The only time she had looked at him in the past three seconds was to silentlymand him to give her a sip of water.


    So, the game was more important than him?


    Shanley''s lips were pressed into a thin line, his displeasure written all over his face. The oppressive atmosphere in the car was suffocating.


    Felton and Flint, ncing at their boss''s thunderous expression in the rearview mirror, barely dared to breathe.


    Meanwhile, the culprit was happily tapping away at her game.


    "Ahem." Flint cleared his throat and said loudly, "Boss, the crabs you had specially chartered a flight for, all the way from overseas for Ms. Payne, have arrived."


    He made sure to emphasize the words "for Ms. Payne."


    “Hmm?” At the mention of food, Juniper''s head snapped up. She looked at Shanley, her eyes sparkling. "You bought me crabs?"


    "Yes." The moment she spoke to him, Shanley''s grim expression vanished, reced by a humble smile. "You said you were craving them yesterday, didn''t you?"


    Juniper blinked, aplex emotion welling up inside her. It wasn''t even crab season; she had just mentioned it offhandedly. She never thought he would go to such lengths to have them flown in for her from another country.


    "Aren''t you just the best?” she murmured, her lips curving into a smile that made her eyes crinkle at the corners. Her voice was light and sweet.


    "Of course. I''d give you anything you want," Shanley said, his smile deepening as he watched her. He gently brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead, his voice a soft, intimate murmur. "Including... my life."


    His life? The words hit her with unexpected force, making her fingers tremble. On her phone screen, her character died, but in her chest, her heart softened and swelled at his deration.


    "Alright,” Juniper said, leaning forward slightly. She blinked her pretty eyes and raised an eyebrow. "I''ll take your life, then.”


    From now on, he was hers. His person, his life, all of it belonged to her. No one else could touch him.


    "It would be my honor," Shanley said, pressing his advantage by covering her hand with his, his smile both regal and captivating.


    Juniper looked down at their intertwined fingers. He was giving her his money and now his life. She supposed she could let him hold her hand. She wouldn''t pull away.


    Shanley was ecstatic. And with the boss happy, Felton and Flint could finally breathe again.


    ...


    Forty minutester, the car stopped in front of aboratory on the outskirts of the city. This was where the rest of the Viper''s Tail batch was stored.


    Just as Juniper had suspected, theb was filled with rows of "dead" Viper''s Tail nts.


    "Ms. Payne, as you instructed, we''ve purchased all of them," Felton reported respectfully.


    "How much did it cost?" Juniper asked, ncing over them.


    "Two million," Felton answered.


    When he had contacted the seller, the man had gone silent for a full thirty seconds. Then he''d asked the price. After hearing the offer he''d fallenSilent for another thirty seconds before blurting out, Let''s sign the contract. Right now."


    He probably thought Felton was an idiot for spending two million on a pile of dead weeds. To be honest, Felton himself still wasn''t sure if M Payne could actually revive them.


    "Two million?" Juniper''s lips curved into a wry smile. "Compared to twenty million for


    one, that''s an absolute bargain."


    More importantly, she now had hundreds of them. With a little care, some were bound to survive.


    "Good work," she said, offering a rarepliment.


    "Thank you, Ms. Payne!" Felton was floored by the praise, a wide grin spreading across his face. But his smile hadn''t even reached his eyes before he turned and met his boss''s meaningful stare. His gan froze.


    "Because my boss is an excellent teacher to me," he quickly amended.