Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl

Chapter 1196NôvelDrama.Org owns this.

Esther never expected to run into James here. She remembered he was supposed to deal with matters at work

Seeing his tense demeanor, Esther quickly stood up. "Why are you here?"

"I happened to be passing by, but I didn't expect to see you guys here," James said, looking at her as his tension eased.

Esther chuckled awkwardly. "It's about what happened before. He saved me, so I wanted to treat him to dinner."

James shifted his gaze to Finnegan. "Didn't we agree to take him out to dinner together?"

Esther's voice softened, sounding more distressed. "But every time I asked you, you said you were busy, so I figured I wouldn't bother you this time and just treat him myself."

Just as James was about to get upset, he suddenly remembered he had been busy lately and neglected her. His gaze softened. "I'm sorry, I've been a little distant lately, and I haven't taken care of your feelings." Given James's character, Esther thought he would usually be sarcastic and critical. She was prepared for a scolding, but seeing his soft gaze, she was momentarily speechless.

"I understand. I'll give you a heads-up next time," Esther admitted her mistake.

James didn't interrogate her further. He wasn't worried about her. His only concern was Finnegan, a man with uncertain intentions toward Esther. His feelings for her were so obvious that he had to be on guard.

"By the way, since you're already here, let's have dinner together." Esther warmly invited James to sit beside her.

The atmosphere turned awkward with the three of them at the same table.

Esther looked at Finnegan and James, exchanging awkward glances. She suddenly felt that treating Finnegan to dinner was a wrong decision. She should have just given him a gift.

"Alright, let's eat. What are you waiting for?" she said.

James didn't retort. Instead, Finnegan spoke first. "The food on the table is almost finished."

Esther realized that she had eaten most of the food, her face turning red. "Uh... Then I'll order some more." James stopped her as soon as she was about to get the waiter. "I've eaten. You don't have to order more." Esther paused, not knowing what to do next.

James cleared his throat and said solemnly, "Since you guys are done with dinner, I'll take Esther home now."

Finnegan didn't object.

Seeing he was cooperating, James didn't want to push further. He stood up, took Esther's hand, and left.

As they sat in the car, the atmosphere felt heavy. Esther tried to roll down the window, but the car suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop the car?"

Before Esther could react, James leaned in and kissed her hard. It felt like he was showing his anger through the kiss, making Esther feel dizzy.

After ten minutes, James pulled back and saw Esther's tearful eyes and swollen lips, feeling a bit guilty." Sorry, I didn't mean to do that."