The punch was swift and brutal, sending Melvin staggering back into the wall.


    "Who gave you permission to touch her?" Shanley snarled, grabbing Melvin by the cor, his eyes burning with a murderous rage. "I warned you to stay away from Juniper."


    He knew this guy had ulterior motives, but he never imagined he''d be brazen enough to force himself on her. The girl he wouldn''t even dare to touch-how could he let someone elsey a hand on her?


    "Stay away?" Melvin''s mouth was bruised and bleeding, but a smirk yed on his lips. He shot back without hesitation, "I''m afraid you''re going to be disappointed, Mr. Schwartz. From now on, I''m only going to get closer to Juniper."


    "Say that one more time, you bastard!" Shanley''s eyes were bloodshot, radiating a terrifying chill. Calling her ''Juniper'' so casually—the nerve!


    “I said, I''m going to be by Juniper''s side from now on, and there''s nothing you can do about it," Melvin dered, his voice loud and firm. "In fact, the one who should get lost is you!"


    This old man not only preyed on his younger sister, but he didn''t even feed her properly. Who knew how long the girl had been starving to eat that much today? He was going to settle this score with Shanley.


    In an instant, the two men were brawling, trading vicious blows aimed at each other''s weak points. It was clear both were skilled fighters.


    Juniper frowned and yelled, "Hey, can you two stop fighting and listen to me for a second?"


    But they were lost in the heat of battle,pletely deaf to her words. As Melvin stumbled backward, he identally swept the te of chicken wings Juniper had been saving forst onto the floor.


    Her chicken wings! A sh of anger crossed Juniper''s face.


    They wanted to fight? Fine. Let them get it out of their system. She''d talk when they were done.


    Just then, Jimmie arrived and saw the chaotic scene: Shanley and Melvin were locked in a fight, while his dear sister sat calmly to the side Sipping a milkshake and watching with detached interest.


    "What are they doing?" Jimmie demanded, turning to the panting,te-arriving


    Felton and Flint. "Why is your boss fighting with Melvin?"


    "Catching a cheater!" Flint gasped, wiping sweat from his brow.


    "Catching a what?" Jimmie was already confused, and now he was certain he''d misheard.


    “Him, Melvin,” Flint said, pointing. "He had the nerve to make a move on Ms. Payne. And if that wasn''t bad enough, he just grabbed her and forced a hug on her."


    The two of them had seen it with


    their own eyes. Ms. Payne was just sitting there, and Melvin suddenly got up and pulled her into an


    embrace. How could their boss not lose it? He was probably going to beat him to death.


    Make a move? Jimmie''s face went through several shades of color. The


    whole situation was absurd. He could believe Shanley making


    move on Juniper, but Melvin was her Brother!


    Wait. Melvin probably didn''t know about their blood rtion yet. All the food, the smiles, and now a forced hug...


    A terrible thought crept into Jimmie''s mind. Could Melvin have fallen for Juniper? Was this one of those cosmic jokes where soulmates turn out to be siblings?


    “Break them up, now!" Jimmie said, rubbing his temples and looking at Felton and Flint with exasperation.


    Felton and Flint exchanged a look. "We can''t, not without our boss''s orders," they answered in low voices.