Chapter 1117:

“Dolores…” he murmured, his voice a mix of reproach and awe. “Have you lost your mind? That chandelier could’ve killed you. You didn’t even think—you just ran to me. Why would you do that?”

Dolores raised her head, her gaze narrowing at the chandelier’s unsteady sway overhead. Despite the uneasy flicker, the fixture remained in place.

Nearby, Jeffery looked up at Joanne as they lay on the floor, confusion flickering across his face. “Ms. Ellis, what brings you running over here?” Taking a moment, he gently inquired, “Do you think you can get up?”

Breathing heavily, Joanne noticed how Jeffery kept his hands on either side of her, never intruding. A hint of irony shadowed her eyes as she regarded him.

Jeffery’s concern deepened. “Ms. Ellis?” he called again, perplexed by her silence. A furrow formed between his brows as he tried to read her expression. “Did you hurt yourself?”

Only then did Joanne lift her eyes, her voice low and wry. “Right now, I almost wish I had.”

Jeffery registered her answer, but the intention behind it escaped him. That puzzled look on his face left Joanne unwilling to continue the conversation.

initial planning—using her partnership with Dustin to edge closer to Jeffery—now seemed pointless. With Jeffery right in front of her, Joanne found herself at a complete

Joanne murmured,

warning, her ankle wobbled inside the narrow heel, sending her off balance. A small gasp escaped her lips

firm grip caught her wrist,

heart racing as she realized Jeffery was the one steadying her. Her focus drifted from his composed face to the

and courteous as

fiction on

was no longer at risk of falling, he

scanned the area, quickly locating Alicia and Linsey a short distance away, feeling relieved that Alicia hadn’t witnessed the

come crashing

Joanne found herself watching him, a quiet yearning flickering in

her back to afternoons on campus when she would quietly study the curve of Jeffery’s jaw from a

stirred inside her—maybe Jeffery hadn’t truly

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