thegroup chat, so it must be you! You have access to his phone, so you might’ve taken it and pretended tobe him in the group chat.” Katrina allowed her imagination to run wild and she was confident with hertheory. After all, she remembered Ethan as a man of few words from their encounter back then.

Josephine arched her brows in amusement. “It really wasn’t me.”

“Then you must’ve shown him the messages.”

“Of course! He was sitting next to me during that time. Since he asked to read the messages, I saw nopoint in hiding them,” Josephine answered.

“I assume you’re the one pursuing Mr. Quarles and not the other way around. You’re quite shameless,aren’t you? You must’ve used dirty tricks to seduce him!” Katrina accused with her arms crossed.

At this point, only by witnessing displays of affection between Ethan and Josephine would Katrinafinally accept the fact that the couple had indeed gotten together.

Josephine chuckled at Katrina’s attempt to accuse her. “Does it matter? We are dating, anyway. Does itanswer your question?”

“Listen, I don’t mean to sound discouraging, but you’re not the woman for a man like him. Mr. Quarlesis a popular man, and women won’t hesitate to throw themselves at him. Besides, people nowadays

are driven by lust and don’t care about loyalty. What if a prettier woman with a stronger personalitycatches his eye? He would forget about your existence in a split second!” Katrina sneered, trying tomake Josephine anxious.

Josephine paused for a moment before turning around to face Katrina. “It’s none of your business.”

However, Katrina knew not when to stop.

“What if he’s talking to a pretty woman at the moment? What if they exchange numbers for theconvenience of a little rendezvous?” she continued. She was confident that her words would makeJosephine uncomfortable.

Her guess was right. Ethan was out house-hunting at the moment, and the female realtors were good-looking and adept at taking the initiative. Thus, they wouldn’t hesitate to jump at the chance when theymet Ethan.

Josephine exhaled and muttered, “Don’t you have better things to do?”

Katrina harrumphed at that. “It’s for your own good, Josephine. We are more alike than you think. Aman like Ethan is out of our league. I don’t want to see you become his plaything which he abandonsonce he gets tired. When that time comes, a heartbroken mess is all you are.”

Katrina was getting on Josephine’s nerves with the negative speech. Seeing no point in toleratingKatrina’s nonsense, Josephine turned around and growled, “Enough!”

The corner of Katrina’s lips curled into a sneer. “How ungrateful of you! Fine, then. One day, you’llregret not listening to my words!”

After that, Katrina left. Even so, the words left a bitter taste at the back of Josephine’s throat. Dealingwith people like her is exhausting. There’s no way I can be happy talking to her.

Just as she returned to her seat, the phone she left on the table buzzed, notifying her of a newmessage. Wren reminded her, “Someone called you a moment ago. You might need to get back tothem.”

Josephine grabbed her phone and unlocked it. The message was from Ethan. He had sent her thevilla’s address and a video of its exterior before asking for her opinion. ‘The villa is located near yourcompany, so I decided to buy it. What do you think?’

Josephine gaped at the address Ethan sent her. The price of detached villas around that area starts at30 million. The one Ethan has eyes on must be worth more than that!

She swallowed nervously and sent him a reply, ‘You don’t have to buy it for my convenience. Choosesomewhere you like instead.’

As soon as she sent that, he called her. She quickly walked away from her seat and went to thecorridor so that nobody would disturb her.

She answered the call. “Hello?”

Ethan’s low voice reached her. “I like this place, so I bought it.”

Josephine laughed quietly when she heard such words. I can’t believe I forgot his ability to buy things.Even though the villa is expensive for me, he doesn’t share the same worry.

“All right. I’m glad you’re happy,” she replied with a smile.

“I’ll try my best to move in within one week.” Ethan then added, “By the way, I’ve discussed the matterwith the executives. You were promised the position of a news anchor.”

Josephine’s mind went blank at his words. He’s even giving me that?! To be honest, I want to earn itmyself. But Ethan’s proposition changed a few things. I don’t think I deserve it.

“I-I want to fight for it myself. I want to prove myself worthy.” Josephine refused to depend on Ethan.She didn’t want such an exception just because she was his girlfriend.

Even if it’s silly to let my chance slip.

His low chuckle came from the other side of the phone. “All right. We’ll go through with the procedure.However, I’m confident that the position will eventually be yours.”