After the divorce he begged novel Chapter 276

Chapter 276

Chapter 276

Buzz, buzz, buzz…

Rebecca’s phone started ringing.

When she saw it was Jessica calling, Rebecca pushed all her questions aside and made up an excuse. “Jessica’s calling. I’ll go take this.”

“Okay,” lan replied, his tone as relaxed as ever.

Rebecca grabbed her phone and hurried out.

The moment the door shut behind her, Ian, barely keeping his cool, whipped out his phone and started angrily spamming Jessica with messages.

[Are you out of your freaking mind?!]

[Did you seriously have to ruin my big moment right now?]

[Just because I forgot to tell you once, you pull this crap on me?!]

Ian was so furious that he was practically pounding the screen with his thumbs, wishing he could smash right through it, find Jessica, and give her a good beating.

Jessica didn’t even bother to check his messages. She was watching a movie, her phone beside her as she chatted with Rebecca. “How have you been lately?”

“It’s been pretty fulfilling,” Rebecca replied.

“Are

you not really free to talk right now?” Jessica asked, noticing Rebecca’s voice sounded a bit quiet.

Rebecca was sitting in her master bedroom. “Yeah, I’m free. I can talk.”

Jessica teased, “Then why do you sound like you’re sneaking around with someone?”

Rebecca gave her a deadpan look. “Have you ever snuck around behind someone’s back?”

“Ms. Jensen, just so you know, normal people would be too guilty to even respond to that,” Jessica teased, easily seeing through her. “But you’re turning it back on me, which always means you’re hiding something.”

Rebecca was at a loss for words.

She awkwardly cleared her throat. “Is it really that obvious?”

Jessica munched on a piece of fruit. “Trust me, it’s written all over your face.”

Rebecca fell silent.

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Chapter 276

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Before today, Rebecca had always assumed Ian had a thing for Jessica. The way those two were constantly teasing and bickering–it was classic bickering couple energy.

Yeah, Ian had told her ages ago that he was into guys, but Rebecca had just chalked it up to him trying to throw Jessica off the scent. ‘No way that’s true,‘ she’d always thought. ‘I’ve never seen him even remotely close with any guy after all these years.

Well, except for that so–called “rumored boyfriend” he had back in high school.

“What’s taking you so long to spill? Jessica totally forgot about her movie–her gossipy side was on fire.”

Rebecca said, straight up, “Ian told me he likes me.”

Jessica just asked, “And then?”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, you’re not even a little surprised?”

Jessica was cool as ever. “What’s so surprising about that?”

Rebecca hesitated, a sudden suspicion forming in her mind. ‘Hold on… wait, you actually knew about this?‘

Jessica just shrugged. “Of course I did.”

“Seriously, when did you figure it out?” Rebecca pressed her.

Jessica replied, “It wasn’t that long ago–honestly, I only found out after you got married. Ian really knew how to keep a secret!”

‘Before that, there wasn’t a single doubt in Rebecca’s mind—Ian was definitely gay,’ she thought.

‘And what happened?‘ Rebecca mused to herself.

‘Damn, he really had everyone fooled,’ Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

Rebecca felt a swirl of complicated emotions she couldn’t even name. She’d honestly considered every possibility out there, but it never once occurred to her that Ian actually had feelings for her–everyone always shipped him with Jessica way harder than with her.

“Seriously, don’t let it weigh on you,” Jessica told her. “Ian’s got a thick skin, you know how he is—he’s not the type to take these things to heart. Even if you turn him down, he’ll bounce right back. Just follow your heart and do what feels right.”

At lunchtime, the vibe at the table was seriously off.

The vibe at the table was seriously off.

Rebecca sat next to Samuel, with Ian right across from her.

Amelia could sense something weird going on between Rebecca and Ian, but she just shrugged it off, chalking

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Chapter 276

:

it up to typical drama between the younger folks.

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After lunch, Rebecca had finally made up her mind. She followed Ian into the study, lips pressed tight as she hesitated before speaking. “Ian…”

“Hold up–not yet!” Ian jumped in, cutting her off before she could finish.

Rebecca froze, a little stunned by his interruption.

Ian leaned back, his face as chill as ever. “Let me take a wild guess. You’re about to reject me, right?”

“Yeah,” Rebecca admitted with a nod.

“Looking this good, you never even felt a spark?” Ian leaned in, cocky grin and all.

Rebecca was honest. “I’ve always just seen you as a friend.”

Ian just shrugged it off, totally unfazed. “Guess my charm just wasn’t enough for you.”

“It’s not you, really,” Rebecca said, wanting to soften the blow. “It’s just how I am—once I label someone in my mind, that’s kind of set for life.”

Rebecca just wasn’t the kind of person who caught feelings easily.

The only one who ever managed to break through was Jeffrey. He crashed into her life, throwing all his feelings right at her–admiring her, loving her, saying it straight out and never holding back.

Little by little, his passion melted her heart–a heart that had never really budged before. Eventually, she accepted him, liked him, loved him, and let him into her world for good.

But something like that is a once–in–a–lifetime thing.

Even after she divorced Jeffrey, there just wasn’t space for anyone else. No one else could ever fit in her world.

“What if we’d always played house as kids?” Ian teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “If every time I saw you, I announced I was gonna marry you someday–do you think we’d have ended up different?”

Rebecca shot back, “No point sugarcoating a life we never lived.” She didn’t let herself fall for hypotheticals. “Honestly, we probably would’ve just argued nonstop and ended up not even friends.”

Ian stopped for a second, mulling it over.

After a brief pause, he nodded. “Yeah, good point.”

Rebecca had always been the mature one in their group. If Ian had actually spent their childhood declaring he wanted to marry her, she probably would’ve just thought he was some annoying little kid and rolled her eyes at him every time.

“Ian.” Rebecca spoke with her usual seriousness. “Thanks for your feelings, but I really am sorry.”

“Hey, don’t

get

all dramatic on me!” Ian said, flashing his trademark smirk. “Honestly, I ought to thank you for

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Chapter 276

turning me down.”

“Hm?” Rebecca looked puzzled.

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“If you didn’t reject me, I’d probably still be hung up on you for another ten years,” Ian admitted, trying to keep things easy for her, not wanting her to feel guilty. “To be honest, sometimes I can’t even tell if it was love or just an old obsession I’ve dragged along all these years.”

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