Lemira burst into laughter the moment she heard Asher’s question.

“What’s so funny, Lemira?”

Seeing her mocking smirk made Asher’s blood boil instantly.

Lemira crossed her arms, her tone completely dismissive. “You know exactly why I’m laughing. Stella doesn’t like you. Nothing you do now is going to change that.”

“Lemira, I know you’re her best friend, but you need to think about her future. I’m the only one who can truly give her happiness.”

“Oh, please! What do you mean you’re the only one who can give her happiness? Meeting you was the absolute worst luck of her life.”

Asher’s expression darkened. “I know I was in the wrong before, but my hands were tied. You know Stella’s situation. Aside from me, every other guy who approaches

her is just after her money. Who else would respect her the way I do?”

“Respect her? You’re the last person on earth who gets to use that word.”

Lemira was furious just listening to his arrogant delusion. She didn’t even want to waste another breath on him.

But Asher refused to back down. “Lemira, as her friend, shouldn’t you be looking out for her best interests? I plan on making it up to her. Once the company starts turning a profit, I’ll pay her back every single cent.”

Lemira reached out, snatched the bouquet of flowers from his hands, and threw it forcefully onto the pavement.

“What the hell are you doing, Lemira?”

“Mr. Langston, do you honestly think you’re the smartest guy in the room? You think you can hurt people, slap on a fake apology, utter a few sweet nothings, and just sweep it all under the rug?”

Lemira looked at him with pure disgust. “You people haven’t changed one bit.”

“Then what do you expect me to do to make her accept me again?”

Asher stared at her, genuinely frustrated. “I have real feelings for Stella. She’s a good woman, and I’ve already made up my mind to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her. Plus, I’m a decent catch. I’ve never messed around with other women.”

Since he had used her money, he felt he had a duty to take responsibility for her.

Lemira rolled her eyes hard. “Do you seriously think Stella needs your pity? She already has someone she likes, and he’s a million times better than you’ll ever be.”

With that, Lemira turned on her heel and walked away.

She found it utterly humiliating to be related to someone like him.

How could the Langston family be so shameless? They committed despicable acts and then demanded forgiveness, acting as if they were taking the high road by admitting their mistakes.

It was nauseating.

The more Lemira thought about it, the angrier she got. Even her excitement about grilling Stella for gossip had somewhat evaporated.

She almost felt too embarrassed to even face Stella now.

Thank God Asher had bumped into her instead of Stella, otherwise it would have caused a massive, humiliating public scene.

Frustrated, Lemira fired off a text to Orion, venting about the entire encounter.

She typed out an exasperated message: “Is there any way to stop Asher from embarrassing himself like this?”

Orion had just arrived at the office and was heading into a meeting.

He glanced at the message, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

He sent back a quick voice note: “Having a rival around might actually be exactly

what those two need to push their relationship forward.”

Lemira listened to the audio and realized he had a point.

She typed back: “Does that guy like Stella too?”

“He’s just the brooding type. If he didn’t care about her, why would he come crawling back to be her bodyguard?”

Orion knew his former classmate

well enough. The rugged

ex-mercenary wasn’t the type to ever

utter sweet nothings, but it was

painfully obvious that stella held a

significant place in his heart.

Since Stella was currently in a vulnerable position, this was the perfect opportunity for them.

Lemira found Orion’s logic sound. She didn’t know the full history between them, but

if Orion was confident about it, it was practically a sure thing.

Even though seeing Asher harass Stella was infuriating and frankly embarrassing, if his pathetic attempts could act as a catalyst get Stella and her bodyguard together, then at least the Langston family was good for something.

Lemira went straight to her classroom.

Janice leaned in, her eyes shining with gossip. “Did you know Stella has a ridiculously handsome bodyguard following her around?”

“Yeah, I heard.”

Janice continued excitedly, “He

dresses super casually, but with that

physique and that face, you could tell people he was a runway model and they’d believe it. He looks like an A-list movie novie star who got toston 1 way to a shoot!”

Janice’s vivid description immediately reignited Lemira’s curiosity. She had only caught a glimpse of his profile and his back, but she hadn’t seen him face-to-face.