“Over my dead body will that happen. My best friend can’t be with my sister. Never. Unless he stops being my best friend.”


    Yvonne appeared somewhat embarrassed and discreetly nced at Shawn, who seemed unfazed by his best friend’s response.


    Everyoneughed it off, but Yvonne sensed her brother wasn’t joking. Little did Damien know that his sister held onto his words ever since that moment.


    ____


    Damien rubbed his forehead wearily upon this revtion, pushing himself off the door and standing upright.


    “At first, I wasn’t nning to do anything… But then, four yearster, I asked again, jokingly, and you gave the same response. That’s when I realized you were serious, and I knew I had to take action.”


    “So, when I saw you drive in that afternoon, I picked up my phone and pretended to be on a call. And I said all that…”


    “I thought that… Since you can’t let your best friend be in a romantic rtionship with your sister, if you guys stopped being friends, then I could be with the love of my life. If only I knew that only the first part of my n would work and not the second part…” Yvonne’s voice trailed off as tears welled up in her eyes.


    “Shawn and I were never in a rtionship. I made advances at him, but he never took me seriously. I was just merely his younger sister.” She made air quotes as she said thest two words. Then she whispered, “I’m merely his younger sister. He’s never seen me as a woman.”


    Yvonne burst into hot tears.


    Damien’s heart twisted as he observed the distressed girl. To carry emotions for more than two decades, lovelorn and pained. He had thought sending her abroad would heal the affection she held for Shawn.


    Gradually, he moved closer and enveloped her in a consoling embrace, gently patting her back.


    “Damien, you must assist me. I love him deeply-I genuinely can’t imagine my life without him.” Yvonne, amid tears, stuttered.


    “Please…” She continued sobbing, tears soaking his clothes.


    Unbeknownst to the siblings, an eavesdropper lingered. Behind the door, Ste wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and silently retreated.


    Entering her and her husband’s bedroom, she grabbed her phone from the bed and dialed a foreign number.


    “Hello,” she paused, “It’s time for you to return.”


    —–


    Magnificent.


    The CEO’s eyes were pitch ck, and bags rested heavily beneath them. It was evident at a nce that he hadn’t slept all night. However, he appeared impable this morning, as always, as he sat in the mini-lounge.


    A familiar sound caught his attention, and he immediately recognized that Little One had returned.


    Despite remaining in the same position, as time psed, the girl didn’t ascend the stairs. Shawn Mandez’s impatience grew with each passing minute.


    Wouldn’t she ascend to him? Did she not miss him even a bit? Was she seeking his demise?


    Unable to endure it any longer, he leapt to his feet.


    Yet, just as he did, the doorknob turned.


    Swiftly, he sank back into the couch, feigningposure.


    The moment Mia silently closed the door behind her and turned around, she froze.


    She had already inquired with Miranda about Shawn’s presence in the house, and was informed that he hadn’t left. Therefore, she anticipated finding him inside.


    However, she wasn’t prepared to encounter a ghost-though still as captivating as ever, she couldn’t ignore the prominent bags under his eyes.


    Did he not sleep at all? Did he aim to be the cause of her demise, appearing like that? Mia found herself speechless.


    After a prolonged silence, her voice, low, broke through, “You didn’t sleep?”


    “Un,” Shawn responded nasally.


    The roompsed into silence once more.


    “Why?”


    “‘Cause you weren’t by my side.”


    Well, that wasn’t entirely untrue, considering the CEO was grappling with insomnia. However, ever since Little One began sleeping beside him, it was as if the ailment miraculously disappeared.


    Mia’s cheeks blushed at the man’s words. How could he flirt so effortlessly?


    Shawn observed the girl with amusement twinkling in his eyes.


    “Come. Come sit on myp,” he gestured huskily.


    The girl promptly shuffled over to the man’s side. Shawn’s slender yet robust hands pulled her onto him in a straddling position, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.


    Mia’s heart skipped a beat at this. But then, hesitantly, she raised her hands and draped them over his shoulders.


    “Missed me?” He murmured in her bosom, gently nibbling on her flesh through her shirt.


    She felt her upper thighs heat up and contract due to the contact.


    “Are you still upset with me?” Shawn inquired.


    He had reced his teeth with his fingers, delicately stroking her hardened ni**le.


    His question triggered the girl’s recollection of what she had witnessed the previous day.


    Frowning, she pped the man’s hand away and abruptly flung herself off him.


    Shawn was slightly startled by this sudden shift in behavior. He had no idea she had this side to her.


    Wow.


    He heaved a sigh, seriousness now etched on his face. “You saw what happened… didn’t you?”


    The girl stayed silent, biting her lower lip upon hearing his question.


    Shawn pressed his lips firmly. Swiftly, he picked up a sh drive from the center table and tossed it to her.


    Mia stared at the drive in herp and then looked up at the man sitting beside her in bewilderment.


    What was she supposed to do with a sh drive? Was he trying to change the topic? Tears stung her eyes as she pondered all this.


    Just then, Shawn went over to the bed and retrieved hisptop. Returning to the couch, he took his seat directly beside the sulky girl.


    Mia instinctively shifted away from him, leaving a space between them.


    Seeing this, Shawn fought the urge to chuckle. Her childishness was even funnier when she was jealous.


    He pushed away his thoughts, took the sh drive from herp, and inserted it into theptop. Immediately after doing this, the scene of him and Yvonne started ying.


    He increased the volume to the highest so that Little One could hear everything clearly. “Watch the footage.”Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.