"No." Kristen denied it on reflex, scrambling off him and settling into the empty seat beside him. She drew a deep breath to steady herself.
She turned her head to the man's stern profile in the dim car, and—maybe it was an illusion—his lips seemed to tilt faintly, as if amused.
"Mr. Jason, what just happened was an accident," she said, crisp and concise. "Please don't misunderstand. I absolutely had no intention of seducing you."
One Finn had already drained her to the bone; she had no energy to deal with another man. Besides…
The Jin family of the Capital was far beyond her reach.
The temperature in the car seemed to drop to freezing in an instant. Jason's lowered lashes lifted slowly; when he looked at her, there was a keen edge in his gaze. His face didn't change as he let out a flat, "Oh?"
Kristen wasn't sure what he meant. Choosing her words carefully, she said, "Mr. Jason, thank you for helping me yesterday and for taking me to the hospital. If you ever need anything, I'll do my best. But Finn and I have broken up, and from now on, we should keep our distance to avoid misunderstandings. Don't you think?"
Jason's jaw tightened. His thin lips parted. "Misunderstandings about what?"
Kristen's breath caught. Wasn't he just asking the obvious?
"Misunderstandings that we… have that kind of relationship."
"What kind of relationship?" He pressed as if he truly knew nothing.
Kristen's nails bit into her palm as she forced out two words. "A couple."
"Are we?" His voice was taut as he asked.
"No."
Jason: "Then what are you afraid of? Or is your conscience guilty?"
The denial burst out of her. "It isn't. I only respect you, Mr. Jason—there's absolutely nothing ulterior in my heart."
Jason's chiseled features grew even darker, his lips pinched into silence.
Kristen felt like the temperature in the car dropped another degree. She rubbed the tip of her nose awkwardly, unsure which sentence of hers had displeased him.
Silence pooled until the car rolled to a stop. Just before she got out, Kristen said, "Thank you, Mr. Jason."
Jason's long, fair fingers rested loosely before him. He turned his head and reminded, voice low, "Wash the handkerchief and return it."
Only then did Kristen remember the handkerchief. When she was discharged, Martin had tossed it into a bag with her papers. She hadn't sorted anything at home yet. If he hadn't mentioned it, it might have ended up in the trash.
A president of his stature fussing over a handkerchief—how stingy.
"My grandmother gave it to me. It's precious." Jason seemed to know what she was thinking and offered the explanation.
Kristen's heart tightened. She lowered her gaze obediently. "I'll wash it and return it to you, Mr. Jason. Goodbye."
She got out and hurried toward the apartment.
In the car, the man lowered the window. His obsidian eyes fixed on her slender back, and under the glow of the lights, his gaze was gentler than the moon.
Back at the apartment, Kristen tossed her handbag on the sofa, then found the hospital discharge bag on a dining chair. Beneath a few exam slips lay the gray silk handkerchief—wrinkled and sorry-looking.
She carried it into the bathroom, squeezed detergent onto it at the sink, and began to rub it clean, muttering under her breath, "If it's that precious, why hand it over so casually? Doesn't look like you treasure it much."
Her hands stopped mid-motion as a thought flashed through her mind: How did he know she lived in Starshine Apartments?
By the curb outside the building, a Cayenne pulled up. Finn got out from the back seat and, after just a few steps, spotted a Maybach parked along the road.
The domineering license plate—everyone in the Capital knew who it belonged to.
"Jason?"
The window lowered halfway. Jason lifted his lashes and gave him a cool once-over before countering, "Looking for Kristen?"
Finn didn't deny it. "There's been a misunderstanding between us, so the wedding's delayed. Jason, what are you doing downstairs at Kristen's place?"
For years, Jason had kept his distance from women. Even when someone delivered a beauty to his bed, he would toss her out without a blink. Seeing him suddenly appear beneath Kristen's building, Finn couldn't help but overthink.
( End of Chapter )