Chapter <b>303 </b>
Suddenly, Xylia reached out and caught Joshua’s hand, stopping him in his tracks.
Joshua lowered his gaze, looking down at her.
With a yful curl to her lips, Xylia smiled, “We’ve pretty much finished eating. How about we order <b>a </b>couple more dishes just for Ms. Coffey and Mr. Shaw? They still have to talk business, so let’s not interrupt them.”
As Xylia spoke, Joshua’s expression turned stormy, clearly not pleased.
“Okay,” Joshua replied.
Richard watched the two of them.
“We’re basically done talking now, Xylia–really, you don’t need to worry about bothering us,” Richard said casually.
“No way,” Xylia replied with a smile. “Noelle’s finally got a chance to talk business with someone. We can’t hold her up. You guys take your time.”
With that, Xylia grabbed Joshua’s hand and pulled him away.
Noelle didn’t even have a chance to stop them before they slipped out the side door.
“Noelle? Since when did people get so chummy with her?” Noelleined, her tone bristling with
annoyance.
She dropped into her seat with an annoyed huff.
Richard hit her with a frosty re, his eyes so cold they practically radiated danger.
Noelle shut up right away.
‘I just mentioned Xylia once, and Richard was already quick to defend her?‘ Noelle thought, annoyance bubbling up inside.
‘Does he actually have feelings for Xylia?‘ Noelle wondered.
The more she mulled it over, the icier her expression became.
‘What is it about Xylia, anyway—why does everyone seem to love her so damn much?‘ Noelle fumed to herself.
‘Even a guy like Richard is falling for her too?‘ Noelle gritted her teeth.
Jealousy gnawed at Noelle, but then another thought popped into her mind–maybe Richard whisking Xylia off to Daltonia wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
That would mean I’d finally have Joshua all to myself, Noelle smirked to herself.
15:48 Sun, <b>Sep </b><b>28 </b>
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With the gratitude Joshua owes my brother, plus a few tricks up my sleeve to make him fall for me, I can totally pull this off, she schemed, her confidence ring.
Just imagining it made a wave of relief wash over her.
“Mr. Shaw, since you’re here too, why don’t we join forces again?” Noelle suggested with a sly smile.
She had already handed over the files from the safe in the Garcia family’s study to Richard, making good on her promise.
Her stay in Jupiton wouldn’tst much longer–she needed to make sure her ns for Joshua went off without a hitch. <fnff43> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n Find_Novel(.</fnff43>
Richard watched as she took out a sachet of powder from her bag–the kind of potent stuff that was all toomon in the nightlife scene.
A sly smile tugged at his lips.
‘Well, that’s actually a pretty solid move,‘ Richard smirked to himself.
Xylia pulled Joshua out of the little restaurant.
“Did you eat enough? How about we order a bit more and have it sent up to the room?” Xylia asked.
Joshua was still in kind of a bad mood.
“Why are you so afraid of them?” he asked.
“It’s not that I’m afraid,” Xylia replied. “I just don’t want to waste time arguing with them.”
‘If we’d gotten into an argument just now, it would’ve killed the mood and totally wasted our date, Xylia thought to herself.
Xylia held Joshua’s hand and asked, “Are you really full?”
“No,” Joshua replied, his answer blunt with honesty.
So Xylia ordered a bit more food to be delivered to their room.
“How about we watch a movie after we finish eating? There’s a new one that’s juste out–Josie said it’s really good,” Xylia suggested.
“What genre is it?” Joshua asked.
“It’s supernatural–Josie promised it’s not scary at all,” Xylia replied.
Joshua’s grin grew, like he was remembering something funny.
“That works,” he said.
Back in their room, after finishing dinner, they put on a movie, flipped off the lights, and cozied up together
<b>15:48 </b>Sun<b>, </b>Sep 28
on the bed.
The ce was wrapped in a soft, dim glow–movie night vibes in full swing.
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Xylia leaned a little closer to Joshua, settling down beside him and getting ready to really enjoy the film.
Joshua shot her a look, then casually stretched his arm back, his broad chest inching just a bit closer to her side.
Ten minutester.
“Ah!” Xylia squealed, yanking the nket over her head.
Josic, you little brat!‘ Xylia grumbled to herself.
‘What kind of freaky horror flicks does she normally watch?‘ she thought, shivering.
‘How can Josie say this isn’t scary?‘ Xylia thought, her heart pounding.
Xylia had had enough–she couldn’t watch anymore.
The creepy music kept ying in her ears.
She peeked out from under the nket and looked at Joshua. “Can we stop watching this?”
Joshua opened his arms, ready for Xylia to dive in—but she stayed put instead.
He couldn’t help but feel a little exasperated.
