Chapter 25 Jealousy and Hurt
My eyes widened as I scrolled through the photos and headlines.
Business Heir.
Media-shy Billionaire.
Son of the former Prime Minister.
“You see… He’s very popular among ladies,” Lena said.
“Wow,” I muttered, still staring at the screen.
“That explains why he was rude,” I added.
“So, you met a billionaire just like that… I’m jealous,” Lena teased.
“Wow… I’m still surprised though,” I said, sitting back and taking my gaze off the phone’s screen.
“It’s reality girl,” Lena replied with a soft laugh.
“The air between him and Alex seemed weird today. I wonder if they knew each other before,” I muttered with a curious look.
“Weird?” Lena repeated.
“How?” she asked.
“I don’t know for real… I couldn’t place it. They didn’t look like they knew each other though,” I replied.
“Maybe Alex is just jealous you were talking to him… don’t you think?” she said.
“You think so?” I asked.
“That’s the only explanation I can think of,” she replied.
“Okay then. I will be in my room.”
I sighed, picked up my bag, and headed straight to my room.
When I got into my room, I closed the door and leaned against it for a moment as if I needed to brace myself physically.
“Let me check again,” I said to myself and reached for my phone.
I searched Dave Wilton again and his name was the first among the list that popped up. I clicked on the verified and polished profile and scrolled through the pictures slowly.
His pictures carried different personalities.
I saw one where he was stepping out of a black car like a mafia boss, one where he was in a tailored suit and putting on a professional look, another where he was smiling slightly at some event, then another where he looked like a complete bad boy.
“Of course… this is the life you chose,” I swallowed, marveling at the luxury cars, clothes, and buildings in his profile.
My thumb hovered over the screen for a while and before I knew it, it had clicked the plus sign.
And the next thing I saw was “Followed”.
Immediately, I felt a huge lump in my throat.
“What… no, no, no,” I whispered in panic.
I stared at the screen as it had betrayed me, then quickly tapped again and unfollowed him.
I moved quietly from the door and sat on my bed, clutching my phone tightly in my hand as my heart raced.
“Did you think he got the notification?” I asked the room.
“Gosh,” I said in an undertone as I tapped my forehead aggressively.
Then I opened my browser immediately and typed “If you follow someone on Pixtagram and unfollow immediately, do they get notified?”
I clicked on the first result and I saw yes written boldly.
“Oh my God… what do I do now?”
My shoulders slumped.
Then I sighed, dropped my phone beside me, and lay my back on the bed slowly.
For a moment, I imagined how he would react when he saw that I followed him and unfollowed right after.
“What if he thinks I’m stalking him?” I said, sprang up from bed then shook my head almost immediately.
“Relax,” I muttered.
“People like Dave don’t even run their own social media accounts… he probably won’t even notice it.”
“And even if he did, he definitely wouldn’t care.”
Those thoughts calmed me down a little.
I lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling.
Just then, my phone buzzed. I reached for it and it was a notification from Alex.
“We need to talk.”
“No… not again,” smacking my hands to my face.
“Why does my day refuse to be normal?”
I didn’t respond to his text, I just put my phone back on the bed and shoved it to one side.
ALEX HART’S POV
Instead of driving home, I headed straight to my office. I didn’t trust myself to sit alone with my thoughts yet.
The building was quiet when I got there. Most of the lights were off, but Marcus’s office was still lit. I knocked once and entered without waiting for his approval.
Just as I walked in, he looked up from his laptop.
“You look worn out,” he said.
“I am,” I replied, dropping into the chair opposite him.
“Sorry… by the way, I heard that the building you are working on belongs to the former prime minister’s son,” he added, placing his hand on the desk.
“Really?” I muttered, my eyes widening in surprise.
“Yes… I overheard some of the workers saying it when they got back from the site,” he said.
“Wow… maybe I’m the only clueless one. Good for him though,” I replied, my nose crinkling briefly.
“What’s that expression?” Marcus scoffed.
“I just remembered what happened with Joan today,” I said, and sighed briefly.
“Joan again,” he said in a hushed tone.
I told him everything.
How she wanted to talk and how I pulled her behind the building, how she accused me of acting like she was invisible, and how she said I was the one who hurt her.
“She actually said that?” Marcus said, his brows furrowed.
“Yes,” I replied, rubbing the back of my neck.
“And the worst part is… I didn’t even know what she meant.”
Then I leaned forward and rested my elbow on the desk.
“I was trying to respect her space just as you told me. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“Classic,” Marcus scoffed loudly.
“That’s not funny,” I said, a frown flickering over my face.
“It is,” he replied.
“Because you both are arguing about the same thing from opposite sides,” he added.
“Hmm,” I let out a sharp breath.
“Then that so-called former prime minister’s son showed up to worsen things…” I said and paused for a while to choose my words carefully so that Marcus wouldn’t make fun of me.
“The way he spoke to her was too casual… like they had met before,” I finally added.
“Oh… that’s the real issue here,” he smirked immediately.
“Just say you are jealous.”
“I’m not,” I said defensively.
“You are,” he insisted.
“I’m just concerned,” I corrected.
“Concerned indeed,” he laughed and stood, grabbing his jacket.
Then he leaned forward and glanced at me.
“Listen… leave the other man for a second,” he said with a serious look.
I stared at him quietly, waiting for him to land.
“You are stuck on how you feel while you completely ignored what she said. She wouldn’t say you hurt her for no reason,” he added.
“I just couldn’t wrap my head around it,” I said and leaned back slowly.
“Instead of stressing over some rich guy, you should ask Joan what she meant. And if she doesn’t want to talk?”
He paused with a shrug.
“Then at least you tried,” he finished.
“Do you think I should text her now?” I asked.
“Try,” he said and grabbed his keys.
“I’m ready to leave… Do you still wanna stay?” he asked.
I didn’t reply. I took my phone out of my pocket and sent her a text immediately.
Then, I stared at my screen, my thumb hovering over it nervously as I waited for her reply while Marcus stood at the doorway waiting for me to exit his office so that he could lock the door.
“You know what I’m going to her place,” I said and stood up.
“Good for you,” Marcus replied.
Marcus and I departed at the entrance and I drove straight to Joan’s place. On getting there, Lena welcomed me in.
Joan also walked out of her room, but before we could say anything, someone walked in after me and charged at me.
Before I could see the person’s face or process the whole thing, blood was already coming out of my mouth.