Chapter 29

“You can eat,” Jerome said simply.

“Okay then, I’ll order,” Jerome’s friend raised his hand and signaled for the waiter with a grin.

Jerome looked at Angelia and introduced, “He is a diplomat from the North Carolina Embassy in Wilmington. His family lived near mine when we were young.”

“I have to tell you, all of us, no matter if we were older or younger than him, grew up being bullied by him,” Jerome’s friend complained with a laugh. “By the way, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Spencer.”

“Spencer,” Angelia smiled, “Easy to remember, your parents must be very talented.”

“Well…” Spencer raised his eyebrows, somewhat helpless, and sighed, “Because of this name, Jerome took on the role of being our secretary when we were young, registering and analyzing who he beat up every day.”

“Who he beat up?” Angelia was curious.

“At that time, we were all learning taekwondo, and Jerome would go fight anyone who was said to be good,” Spencer explained.

“Can you stop talking about my childhood? Do you want me to tell everyone about how you wet the bed when you were eight?” Jerome coldly interrupted Spencer.

Spencer pursed his lips and zipped them shut.

Angelia propped her chin up, and it was clear that Jerome was absolutely dominant, like a brave warrior.

Neither his friends nor his aunt dared to disobey him.

She was curious about what kind of woman Jerome, a man like him, would eventually marry.

“Cutie, do you have a boyfriend?” Spencer asked Angelia with a grin.

Jerome said unhappily, “Who are you calling cutie, can’t you see…”

Jerome’s words abruptly stopped.

He saw that the deep blue diamond ring was not on her finger, and his pupils contracted slightly.The air pressure suddenly dropped,” Jerome asked, looking at Angelia.

“What about the ring?” Angelia explained, “I took it off when I washed my face earlier and left it in the bathroom, why?”

Jerome raised his voice, “Didn’t I tell you not to take it off? Didn’t you understand?”

“Didn’t we agree that the ring is mine? I have the right to wear it or take it off. If you want it back, I’ll give it to you later,” Angelia said.

Although she liked the ring, if it wasn’t hers, she would return it to Jerome.

Jerome stared at Angelia firmly. It was a diamond ring he had specially bought for her.

Spencer noticed something unusual between them.

Jerome still had a diamond ring on his ring finger, which meant that the girl he brought with him was not his assistant but the woman he liked, or even the woman he wanted to marry. This idea shocked him.

Jerome had never been interested in women before. At one point, he even thought that Jerome liked men, but the problem was that Jerome was not interested in men either. He felt that he was destined to become a monk in this life.

“Um, I think Angelia is wrong about this. How can you easily take off a ring like this? And you left it in the bathroom. Do you know that the deep blue diamond you wear is one of a kind in the world? It’s very precious,” Spencer helped Jerome say.

“Deep blue diamond?” Angelia looked at Spencer in surprise. She had no knowledge or experience with diamonds and did not wear them. She even thought it was a cheap gift before, but it turned out to be a deep blue diamond.”

“I know the price of a deep blue diamond, and I suspect that my ring is worth more than ten million!” Angelia said, standing up.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know the ring was so expensive. I’ll go get it and give it back to you,” she continued.

Jerome blocked her way and said, “I never take back things I give away. If you want to return it, just throw it away. I don’t want to be bothered.”

Angelia remembered the bracelet that belonged to Jerome’s grandmother. She had returned it to him, but he didn’t want it, so she left it in his car, and it was lost. Now she was in debt for millions.

“I’ll go get the ring first. I don’t want to lose it again. If Jerome asks for it, I’ll regret my stupidity today,” she said as she walked away.

Jerome gritted his teeth and watched her leave, his emotions surging. He clenched his fists, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged as he suppressed his feelings.

“Doesn’t she know you like her?” Spencer asked, noticing the situation.

Jerome sat down heavily in his chair, feeling very unhappy and not wanting to talk.

“I think you should confess to her. You’re so outstanding, and she can’t possibly not like you,” Spencer suggested.

