?Chapter 866:


    Jason released a quiet breath. It mattered little now. He had to summon the courage to face her, toy his heartpletely bare. She had been brave enough to confess first. He owed her an answer, and he couldn’t allow his silence to be mistaken for cold indifference any longer.<fn5a11> Chapters first released on F?nd-Novel</fn5a11>


    Otherwise, what if she left Ublento again? How would he ever trace her steps through an endless world? She remained an enigma—formidable, untouchable, and utterly maic to every man who glimpsed her.


    Consider this very moment. The instant she revealed her face during the university’s opening ceremony, countless hearts surrendered to her spell. Hispetition could likely form a procession stretching from one city limit to the other.


    He lived in fear that if he dyed any longer, her affection might wither as hordes of suitors fought for her attention. And these wouldn’t be ordinary men. They would be armed with power, wealth, and influence. He had to seize the advantage he had now—the tenderness she had already shown him—before some rival swept her awaypletely.


    Gathering his resolve like armor, Jason took a deep breath and walked into the bathroom. He shed his clothes, stepped beneath the cascading water, and scrubbed himself clean, as if washing away every trace of his former self.


    Afterward, he toweled his hair dry and pulled on fresh clothes. He strode from the room without a single backward nce.


    On the table, his masky abandoned. He would never wear it again.


    Jason left the room and walked straight down the hall to find Ruben.


    At that moment, Ruben was enjoying a peaceful break in his room, savoring a cup of coffee in the quiet afternoon light. When he looked up and saw Jason walking through the doorway, his hand froze halfway to his lips, the coffee cup suspended in midair.


    Jason had been in training since he was six years old—shaped into the silent guardian of the Evans family. For twenty years, a mask had hidden his face from almost everyone. Only his closest rtives knew what he truly looked like, and even they rarely saw him without the mask. His discipline was absolute; he never removed the mask unless there was apelling reason.


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    So when Jason appearedpletely unmasked, Ruben felt as though he’d been struck by lightning. It took him several long seconds to process what he was seeing.


    Where Cole always dressed in sharp, expensive business suits, Jason’s wardrobe was also mostly ck but much more rxed—apletely different vibe from Cole’s corporate power look.


    Right now, Jason wore tailored ck pants, a fitted shirt, and a leather jacket. His freshly washed hair was slightly tousled, making his already striking features even more defined.


    The Evans family had always been known for their remarkable looks, and the two men standing at its forefront embodied two different kinds of maism: Cole’s dignified grace and Jason’s dashing coolness.


    “Grandpa,” Jason greeted, his voice calm but steady.


    Only then did Ruben manage to shake off his shock, quickly setting his coffee cup down on the side table. “Jason, what brings you here to see me?” Ruben understood immediately that Jasoning to him like this—without the mask he’d worn religiously for twenty years—meant something significant had happened. Jason wouldn’t have broken his own irond rule unless the situation was truly serious.


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