No Escape from Love

"Oh... It's nothing." I awkwardly turned my head away.

"Nothing?" Alex didn't buy it. He reached out, placing his hand gently on my forehead. "You're not running a fever."

The simple gesture made my already burning cheeks feel even hotter.

"M-Maybe it's the alcohol! Yeah, that's probably it!" I stammered.

Alex raised a skeptical brow but didn't press further. Instead, he took the champagne glass from my hand and replaced it with a glass of orange juice. "Your tolerance is terrible. From now on, no drinking at events."

When the gala finally ended, I was relieved to retreat back to my comfort zone.

...noveldrama

On Monday morning, I walked into the office holding the box with the necklace, only to run straight into Jolene. Her pale face and exhausted eyes told me she hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days.

"Serena," she hissed, her teeth practically grinding together as she spat out my name. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?" I frowned, confused.

"The subsidiary reports weren't urgent at all," Jolene sneered, her eyes brimming with venom. "You seduced Mr. Hastings so he'd take you to the gala and leave me here to pull all-nighters, didn't you?"

I stared at her, stunned by the absurdity of her accusation. "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you honestly think Mr. Hastings is the type of man I could manipulate?"

Unconvinced, Jolene stepped closer, her hostility palpable. "Don't play dumb. Then why did Mr. Hastings make me do those pointless reports?"

I arched a brow, meeting her glare head-on. "Are you seriously asking me that? Shouldn't you know better than anyone why Mr. Hastings gave you that task?"

Her face turned ghostly white as I exposed her doings. Then, it flushed crimson with anger and

embarrassment. But her antics

didn't end there. Jolene took a net

step forward and shoved me."You must have gone crying to Mr.

Hastings!"

I wasn't prepared for her sudden push. Stumbling, I lost my grip on the box, and the necklace tumbled to the ground.

I remembered Alex mentioning that the necklace was a high-end piece and likely worth a fortune. Panicking, I rushed to retrieve it, but Jolene beat me to it.

"You still claim you didn't seduce Mr. Hastings? Then why do you have this?" she shouted, clutching the necklace tightly.

"I needed something appropriate for the gala. Mr. Hastings lent it to me. Now, give

it back I need to return it to him," I explained, trying to stay calm.

"Liar!" Jolene's voice rose, her grip tightening around the necklace. "This isn't just any necklace. It belonged to Mr. Hastings' late

mother. Before she passed, she told him it was meant for his future wife!"

Her words left me frozen in shock. My mind went blank for a moment before a storm of thoughts and realizations hit me all at once.

No wonder Xena had instantly recognized me as Alex's date at the gala. That necklace it carried so much meaning.

Thinking back, at least ten people had commented on it during the gala, yet I had been too oblivious to connect the dots.

A wave of regret and confusion washed over me. My legs felt rooted to the ground as I stared at Jolene in disbelief.

"You're still claiming Mr. Hastings lent this to you?" Jolene stepped closer, her voice a mix of anger and anguish "This necklace has been kept under lock and key. Even as the head office assistant, I didn't know about it until recently. There's no way he'd just hand it overto

anyone!"

Her words swirled in my mind, stirring questions I wasn't ready to face. I stood

there, paralyzed, unsure of what to think or say.

"Say something!" Jolene demanded, giving me another shove.