Ilse didn’t know how to react at hearing the billionaire speak of names that should only have mattered toher.He knew. He knew.But if she thought that was the worst, she was wrong.
“Ilse—-” And when she looked up at him, he said flatly, “I knoweverything.”
And she knew he was talking about Jan.
“My boss has a b-big mouth.”He knew, he knew.The realization made her feel exposed and vulnerable, and Ilse was at a loss. So what now? Where did they go from here?
“Ilse—-”
She knew she should look at him, but she couldn’t. Just his tone alone told her what he intended to speak of, and she really didn’t want to hear it.
“When we were apart, I tried my damnedest to forget—-”
She cut him off, saying his name unevenly. “Jaak.” Without meeting his eyes, she said, “I know, too.” When he didn’t say anything right away, she made herself look up, not wanting him to think she was blaming him. “And I get it. You didn’t owe me anything. We weren’t—-”
That she was trying to find a way to stop him from feeling bad made the billionaire’s jaw tighten.God.He didn’t really deserve her at all. “I’m sorry.” Harsh regret underlined his tone.
“It’s okay.” She tried to make a joke of it, saying, “If I could, I w-would’ve done the same.” But the way her voice trembled made everything a lie.
“No.” The billionaire’s smile was grim. “You wouldn’t have.” Her pain-clouded eyes clashed with his, and he asked hoarsely, “And do you know why that is?”
She shook her head.
“Because the woman I love...”
Ilse stared at him in shock.
“—-isn’t the kind to be as weak as I had been.”
“J-Jaak...” Her voice came out a choked whisper.
His hands shook as he carefully tucked the loose strands of her hair behind her ears. “The woman I love wouldn’t have been an idiot.”
Ilse almost swayed on her feet. “W-what are you saying?”
But he only looked at her, saying without speaking that she knew – they both knew she knew what he had said.
“I was there the whole time, you know.” His voice was deliberately casual, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes at all. At her bemused look, he said, “When Issac spoke to you—-”
Ilse stumbled to a stop, thinking that she might never get used to the billionaire speaking of names that should have been buried in the past. “I don’t understand.”
“I was there,” he said flatly, “when he called you ethereal.”
“What?”
“I heard him all the way to the end, when he told you he would break off his engagement, no matter what.”
“Oh my God.”Ilse shook her head dazedly. “I can’t believe you were there the entire time.”
“You probably didn’t notice,” he murmured, “because you were too shocked at seeing your first love.”
She choked and laughed, but she didn’t say a word. She might be reeling right now, but she wasn’t stupid, and she refused to take the bait even though she knew what the billionaire wanted to hear was most likely the truth was well.
Issac was not her first love.
But if he wanted to hear that, he only had to ask.
The reproachful look Ilse gave him made the billionaire grimace, and he didn’t even think of pretending he didn’t understand why she was looking at him that way. “I’m sorry.”
