Love Slave to My Devil CEO Boss R18

Chapter 428  Inconvenient Triangle

Jeremy stared at me in silence, and I was disappointed and surprised at his lack of reaction. I wished that he would say something or tell me something along the lines of requesting for the committee to reconsider his case. Anything that would give me some hope that he wouldn’t need to take the blame for something that he didn’t do. Since my words didn’t seem to get to him, I pleaded to him silently with my eyes as our eyes met.

“Maybe they haven’t gotten it all wrong…” he said in a whisper.

What did he just say?

At first, I wasn’t even sure if I heard him correctly.

“I said that they might not be all wrong…” he repeated again this time clearer and slower.

“What do you…” I began asking what he meant before I trailed off without continuing.

The way he looked at me told me that I should have known better. I was about to ask him what he meant by that, but it seemed like there was no longer a need to because I could already sense the answer.

But…that couldn’t really be, right?

How can this be? How can things turn out like this?

I wasn’t sure whether I was more shocked or disappointed in the outcome. All that was clear to me was that I had not expected this and that I didn’t reciprocate the feelings that he had for me in the slightest. Everything just felt suffocating, wrong, and so out of place. That initial reaction that I had to his feelings for me made me feel like a rotten person. Although I knew that he didn’t deserve to be thought of in that way, I just couldn’t stop the feeling that his feelings for me were such an inconvenience, and the timing couldn’t have made it any worse.

Richard probably saw this coming and that was why he tried so hard to warn me about my close interactions with Jeremy. I regretted not listening to him so much but there was nothing that I could do about it at that point because there was no way that I could go back in time and change my actions and choices.

Did he also suspect that we were dating? Was he the one who reported us?

I rapidly pushed that thought away because I didn’t believe that he was the one who reported us. Everything was starting to make sense including Richard’s strange behavior and unexpected offer to take me out for lunch. I made a mental note to myself to thank him when I get myself out of this mess. I snapped out of my thoughts to find Jeremy staring at me from across the table as if he was waiting for my answer.

If Richard saw this coming, how come I was so oblivious?

“Umm…” I mumbled as I struggled to find the right words.

Needless to say, it wasn’t a daily occurrence for someone to confess their feelings for me like this and I was far from being a pro at turning people down. In fact, I felt like it was something extremely challenging to do. Dealing with the person’s disappointment and how my refusal could damage our relationship was probably the hardest part.

Ah…this is exactly why the company prohibits romance between employees.

How am I supposed to face Jeremy at work now after this?

Even if we’re working on different projects now, we’re still on the same team as part of the CEO’s office and that meant that we could end up working together on another project very soon.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you this in this way or in a situation like this, but I really like you, Karina,” Jeremy said before he smiled a little my way.

He likes…me?

Although I already knew what he was going to say, hearing him confess to me made it even more unbelievable. I guessed this was what it felt like to live in denial. I just didn’t want it to be true and for that, I felt like I was the worst person on earth.

“Thank you…and I’m not angry at all about what happened but…” I said as I fumbled with my words.

My hands clenched under the table in fists as I tried to force the next words out of my mouth. Jeremy stared at me intently while all I wanted to do was hide away.

“I’m sorry. I can’t return your feelings…” I continued simply.

To my further surprise, Jeremy didn’t react at all to my words, and it felt as if he had anticipated my response all along. I wondered for how long he had romantic feelings towards me and then realized that I shouldn’t even be interested. Jeremy is a great guy, and he surely has a bright future in front of him; however, he was so far from being my type and it was a shame because I liked spending time with him.

“Is it because of Ace?” he asked after a brief moment of silence.

What…did he just say?!

Why did he mention Ace just now?

I was dumbstruck and for a moment all I could do was stare back at Jeremy. My heart started racing fast and hard in my chest as I wondered how I was supposed to respond to something like that. Endless questions flooded into my mind and all of them only caused me to worry more and more until I started to panic.

How much does he know about Ace and me?

Does he think that we’re dating, or does he just think that I have a crush on Ace?

“I’m sorry but, I don’t see how Ace is related to this…” I replied after deciding to play dumb.

Jeremy kept on staring at me and that made me nervous and scared that he may be able to see through my act. I suddenly felt like I was at such a disadvantage while the only thing that I could do was pray silently inside my head that he doesn’t really know anything.

--To be continued…