“I already confessed. She rejected me,” Jerome replied, his eyes dark and icy.

Spencer fell silent. “Well, you don’t have to be sad. Look at me, I’m also single. At least you have me to accompany you, so you won’t be lonely, right?” he tried to comfort him.

Jerome looked at him with drooping eyes, not at all comforted.”Who are you, Jerome? So many women secretly admire you, pursue you, and like you. All you have to do is nod your head and you can end your single life. There are so many girls prettier than her, but there is a place for everyone.” Spencer comforted.

Jerome stood up coldly.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?” Spencer was puzzled.

Jerome ignored him and walked outside.

He was not a promiscuous person, and in fact, he was relatively cold in emotions.

As Spencer said, many women liked and pursued him, but he didn’t care.

For so many years, only one girl suddenly entered his heart in his freshman year.

She was naughty, clever, hardworking, kind, helpful, gentle, generous, had the qualities he liked, and the appearance he liked.

From that day on, no matter how beautiful or outstanding a woman was, she couldn’t catch his eye.

Giving up was impossible, and he didn’t want to give up!

He went to the room to find Angelia…

Angelia was frantic, the ring was not in the bathroom.

She remembered clearly that she took off the ring when washing her face and put it on the sink.

She searched her own room, but still couldn’t find it!

She was about to go to the living room to look for it.

Jerome came back and saw her looking for it behind the pillow.

“What’s wrong?” Jerome asked in confusion.

Angelia looked up at Jerome, her eyes red with anxiety, “Jerome, I can’t find the ring. I put it on the sink in the bathroom, but it’s gone.”

“Could you have remembered wrong?” Jerome said in a deep voice.”I remember it clearly, because I didn’t pack it, I temporarily put it on the shelf above the sink. The sink hole is very small, even if it fell into the sink, it wouldn’t fall in,” explained Angelia.

Jerome comforted her, “Don’t worry, I’ll go find someone to check the surveillance and see if anyone came in.”

Angelia nodded and followed him to the front desk.

A woman saw them coming, turned her back, lowered her sun hat, put on black-framed glasses, and urged, “Is it done? It’s so troublesome to check out.”

“Where is your manager? Please check the surveillance. Someone came into our room and we’re missing a diamond ring,” Jerome expressed directly.

Losing items is the hotel’s worst nightmare, so the front desk immediately called the manager.

Angelia looked suspiciously at the woman next to her, feeling familiar.

The woman glanced at Angelia and immediately dragged her luggage towards the door.

A flash of inspiration struck Angelia, “Jerome, stop her.”

The woman quickened her pace and walked to the door, where she was stopped by the security guard.

She became agitated and said in English, “What are you doing? I am your guest, I have the freedom to come and go, why are you stopping me?”

Angelia approached her and scrutinized her, “You are the mistress of that middle-aged man, do you know why I’m chasing you?””What are you running for? Who are you? Do I know you? Why should I run when I see you? I have a flight to catch and I’m almost late. I’m trying to check out, but it’s taking too long. Will you take responsibility if I miss my flight?” The woman shouted arrogantly.

“Going back? To which country?” Jerome squinted his eyes. “If you’re going back to North Carolina, there’s only one flight today, and it’s at night, so you have plenty of time.”

“Who said I’m going back to North Carolina? I’m taking the 19:20 flight to Japan. Who are you people? If you don’t let me go, I’ll call the police.” The woman stared at them confidently.

The manager ran over, afraid, and said, “I’m sorry, Jerome. I was dealing with the previous guest. He has been arrested. Did you lose something?”

Jerome looked at the woman and said, “Check the surveillance video and see who entered my room between 17:20 and 17:50.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll check it now,” the manager said, immediately heading to the surveillance room.

The woman became anxious, her eyes flickering, and she tried to leave.

The security guard stopped her again.

The woman became angry and warned, pointing at the security guard, “I have a flight at 19:20. If you don’t let me go, I’ll miss it. Will you compensate me for my losses?”

