?<strong>Chapter 303:</strong>


    When Lara barged in, Joelle let out a moan. Hearing the sound, Lara rushed inside without hesitation. “Bitch! How dare you try to steal my man!”


    Just before Lara appeared, Joelle quickly pulled the nket over her head. This helpless disy only fueled Lara’s rage. “You’ve got some nerve! Today, I’m going to see exactly who you are!” Jonathan turned to her, his face dark. “Get out.”


    Feeling wronged, Lara whined, “Jonathan!”


    “Can’t you see I’m busy?”


    Lara’s face contorted in anger. “Busy with what? I’m your fiancée, and you’re here with another woman?”


    “You act like this is the first time you’re meeting me.” Jonathan smirked. “Even if you were my wife, I’d still be with someone else when you’re not around. I have my own needs.”


    Hidden under the nket, Joelle considered herself lucky that this man was not her husband. She knew she wouldn’t havested even a year with him.


    Lara was seething with rage. Yet, in her intense anger, she somehow found the strength to remain calm. “Jonathan, since I’m here, it’s time for this bitch to leave.”


    Jonathan examined Lara from head to toe and replied, “You’re not as beautiful as she is. Go away. I’m not up for dealing with both of you today.”


    It seemed to Joelle that she could actually hear the sound of a heart shattering. Lara immediately burst into tears. After being humiliated like that, there was no way she could stay. When she finally left, Joelle hesitantly peeked out from under the nket, meeting Jonathan’s gaze.


    “May I go now?” she asked.


    “No.”


    “Why not?”


    Jonathan had been honest earlier. Joelle truly was more attractive and graceful than Lara. He had witnessed her performances. Her smile always radiated warmth.


    Suddenly, Joelle found herself forcefully held down by him. There she was, on the ursed bed, in the middle of the day. “I’ve changed my mind. Let’s make this real.”


    Joelle clenched her teeth. “In your dreams!”


    “I’m not interested in dreaming. I want to be with you.” He whispered “you” into her ear.


    Feelingpletely vited and enraged, Joelle tried to push him off, but he didn’t move an inch. “I have two kids already! Are you really that desperate?” Jonathan’s grin widened. “I’ve heard your husband has been away for a while. You must need this more than I do, right?”


    Joelle scoffed, “Don’t tter yourself.”


    Just as Jonathan was about to kiss her, Joelle eximed, “Gina has fooled you.”


    This revtion halted Jonathan, his expression turning to one of bewilderment. Despite being in such a vulnerable state, Joelle remainedposed. “You received that ring on your finger from Gina, didn’t you? I’m certain she stole it from me.”


    Jonathan was adamant about not letting this usation stand. He tightened his grip on Joelle’s neck. “Do you understand the consequences if you’re lying to me?”


    Unintimidated by his threat, Joelle replied, “There’s no reason for me to lie. Remember when I saved you? You had a stab wound on your chest. That scar is still there, isn’t it?”


    Jonathan narrowed his eyes, considering if Joelle was telling the truth. For many years, Joelle had shared these details with a lot of people, believing she was simply performing a good deed without expecting anything in return from the person she helped. However, if she couldn’t prove her innocence now, Gina would destroy her.


    “What else do you know?”


    Noticing his uncertainty, Joelle gradually sat up. “The ring, the scar, I’ve talked about these before, so it’s no surprise that Gina knows them too. But there’s something I’ve never told anyone. You’re your father’s illegitimate child, aren’t you?”


    She maintained a steady gaze, although her upbringing forbade her from using such blunt words with someone whose name she barely knew. “When I brought you to the hospital, I identally overheard a conversation about your background. To keep you safe, I arranged for my family’s bodyguards to watch over you at the hospital. Later, I learned that your family came and took you away.”


    Jonathan’s past was something he couldn’t change. His mother was merely a brief affair for his father. Throughout his childhood, he never had a father figure. That changed when his father appeared one day, eager to take him back and pass on the family heirloom ring. It was then he discovered that the legitimate heirs of the Tan family were either deceased or unfit to inherit, prompting his father to remember him.


    His father’s legitimate wife, however, strongly objected. Jonathan first met Joelle just days before his departure to Bristania, while he was being hunted. After moving to Bristania, he managed to erase all the blemishes from his past. This remained a secret. Yet, Joelle was aware, even though she didn’t know his name.


    Jonathan managed a faint smile, filled with both relief and fatigue from disclosing a long-kept secret. “I finally found you.”


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