Heartstrings on Fire novel Chapter 999

Agnes was utterly flummoxed. It was as if she hadn't quite woken up from a dream. Jared had commandeered her every breath in a domineering kiss. The more she squirmed, the tighter his grip became. In a final act of defiance, Agnes bit down hard on Jared's tongue. Only then did she see a flicker of lucidity in his hazy eyes. The desire in Jared's gaze slowly dissipated, and he released her.

Agnes shoved him away with all her might, scrambling up until her back hit the corner of the room. Her clothes were a crumpled mess. Quickly turning her back, she attempted to straighten them out as best as she could. When she faced him again, Jared was just sitting there, watching her. Despite the early hour, he still radiated an aura charged with pheromones. Yet, his eyes held a trace of dissatisfaction and silent reproach, as if accusing her of unjustly ascribing to him a lascivious nature.

Once she was decent, Agnes got out of bed and warned, "Jared, I'm telling you, if you pull something like this again, I'm calling the cops for sexual harassment."

Jared wore a look of wounded innocence. "I thought I was dreaming. How was I to know it was real?"

"You're full of excuses," Agnes retorted, not buying his story for a second.

"I'm not making excuses. It's just... these dreams happen often, and I got confused for a moment," Jared said, his shamelessness making the excuse sound almost plausible.

Agnes was livid. "You're not allowed to have those kinds of dreams," she seethed, shocked that they were a regular occurrence for him.

Jared just gazed at her solemnly. "Can anyone really control their dreams?"

Agnes was speechless. But she was truly rattled first thing in the morning. Especially with Jared sitting there in the buff, looking like the epitome of temptation. She had almost succumbed to the allure. This man, it had to be intentional.

Agnes turned on her heel. "I'm leaving. You can stay here and keep dreaming big."

Jared called after her, "When will you come back?"

"What for? To serve myself up on a platter for you to toy with?" Agnes shot back.

"Fine, then go," Jared said, turning away as if he too was slighted.

Looking at him now, Jared seemed as fickle as a child, capricious in his emotions. Agnes frowned but left nonetheless. Yet she couldn't shake off her concern. Jared couldn't just stay home indefinitely; that wasn't a solution. But he claimed he was tired, in need of rest. Agnes conceded that running a vast business empire over the years must have been exhausting. So she decided to let him rest for a while.

Agnes herself wallowed for a few days but eventually pulled herself together. She had to. Life had to go on. She still had to navigate the delicate balance between Ryder and Jared. In her inquiries, she learned that Ryder was now hospitalized. His arm injury had worsened since the last incident. Alyssa had returned from the Capital and had him admitted to the hospital. There were whispers about Ryder usurping the presidency of the Tim Group, but Alyssa kept mum. Even in Ryder's presence, she didn't mention a soul. Previously, she had vehemently opposed Ryder's ambitions for the Tim Group. She had even gone to Cilian to have him stripped of his position as Managing Director of the Thomas Group, cutting off his support. Yet, Ryder still managed to reach this point with bewildering speed. His capacity for intrigue and scheming was beyond even his mother's expectations. With things this far gone, there was little she could do. Now, her greatest worry was the state of these two men.