The security guard looked at Jerome.

“Take her to the surveillance room,” Jerome commanded.

In the surveillance room, they clearly saw a woman ask the cleaning lady to open the room. After a while, the woman came out of the room and quickly returned to her own room. Ten minutes later, she packed her luggage and checked out at the front desk.

This woman was the lover of the middle-aged man.The woman, upon seeing herself in the video, didn’t try to deny it anymore. “Yes, I did go to your room. You guys took my boyfriend, and I was going to come to your room to question you, but when I saw that you weren’t there, I left. You’re intentionally trying to frame me, just like you did with my boyfriend,” she said.

“Your boyfriend was taken, and you didn’t go to see him, but instead wanted to go back to your country alone. Do you think that’s appropriate?” Angelia confirmed that the item was hers and asked.

“I went to Japan to ask for help from a friend. I can’t just let you guys falsely accuse me,” the woman tried to justify herself.

“Call the police,” Jerome said coldly.

“You’re trying to frame me again,” the woman became nervous, clutching her bag tightly.

“The police are here. If you’re innocent, justice will be served,” Angelia said in a deep voice.

“I don’t want to deal with you guys. You’re imprisoning me now, and when the police come, I will sue you,” the woman shouted, dragging her luggage towards the door.

The security guard stopped her.

Soon, the police arrived.

The manager explained the situation to the police.

“Sorry, ma’am, we need to search your luggage,” the police said politely.

“Police, you came at the right time. They’re imprisoning me and not letting me go. I won’t make it to my 7:20 pm flight. I’m going to call the police,” the woman retaliated.

The police ignored her and searched her bag and suitcase, finding the deep blue diamond in the crevice of the suitcase.

“This is it,” Angelia took the ring from the police and held it in her hand, pressing it to her heart and letting out a sigh of relief.Even if she doesn’t want it, she doesn’t want to lose it here.

She will have a guilty conscience for the rest of her life.

And this is the first ring she received…

Jerome looked deeply at her, his eyes softened a bit.

She still wants it, right?

When the woman saw the ring being found, she argued cunningly, “That ring is mine, my boyfriend bought it for me.”

“Where did he buy it?” Jerome asked.

“He bought it for me, how would I know where?”

“You really have no guts.”

Jerome turned around, clipped the image from the video, and enlarged it.

He showed it to the woman and said, “When your boyfriend was caught, this ring was still on my girlfriend’s hand. How did he buy it for you?”

“All rings are similar. Why do you say this ring is the one your girlfriend wore?” The woman still didn’t give up.

Jerome held Angelia’s hand.

Angelia’s hand trembled, wanting to pull it out.

Jerome held it tightly and showed the woman the ring on his finger, saying in a deep voice, “This pair of rings is called the Deep Blue Water Diamond. There is only one pair in the world, and I bought it for 91.1 million dollars. You stole such a valuable thing, I think you can only spend the rest of your life in prison.”

“What? 91.1 million dollars. How is that possible?” The woman was shocked.

She knew the ring was expensive, so she stole it, but she didn’t expect it to be so expensive.

Jerome turned around and faced the police, “The ring cannot be left as evidence for you. I will have someone send the invoice to the police station.”

“The video on my side can be used as evidence, and the waiter can be used as a witness,” the manager said.

The police captain understood and ordered his men, “Take her away.”The woman couldn’t argue anymore when she saw Angelia’s expression. She immediately changed her face and looked pitifully at Angelia, apologizing, “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. I was just momentarily confused and took your things. It was all my fault. Please forgive me. We’re both women and from North Carolina, so please let me go. I’m still young and don’t want to go to jail. If I go to jail, everything will be over.”

Angelia looked at the woman’s anxious expression with indifference. Her grandmother had taught her a principle since childhood: a gentleman loves wealth and takes it in a proper way. This woman was greedy for money, which was why she had hooked up with a married man and stolen someone else’s things. Wrong? Such a selfish and conscienceless person would never know what was wrong.

