Chase’s POV

I’ve never been a fan of working with undisciplined people. Take this morning for example—the business partner I was supposed to meet for a major project suddenly postponed the meeting just fifteen minutes before, even though he had already arrived late in the first place.

Fortunately, I was in a good mood, so I let it slide. Honestly, I could’ve canceled a project worth hundreds of millions of dollars without suffering any loss on my side.

Thinking about it now, maybe there’s a reason I ended up with free time this morning—to keep Grace company. After all, she’s not in the best condition emotionally.

Riley isn’t exactly the type who can comfort someone. If Grace continued to be haunted by her disappointment and acted recklessly like she did last night, I was sure Riley would’ve just let her be.

And my suspicion was confirmed the moment I saw four adults facing off in the parking lot of the New Wave Café. Two of them were Riley and Grace, both with tense expressions.

I immediately parked my car and ran toward them.

“You shameless tramp!”

The woman standing in front of Grace was about to slap her, but I moved faster and caught her hand mid-air.

“Ah, Chase!” Riley exclaimed.

The woman yanked her hand away angrily. “Who the hell are you?! Stay out of this!”

“I should be asking you—who are you? And why are you trying to hurt my girlfriend?”

I glanced at Grace, who looked utterly shocked. Actually, it wasn’t just her—Riley and the other two strangers were also staring at me with the same wide-eyed expression.

“What?! Your girlfriend?! What did she pay you to get involved in this slut’s drama?! She just got dumped by her fiancé, and suddenly she’s got an older man? You must be getting paid with her body, huh?!”

I simply chuckled and shook my head, then turned my gaze to the man beside her.

Let me guess—they were probably Grace’s ex-fiancé and the stepsister she had told me about last night.

"I hope you can teach your girlfriend some manners. I consider this matter settled. But if there’s another commotion, I won’t hesitate to report it to the police!"

I immediately urged Grace to leave with me, my arm still wrapped around her shoulders.

"Calm down. I’m sorry if I spoke that way. I just wanted to protect you."

Grace only nodded. I led her upstairs to where the VIP room was.

"Sit here for a moment. I need to use the restroom."

Her expression still looked shocked, and again, she nodded without saying a word. I headed down to the first floor toward the restroom, but halfway down the stairs, Riley appeared beside me.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don’t play dumb, Mr. Chase! You just said you’re Grace’s boyfriend. Is that true?!"

I stopped and looked at Riley. His eyes were filled with worry and jealousy. Riley had been dropping hints for a long time that he was interested in me, but I couldn’t—falling in love with him was out of the question.

His personality simply wasn’t compatible with mine if we were to be partners, especially since he had a past of being involved with two partners at the same time. I hated betrayal.

"You’ve worked with me for a long time, yet you still don’t recognize my way of stopping a conflict? I’d rather pretend than dirty my hands—or my mouth—on people who thrive on drama."

Riley closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. Then he smiled wide and clasped his hands together in front of me.

"Forgive me! Thank goodness! I thought you were actually in a relationship with some random woman with an unclear background! I still don’t understand why she was suddenly attacked in the parking lot earlier!"

"Your only job, Riley, is to accompany her shopping—not dig into her background. Got it?"

"Yeah, but I also have the right to look out for her. I don’t want my awesome boss falling for the wrong woman! By the way, can I take her to my friend’s boutique? Their clothes aren’t too expensive. I forgot to tell you where I was taking her earlier!"

"No need. Let her choose wherever she wants. I’ve already given her my black card."

I didn’t want the conversation with Riley to drag on any longer, so I left him there, his face still in shock.

His controlling nature—and the assumption that he could have me—was another reason I was even less interested in Riley. Physically, he was perfect: a former professional model.

But when I reached the restroom door, I was met with a pair of sharp, furious eyes. Hunter was standing there, glaring at me with pure anger.

I simply nodded and walked past him, but the moment I entered, my body was suddenly shoved hard by Hunter, almost making me fall.

"How dare you humiliate my girlfriend!" Hunter shouted.

I immediately turned to face him, seeing him about to throw a punch, but I quickly blocked it.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I didn’t humiliate your girlfriend! She was the one who acted disrespectfully toward my girlfriend, Grace."

