"What are you doing here, Jordan?" Jada Sampson, the top beauty of Cranix City, asked a man who looked just like Simon as she entered the lounge where she was supposed to meet someone else.
Simon's lookalike has well-groomed dark hair, blue eyes, and a handsome face like one of the Greek gods.
He was dressed in the latest, customised shirt, trousers, shoes, and accessories that cost more than ten million dollars altogether.
Without standing up from where he was lounging, he sent off the girl currently rubbing up against him as he said, "Come on, Jada, don't look like that. I wanted to see you. You've been avoiding me. I had to do something," he said with a shrug.
Jada flipped her strawberry blond hair behind her as she tried so hard not to show her anger.
She was a gorgeous five-foot-seven-inch lady with appropriate curves in all the right places and when she smiled, a dimple always appeared in her heart-shaped face.
But it was nowhere to be seen at that moment as she leaned forward with her mouth tightened. "Mr. Yoshida is not really coming to meet me here, is he?"
With a carefree shrug, Jordan answered, "No, it's just you and me, sweetheart. I told him to set up the meeting with you. This way, I won't have to show up at your home and have you escape me again."
"Escape...What is wrong with you? I needed this... I need this. Why would you...?" Jada stopped and tried to rein in her anger.
She had always been considered reasonable, but the few times she had let go of her temper had not been pleasant, and she knew she couldn't do that now.
She might be technically betrothed to the Kanes and her family was termed the third-richest family in Cranix, but still, her parents' status in the Sampson family was low.
And while she was still trying to do something about that, going against the Kanes would be a very bad idea.
Ruining things would just give her grandma the excuse she needed to kick them out of the family faster and Jada wouldn't be able to live with herself if she was the cause of that.
Trying so hard not to sneer at Jordan's arrogant face, Jada tamped down her frustration and said, "Why would you do that? That meeting is important to me."
"Which you can still have, Jada. You know I won't deny you that. Here, come sit. You are looking even more beautiful today."
Jada knew she looked professional in her peach-coloured peplum dress with maroon-heeled shoes and bag. She had deliberately accessorised it with her pearl necklace and earrings, which improved her understated yet elegant look.
She was expecting to impress Mr. Yoshida with her looks and her proposal so she could get the international contract that would help increase her status in the family.
Now, Jordan had to ruin it for her!
"What do you want?" She said tightly as she kept her bag on the table, away from the wine the waiter was setting up.
"Nothing much, Jada. You don't think I will let you miss out on your meeting with Yoshida, do you? No, I will call him back soon enough, and you can have your meeting."
Jada almost had an idea what this was about, but still, she asked, "What do you want?"
Jordan rolled his eyes slightly and said, "You know what we need to talk about, Jada. Our family had an agreement. It is a sensible one. I don't see why you are being so stubborn about it."
"I am not against the agreement our family has. Believe me, I heard enough of it growing up that I cannot forget it even if I try, but the fact remains that I was not betrothed to you. I was, and I am still betrothed to your brother. Why are you not getting that?"
"Why will everyone not stop talking about him?" Jordan snapped as he thumped his fist against the table.
The bottle and glasses rattled and Jada was startled by the sudden outburst.
Looking away from her, Jordan took in some deep breaths and, for a moment, it seemed like his hands shook before he turned back to her with that charming smile he could put on when he wanted.
"You know he is already dead by now. You have a betrothal to him. He is my twin. He is not here. I am. It only makes sense that you and I will be together," he said in a patronising tone that set Jada's teeth on edge.
Still, she fixed a sweet smile as she said, "No, I don't think so. It makes no sense to me at all. In fact, what I don't understand the most is why you want to be betrothed to me when you have many girls swimming around you, just like the one who just left. You know you don't like me that way, so what exactly is this all about?" she asked sincerely.
She was beginning to think that there must really be more to it. Maybe knowing the real reason would help her get him to finally understand that they couldn't be together.
She had been a kid when she got betrothed to Jarvis, but even back then she had liked him more than she liked Jordan.
Jarvis had always looked out for her, while Jordan had always tricked her into making a fool of herself. She had even gotten hurt from one of his pranks back then and gotten a scar.
Though she really was not interested in talking about marriage with anyone now that she was still trying to help her family gain their footing, she somehow knew she wouldn't have minded it much if it was Jarvis.
She had heard things about Jordan and even though it might seem silly, she somehow knew that Jarvis was not dead.
He was just...somewhere far.
So, she needed to get Jordan off her back, and since he was turning out to be more and more unpredictable by the day, she needed not to make him an enemy either.
"Is Uncle and Aunt asking you to settle down? If that's the reason for all this, you can let me know, and I can try to set you up with...
"You think I need your help with girls?" he said with a sneer. Then he sighed and moved closer to her on the wraparound couch.
Jada allowed him to hold her hand and smiled patiently as he said, "You are the one I want. How can you even know that I don't like you like that when you won't stop thinking about a ghost?"
"He is not a ghost," Jada gritted out. Then, with a frown, she added, "Is he not your brother? Are you not supposed to be concerned that he has been missing all these years and anything could happen to him?"
Jordan scoffed as he said, "I am concerned. I am concerned that he is dead, and you all just won't accept it. I keep hearing Mom talking about it. I keep seeing Dad wishing I was the one who got lost. I keep..."
"Uncle will never say that," Jada said as she gently pulled her hands out of his.
He flung his arms behind the couch and said, "Sure, he wouldn't say it out loud, but he wishes it. Just like you also wish he was the one here right now. I bet you wouldn't reject him if he were the one here. Which means you wouldn't mind if I was also the dead..."
Jada stood up immediately.
"You know what? I think this conversation is over. Stop pulling this kind of stunt, okay? I will reach out to Mr. Yoshida again, and I hope you won't try to mess it up for me again this time."
When he said nothing, she said urgently, "Please, this is important to me."
He sighed and said, "Fine, I don't know why you go to men like him anyway when I could have just..."
"I don't need your help!" Jada said urgently, then quickly reduced her tone, "I mean, I would like to do this myself. It is really important to me."
"Fine," Jordan said with a shrug, and she quickly took her leave.
Just as she stepped out of the lounge, a man who had sat far from them with his back turned away came to meet Jordan.
"You see what dad always says? Even she wouldn't have you, just as your parents do not want you either. If you don't get her to marry you and get her family backing, when your father finally cuts you off, you will be worse than the poorest family in Cranix.
"Shut up, will you?!" Jordan snapped as he swept the drink off the table with one swipe of his hand and everything went crashing.
Breathing heavily, he looked back at the man whose face was shadowed by his low-brimmed hat and asked, "Do you have some?"
"Of course, I always have some for you, cousin," the man said with a chuckle.
Then he took out a syringe and another substance.