?Chapter 1698:


    She jerked her gaze away and snapped, “That’s none of your damn business. Leave me alone!” Men who approached women in bars never had honorable intentions. She hade here to drink herself into oblivion, not to deal with someone like this. She punctuated her rejection by draining what remained of her drink and pointedly ignoring him.


    The man didn’t seem fazed in the slightest. He signaled the bartender. “Put another Whiskey Sour on my tab for thedy.”


    When Alisha registered that he was buying her another drink, she turned back to study him through her alcoholic fog. The man’s mouth curved into a knowing smile. “Heartbroken?”


    A bitterugh escaped her lips. “Is it written all over my face?” She wasn’t even certain she could call it heartbreak when the whole thing had been one-sided from the beginning.


    “Young women whoe to bars to drink alone are almost always nursing broken hearts.” The man swirled his own drink thoughtfully. “And you look like someone who’s not ready to give up yet.”


    ???? u????at?? ????еr?? w??еk ??n g??????о??e????.с????


    The man’s observation hit ufortably close to the truth. Alisha squinted at him through her alcohol haze, trying to bring his face into sharper focus.


    Once her vision cleared, she recognized that he was genuinely attractive, with the polished look of old money. Unlike William’sposed demeanor, he seemed more like a carefree yboy — the type who was always drowning in female attention.


    Alisha’s defenses weakened slightly. Maybe it was simply that attractive people got away with more, but she found herself dropping her gaze and mumbling, “So what if I am? It’s not like anyone else knows about it.”


    The man’sugh came out low and knowing. “Well, I know now, don’t I?”


    Alisha’s frown deepened. “Why buy me a drink? And don’t give me that tired line about thinking I’m pretty and wanting to pick me up — that cliché is worn out.” If some average-looking guy had tried that approach, she might have bought it. Buting from someone who looked like this? Not a chance. He had probably been with dozens of women, plenty of them gorgeous. She probably wouldn’t even crack his top twenty. She possessed at least that much self-awareness.


    The man’s eyebrow arched slightly. “Of course that’s not why. I bought you a drink because… you remind me of someone.”


    The response caught Alisha off guard. “Who?”


    He lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug. “You wouldn’t know her even if I told you her name.”


    “How can you be so sure unless you actually tell me?”


    That seemed to intrigue him. Amusement sparked in his eyes as he leaned slightly closer and dropped his voice. “Her name is Ste. She’s quite an extraordinary woman — though you’re younger than she is.”


    Alisha’s heart skipped a beat. The world felt impossibly small. “Ste?!”


    Genuine surprise crossed Amon’s features. “You actually know her?”


    A bitterugh tore from Alisha’s throat. She took a sip of her drink and grimaced. “Know her? She’s the entire reason I’m drowning my sorrows. The man I’m in love with is obsessed with her.”


    .


    .


    .