"Don’t say that name!"

Hunter swung again, but once more, I blocked him. I grabbed his fist, and his face flushed with pain from my strong grip.

"I already told you—I don’t want to resort to violence. So I suggest you stop acting like a fool and stay away from Grace. If you have a problem, say it to me directly. Understand?"

"Argh!" Hunter screamed in pain when I shoved his hand away. He then pointed at me without saying another word and stormed out of the restroom.

His nasty, arrogant attitude left me with no hesitation about ordering the CEO of his company to fire him immediately.

"Mr. Chase, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes. Remove Hunter Cole from the company today. No exceptions. I want confirmation as soon as possible!"

Grace’s POV

I was still sitting frozen on the VIP lounge sofa trying to calm my breathing. It had felt heavy since what happened in the parking lot. My hands were still shaking a little. I wasn’t sure if it was from anger, humiliation or the pain that still hadn’t fully gone away.

The door opened softly.

Riley came in first followed by a waiter pushing a trolley with breakfast. The smell of coffee and toast filled the room. It was a contrast to my still messy thoughts.

The waiter put plate after plate on the table. There were scrambled eggs, toast with melting butter, fresh fruit and two cups of coffee. Everything looked neat and fancy.

“Thank you " I said softly to the waiter.

He smiled politely before leaving. Riley and I were alone now.

Riley stood for a moment looking at me with an expression I couldn’t quite understand. There was concern there. Also something else. Something that felt like judgment.

“Are you okay?" he finally asked. "After meeting your stepsister and your ex-fiancé?”

I stiffened.

I hated the way those words sounded. Stepsister. Ex-fiancé.

They made it sound like those two people still mattered to me.

“Stop saying that " I said flatly.

Riley looked a bit surprised.

“I mean they’re not important to me " I continued, staring at the coffee cup in front of me. "They made their choices. And I made mine.”

though deep down I knew that wasn’t entirely true. The pain was still there. The wound was still open.

Suddenly the door opened again.

Chase walked in with steps. His confident aura immediately filled the room. He looked relaxed like nothing had happened a minute ago.

“What Grace said is true," he stated bluntly. "So stop talking about people who don’t matter.”

His tone was calm but firm. It left no room for argument.

I turned to look at him. There was something about the way he defended me that made my chest feel warm and uncomfortable at the time. I wasn’t used to being protected like this.

Riley didn’t look pleased. His jaw tightened a bit. His smile seemed forced.

“Fine," he said shortly. "In that case I’ll excuse myself. I have something to take care of.”

He turned quickly before I could read his expression any further.

The VIP room fell silent again after Riley’s footsteps faded away. The only sound was the clink of the spoon I moved across the plate. I hadn’t actually touched the food.

Chase pulled out the chair across from me without asking. His movements were calm and controlled as always. He took off his jacket. Hung it on the back of the chair. Then he poured coffee into his cup like he was already used to being in my space.

“Do you want me to call him back?" he asked lightly, like he could read my thoughts.

I shook my head slowly. "No need.”

He nodded, then began spreading butter on his toast with movements. It was a contrast to my messy emotions.

“You’re shaking," he said suddenly.

I looked down. I realized my fingers were still trembling slightly as I held the cup. "Just leftover adrenaline," I replied quickly.

Chase fell silent for a moment studying me with a gaze that was too sharp to ignore. "Did he touch you?”

The question caught my breath. He didn’t mention a name. I knew exactly who he meant.

“I can handle it," I answered shortly.

“That’s not an answer.”

I looked up. "What kind of answer do you want?”

“I want to know if you’re okay," he replied flatly. His voice was lower than before. More personal.

I took a breath. "He just tried to talk. Like usual. With that tone like I still owed him an explanation.”

“And your stepsister?”

I let out a humorless laugh. "Oh she enjoyed the show. As always.”

Chase set down his knife. "You don’t have to face them ”

“I’ve been doing it for years " I shot back. Maybe too quickly.

He leaned back looking at me intently. "That doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it.”

His words lingered in the air. They were warm but also frightening. I had learned that relying on someone else would only make me fall harder.

“I’m not fragile " I said softly.