“If mistakes are easily forgiven, then anyone can make mistakes easily. After all, the temptation of getting something for nothing is too great. I’m sorry, I don’t want to let it go,” Angelia said coldly.

The woman exploded, “You stinky bitch, what’s so great about you? Aren’t you just using a man’s money? You think you’re so noble, pretending to be something you’re not!”

The woman was taken away, still cursing.

The monitoring room quieted down. Angelia faced Jerome and held his hand, putting the ring back in his hand. “This ring is too expensive, I can’t accept it.”

Jerome’s heart sank and he explained, “I was afraid you wouldn’t accept it, so I didn’t tell you the price.”

“I won’t accept it, I don’t have the right to accept it, and I definitely can’t accept it. Maybe I was confused before, my mind wasn’t clear, or maybe I was just cowardly, so I didn’t dare to speak out or make things clear…”

“Then don’t say it,” Jerome realized what she was about to say and interrupted her coldly.But she wanted to make it clear, “Jerome, I don’t want to date. I just want to work hard and pay back the money I owe you, give Alyssa and my grandmother a good life. I won’t consider anything else, so no matter what your intentions are towards me, there’s no need to continue.”

“What do you think my intentions are towards you?” Jerome asked.

“I’m not a little girl. Some intimate, ambiguous actions are not suitable between us, like giving a ring,” Angelia said.

“Do you think I like you? So it’s a burden?” Jerome became even more serious.

Angelia didn’t speak, she lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes covering her eyelids, hiding her true emotions.

She didn’t think he liked her, but she couldn’t figure out his heart, afraid of his calculations, afraid that he was just playing around, and even more afraid of not being able to get what she wants.

So she decided not to ask, so there would be no sadness, loss, and the heart-wrenching feeling of wanting but not getting.

She couldn’t control her heart, so when she was rational, she would do her best to push him away.

Jerome was not the man she could covet!

Jerome looked at her not speaking, his breathing becoming tighter, his palm closing, tightly holding the diamond ring inside. “Then what, you want to stay far away from me!”

Angelia looked at him, somewhat cute.

Jerome angrily said, “You really shouldn’t be bold when you shouldn’t be, and when you should be, your courage is eaten up by the pit in your brain.”

Angelia felt he was swearing too much and blurted out, “Of course, I’m not as smart as you. What else can I do besides avoiding you!”Jerome gritted his teeth, knowing she would hide. His eyes shot out a sharpness, drowning in the surging emotions, raising the volume, and speaking in a negative tone, “If you really think I like you, then you don’t have to. I told you, I’m not interested in married women!”

Angelia’s eyes turned red, damp with tears. She knew he didn’t like her, and her heart was stabbed hard. “Then why did you kiss me?” Jerome used his actions to tell her that his previous kisses didn’t count. She shouldn’t have been so presumptuous.

Her eyes flickered, trying hard not to reveal her emotions, suppressing them, and changing the subject, “Your friend is still waiting for us in the restaurant.”

Jerome held her hand, put the ring back in her hand, and held her fist along her fingers. “I said that things that are given away should never be taken back. If you don’t like it, throw it away.” He let go of her hand and walked out of the surveillance room.

Angelia opened her palm and looked at the pure deep blue on the ring. This ring was so precious, how could she bear to throw it away? After finally sorting out her emotions, she became confused again under Jerome’s dominance. Women are always like this, emotional rather than rational, and easily soft-hearted.

She had nowhere to put the ring, so she wore it on her little finger, meaning that she didn’t want to date.

As they left, Jerome didn’t walk away. He was shrouded in a deep, distant, and melancholic mood.He saw her put the ring on her little finger, her face changed slightly.

She took the ring off her ring finger and put it on her little finger, then walked ahead.

Angelia followed behind him, and the atmosphere was a bit dull.

Jerome walked to the restaurant next door.

Spencer saw them come back, stood up from his seat, and worriedly said, “I thought you weren’t coming?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Jerome replied, throwing a bad mood his way.