But when she looked up at him with those big, watery eyes and her voice went all soft, Joshua found himself forgiving her instantly.
“Come on, ghosts are just make–believe. There’s nothing to be scared of,” Joshua said gently.
“I’m superstitious, okay? I just can’t watch this—let’s pick something else,” Xylia insisted.
The creepy background music was only making Xylia more jumpy.
Not even waiting for Joshua to answer, Xylia hit stop and killed the movie on the spot.
Once the bedsidemp was switched on, Xylia looked like she’d just been brought back from the dead.
“Why are you such a scaredy–cat?” Joshua chuckled.
Then, grinning, he reached over and gave her cheek a gentle pinch.
‘Ugh, Joshua just can’t stop with the snark, Xylia thought, shooting him a re. Fed up with hisments, she was ready to give up on movie night altogether and just burrow into bed.
“All right, all right, there’s no way you’ll fall asleep after that. Let’s watch something else–this time, I’ll choose, and I swear, cross my heart, no horror movies. Sound good?” Joshua said, his voice soft and encouraging.
15:48 <b>Sun</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>28 </b>
Xylia curled up tight under the nkets, trying to block out the world,
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Every time she shut her eyes, those gory, blood–soaked scenes shed before her–making her shiver.
But when Joshua spoke, Xylia finally mustered the courage and poked her head out from beneath the covers.
Just as Joshua was about to queue up a new movic, his phone lit up with a message.
It was from Richard.
“Mr. Garcia, Suite 6002. We need to talk. If you don’t show up, I’ll message Xylia myself,” Richard texted.
Joshua’s brows knit together in a sh.
Xylia didn’t catch Joshua’s sudden shift in mood–she was still lost in those freaky scenes from the horror flick.
“I’ll put on aedy for you to watch while I’m out. I’ve got to handle something real quick, but I’ll be back before you know it,” Joshua said.
“Where are you headed?” Xylia asked.
“Someone wants to discuss something with me,” Joshua replied.
Joshua reached over, gave Xylia’s hair a gentle ruffle, then bent down and nted a soft kiss on her lips.
“Wait for me,” Joshua murmured, giving her a reassuring look.
Xylia let him go without saying a word.
Before Joshua left, he made sure every light in the room was switched on.
The bright lights made Xylia feel a lot safer.
Joshua really knew how to pick a good movie.
Xylia quickly got swept up in theedy, the yful scenes making herugh and finally helping her shake off the lingering dread from that horror movie.
Joshua headed straight to Suite 6002.
Richard was already sitting on the couch, looking like he’d been waiting for ages.
“Mr. Garcia, you finally made it,” Richard said, smirking a little.
Joshua sat down across from Richard.
“So, what’s up?” Joshua cut straight to the point, his tone sharp and impatient.
Joshua’s face was cold as ice, his impatient gaze practically screaming, ‘Hurry up and spit it out already!’
15:48 <b>Sun</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>28 </b>
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Richard leisurely poured him a ss of water. “Don’t get all tense, Mr. Garcia–have a drink and chill out first.
Joshua shot Richard a look, but ended up reaching for the ss and taking a slow sip.
Watching Joshua gulp down the water, Richard’s smirk grew even wider.
‘Now it’s all in Noelle’s hands,‘ Richard thought, his eyes glinting with anticipation.
“Mr. Garcia, I haven’t forgotten your threat fromst time. Guess it’s only fair I give you a taste of your own medicine,” Richard said coolly, his eyes glinting with warning.
‘A lesson?‘ Joshua scoffed, the corner of his mouth lifting in pure disdain.
He set the ss down slowly. “So you actually believe slipping something in my drink <b>is </b>enough to put me in my ce?”
Richard froze, his heart skipping a beat. ‘Wait…he actually knew?‘
‘He figured it out and still went ahead? Is he insane?‘ Richard thought, panic creeping in.
Joshua’s eyes darkened in an instant. Without warning, he mmed his foot into the coffee table,unching it straight at Richard with brute force.
Richard shoved off from the couch, twisting his body to narrowly dodge the table as it came crashing over.
The coffee table smashed into the couch with a heavy, resounding thud.
Holt, catching the noise from the hallway, charged into the room, instantly spotting Richard and Joshua locked in a brawl.
Acting purely on reflex, Holt moved to help Joshua without hesitation.
Joshua felt a fierce heat igniting in his gut. Heshed out, kicking Richard away, then snatched a te off the floor and sent it flying straight at Holt.
Holt dodged to the side, barely evading the te.
Joshua seized the opening and dashed for the door.
Just as Joshua reached the doorway, he nearly ran straight into Noelle, who was just about to walk inside.
Noelle blinked in surprise at him. “Joshua?”