“I never said you were," he replied. "You’re strong. Too strong, maybe. To the point you forget you’re human too.”

I fell silent.

He pushed the plate of toast toward me. "Eat. You haven’t touched anything.”

I stared at the scrambled eggs. Thin steam was still rising. The soft scent of butter should have been comforting. My stomach felt empty for reasons that had nothing to do with hunger.

“Are you always like this?" I suddenly asked.

“Like what?”

Grace’s POV

“Taking over situations. Defending someone without being asked.”

Chase smiled a little. "Not always.”

“Why now?”

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes got something I rarely saw. "Because I don’t like seeing someone on my side being treated unfairly.”

On my side.

Those two words made my heart beat faster.

“I don’t need a savior," I said. My voice wasn’t as strong as I wanted.

“I know," he said. "I’m just offering to be on your side.”

Being on my side sounded safer than being a protector. More equal.

We sat in silence for a bit. You could only hear people breathing and chairs scraping. Outside the world was probably moving on like usual.. In this room everything felt more intense.

“Riley," I said suddenly. "Aren’t you having breakfast with us?”

He paused. Didn’t turn around.

“No. I don’t feel like eating," he said shortly. "I have some things to do.”

Without waiting for a response he left.

The room was silent.

I took a breath and looked at the table in front of me. It felt strange. Yesterday my life fell apart. Now I was sitting in a fancy café lounge having breakfast with a man I just met.

Chase sat across from me lifting his coffee cup easily.

“Don’t think about him," he said lightly, like he could read my mind. "Riley is like that.”

“I’m not thinking about him,” I said quickly. Maybe too quickly.

Chase raised an eyebrow. Didn’t say anything.

He pushed a plate of toast toward me. "Eat. You haven’t eaten since night.”

I wanted to say no. My stomach growled softly.

My face got hot.

Chase smiled a little. Not mocking. More like happy that he was right.

I took the toast. Bit into it slowly. It was warm and soft. For the time since last night I realized how hungry I was.

We ate in silence for a minute.

The silence didn’t feel weird.

“Why are you doing all this?" I asked, looking at him. "Defending me. Saying you’re my boyfriend.”

Chase put down his cup calmly.

“Because I don’t like seeing people get trampled on," he said. "Especially someone who should be stronger.”

My heart beat faster.

“I’m not that weak," I muttered.

“I know," he said quickly. ". Even strong people need time to stand up again.”

His words made me silent.

Night I almost jumped off a bridge.

The man sitting in front of me was the reason I was still alive.

I looked at him longer than I should have. There was sadness in his eyes. Something dark. He wasn’t a rich man who liked helping others.

He had wounds too.

I turned my face away before he noticed how scattered my thoughts were.

“Do you always save strangers in the middle of the night?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

Chase leaned back in his chair. "No.”

“So I’m the exception?”

He looked at me directly. "You didn’t look like someone who wanted to die.”

That answer caught my breath.

“Funny, l" I murmured softly. "Because at night I almost did.”

He didn’t respond. His eyes weren’t judgmental.. Were they shocked? Like he already knew.

“I know," he said finally.

I frowned. "How?”

“You were standing close to the railing " he said calmly. "Someone who just wants to enjoy the view doesn’t stand like that. Your shoulders were tense. Your breathing was unstable.. Your eyes," He paused. "Your eyes were empty.”

I didn’t like how he read me.

I looked down at the remaining piece of toast in my hand. "You observed me that closely?”

“I’m used to noticing things," he said.

“Why?”

He was silent enough that I thought he wouldn’t answer. Eventually he said quietly, "Because once I didn’t pay enough attention.”

His tone changed. It got heavier.

I slowly looked up. "What do you mean?”

Chase rotated his coffee cup without drinking from it. "Someone once stood on an edge like that too. I didn’t see the signs until it was too late.”

His words fell softly. They felt like stones hitting my chest.

“Someone important?" I asked carefully.

He gave a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Very.”

I didn’t know what to say. For the time since I met him the strong impression that always clung to him cracked a little. He wasn’t a confident man, with a dominant aura. He was someone who had lost someone.

“I’m sorry," I said instinctively.

“It wasn’t your fault.”