Heartstrings on Fire (Agnes and Jared)

Agnes felt her cheeks ablaze with embarrassment.

It wasn't that she and Jared hadn't been together for ages, but with him right there beside her, handcuffed to her no less, it felt like a bizarre dream. She was utterly lost for words.

Thankfully, Jared kept his eyes shut, a small mercy in an awkward situation.

Emerging from the bathroom, her face was still flushed with heat.

Jared quipped, "Come on, Agnes, why so red? You're acting like a bashful teenager."

With her cheeks burning even brighter, she snapped, "This is all your doing, Jared."

He raised an eyebrow, a hint of a snort in his voice, "Well, you were the one making a run for it, weren't you?"

He sounded almost hurt, as if she had wronged him somehow.

Agnes was beyond exasperation.

Glancing at the wall clock, it showed only half-past two in the morning.

So much had transpired, and now she couldn't even begin to guess the fallout.

Since they had left the airport yesterday, Jared had been glued to her side, meaning he had missed the crucial shareholders' meeting at three.

The thought of it churned in her gut like a fiery brand, but she couldn't bring herself to confront Jared about it.

What could possibly be done at this ungodly hour? Even locating the keys in the pitch darkness had proven to be impossible.

Resigned to the current madness, Agnes suggested, "Let's just sleep."

Jared's voice was teasing, "Sure, let's snuggle up."

She retorted, without a trace of humor, "I'll lie down, and you can sit."

"Fine by me, as long as you're in my arms," he replied.

Agnes didn't bother arguing anymore. Huffing, she lay down on the bed, leaving no room for Jared, who ended up leaning against the bedside.

Jared fell asleep quickly. Agnes could tell from his even, steady breathing.

But sleep eluded her.

She feigned anger, but it was a mask to hide her inner turmoil and insecurity.

When Jared had showed up and

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Sher from leaving, she hadn't

been

y, just a mix of heartache

and, paradoxically, joy.

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Yet, this was not the outcome she had wanted or could bear.

Taking advantage of Jared's deep sleep, Agnes fished her phone from her pocket.

She navigated to the Tim Group's official website.

The headline struck her like a blow: "The Tim Group Ushers in New Era, Ryder Appointed as Chairman."

Her heart pounded as if gripped by an invisible hand, and for a moment, she forgot to breathe.

The article detailed how Jared's

absence from the board meeting

had disappointed the major shareholders and how they had listed the "seven deadly sins" former chairman before

overhe

unanimously electing Ryder as the

new head of the Tim the

Content

Everything seemed to fall into place, yet Agnes hadn't anticipated it would unravel so quickly.

Ryder had made his move with decisive coldness, just as he had warned her.

Agnes felt an aching sorrow as she looked at the man lying beside her.

Didn't he realize the consequences of his pursuit?

After all this time, was he still blind to Ryder's ambition?

The Tim Group may have been the Whitfield family's legacy, but Jared had been at the helm since he was seventeen, a legend in the business world.

Everyone hailed him as a prodigy.

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But Agnes knew the truth behind his genius: years of relentless, sleepless nights, and a soul poured into the enterprise.

The Tim Group was his life's work, no exaggeration there.

Yet, how could his kingdom, cultivated over a decade, be breached in a matter of months?