Angelia also sat back in her previous seat.

“My parents often argue, head of the bed and tail of the bed, couples who don’t argue have problems,” Spencer said, “Let’s eat, I’m starving.”

Angelia wanted to say they weren’t a couple, but the more she explained, the more awkward it became, so she didn’t say anything and just picked up a piece of lobster meat.

Jerome looked at her, not knowing what he was thinking.

Spencer sighed inwardly.

He had thought about what kind of woman Jerome would like, and what he would be like after falling in love with someone.

Finally, he saw it.

Jerome’s gaze was like he wanted to stare at his woman 24/7.

Angelia was eating lobster, and he didn’t hide the fact that he wanted her.

He was dominant, authoritative, and overbearing.

He had a feeling that one day, Angelia would marry Jerome.

Jerome had been staring for two or three minutes.

Spencer couldn’t bear it anymore and cleared his throat.

Angelia looked at Spencer and noticed Jerome’s gaze.

Looking at Jerome, she met his dark as ink eyes and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Is it delicious?” Jerome asked heavily, with a gloomy expression.”Um…” it’s delicious, with a completely different taste from what we have in our country, infused with the creamy flavor of cheese.

However, Jerome can’t eat it. If she says it’s delicious, it wouldn’t be fair.

“Well, it’s just okay,” Angelia said, her eyes sparkling.

Jerome looked at her with indulgence, “You know what? You’re not good at lying.”

“Really?” Angelia nervously lowered her head, feeling guilty and brushed her hair away from her forehead.

Jerome picked up a piece of lobster meat.

Spencer worriedly said, “Jerome, think twice, you can’t eat lobster.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Jerome said.

Angelia also looked at Jerome with concern. That day, he had only eaten a little bit of lobster meat, and then he had been running to the bathroom all night, with a fever and a very bad complexion.

“I knew we shouldn’t have ordered lobster,” Angelia whispered.

Jerome felt Angelia’s concern, and his eyes softened, as if they were about to overflow with water. “Just don’t be angry with me,” he said, as if teasing her.

The unusual emotions flowed between the two of them as they looked at each other.

“Hey, you two lovebirds, the single dog is here, 100 points of damage, okay?” Spencer wailed.

Angelia blushed, “No, it’s not like that.”

“You don’t have to explain to him, your shield is as thick as a city wall, 100 points of damage is like a drizzle,” Jerome said, finishing a piece of lobster meat.

“Don’t say that. After all, you used to beat me up the most when we were kids,” Spencer said helplessly.

“Why were you beaten up the most? Weren’t you a secretary?” Angelia asked curiously.”陪练啊，他要打败下一个对手之前，都是我被打。” Spencer pretended to cry, “Until he moved away, my nightmare ended. Do you know how hard it was for me? I was tortured for ten years.”

Angelia was amused by his fake crying and looked at Jerome, “Thank goodness I’m not your neighbor.”

“I won’t hit you,” Jerome said firmly.

She didn’t know that when he found out she was about to marry her childhood sweetheart, he was envious. How he wished he could grow up with her.

“Is it because I’m a girl?” Angelia asked with a smile.

“It’s definitely not because of that. Many female classmates wrote love letters to Jerome before, and he gave them to the teacher,” Spencer said.

Angelia: “……”

Thank goodness she didn’t grow up with him, otherwise, if she wrote a love letter and he gave it to the teacher, how embarrassing and sad it would be.

“Torres is lucky,” Angelia said with a smile.

“Who is Torres?” Spencer asked curiously.

“Our school’s beauty, who wrote love letters to Jerome before and even asked him out…” Angelia raised her eyebrows, feeling a strange emotion in her heart, and said softly, “Let’s go to the room.”

Jerome looked at Angelia, “That’s not her love letter.”

“Huh? Isn’t it a love letter? She told me she wanted to confess to you, and it was the last chance. After graduation, we might not see each other again,” Angelia said.

Jerome’s stomach felt uncomfortable, and he frowned, “Your name was written on the envelope.”