Chapter 342

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«You asked for it! Don't overestimate your worth. We only require you to entertain guests with drinks. However, you dare to reach for the stars! Jemma scoffed. "Can someone like you really expect a meteoric rise?"

If Melissa hadn't made such a colossal mistake and aspired to reach great heights, how could she have incurred such a large loss?

In his line of work, he couldn't afford to cross paths with high rollers. Even if Jarrod behaved this way, they had to maintain a façade of obsequiousness.

Looking at Melissa's innocent face, Jemma scoffed, "If you follow him, you'll be even more miserable than you are here."

Why would a man accustomed to resting next to lifeless bodies every day allow himself to be influenced by an inconsequential and impoverished extra?

Melissa was forcibly escorted away by security personnel.

Jemma stared at Jarrod's handsome face. He was undeniably attractive, but the disturbing rumors surrounding him gave her chills. Shaking her head, she hurried away as if a ghost was chasing her.

It was late at night when Jarrod left the club.

His steps were unsteady, and he swayed, navigating the world in a daze.

Leaning against his car, Jarrod lit a cigarette and dialed Alec's number. "Come find me." I needed to come home and be with Nicole.

After ending the call, he looked at the sky. The moon hung round and bright, like the night Nicole had left.

Then, out of nowhere, something happened.

A slender silhouette appeared and glided towards the luxurious blue car parked next to the entrance.

Jarrod's tall, statuesque body tensed, and the cigarette between his lips plummeted. That face. That face.

Jarrod lunged forward like a cheetah in the dead of night.

The blue luxury car roared and sped away, with Jarrod in pursuit.

Jarrod was far from sober. If he was, he would have noticed that the car wasn't speeding away, almost as if it were mocking him.

Every time hope seemed within reach, the car sped away.

Finally, Jarrod's strength waned and he collapsed to the ground, his knees supporting the weight.

Struggling to put his hand on the pavement, he tried to get up, but the deluge of alcohol-induced hallucinations clouded his mind with countless ghosts.

The blue car stopped.

As the door opened, a pair of long, thin legs, clad in black heels, descended and approached Jarrod.

The black heels stopped before Jarrod.

Jarrod remained with his face pressed to the ground. He raised his gaze slightly, running from the slender legs to the woman's captivating face.

“Nicole!” Jarrod let out a single scream, refraining from another.

He shook his head vigorously as if trying to figure out if it was a mirage or reality. Was the woman he saw now Nicole?

It had been five years since Jarrod had dreamed about Nicole. Nicole had been very cruel, refusing to appear in his dreams even once.

Jarrod's posture resembled that of a supplicant kneeling at the woman's feet.

Her seductive crimson lips parted and closed. "Jarrod."

The voice was familiar. Jarrod's eyes filled with instant crimson.

With his palms flat on the floor, Jarrod struggled to his feet and pulled the woman into his arms.

But at that same moment, the woman in black heels planted her foot on the back of Jarrod's hand.

His voice, cold as ice, cut the air. "Look at you."

Then she paused, twisting her heel on the back of Jarrod's hand as if to pierce his palm. "Now you look like a stray dog."

With those words, she walked away on her black heels.

“Nicole!” In the end, Jarrod managed to shout his name. "Don't abandon me!"

His mouth was stained with blood, his voice raw and torn.

The taillight of the luxurious blue car flickered before him, casting a more pitiful shadow over him.

"Stay." His plea was swallowed up by the roaring speed of the car. "Please don't leave me..."

Tears welled in Jarrod's eyes and ran down his cheeks as he screamed into the wind.

However, there was no response.

Not until Alec arrived.

For the rest of the night, Alec led Jarrod throughout Ardlens in a relentless search for Nicole.

The next morning, the sun graced the horizon with its presence.

Alec hesitated before speaking. "Mr. Schultz, you must be suffering from a hangover after all that drinking. Maybe some medicine will help you feel better.

In reality, Alec suspected that Jarrod might have had a hallucination during his drunkenness. After all, Nicole had been away for five long years.

Jarrod was sitting in the back seat, his black shirt stained with mud and his handsome face filled with unmistakable disappointment.

Staring at the bloody stain on the back of his hand, he insisted, "I'm sure he's back."

Hearing those words, Alec continued to harbor doubts about Jarrod's perception. If Nicole was really alive, then who was the lifeless body resting in Jarrod's residence?

Alec did not dare to delve further into that disturbing line of thought. The more he thought about it, the more chilling it became.

Raegan was heading to the studio.

Getting into the car, Raegan was surprised to find Erick in the driver's seat. «Erick, what brings you here? Aren't you full of work today?

"Well, I thought I'd take you to the studio."

Erick seemed to be in a gloomy mood, and a small cut marred his lips.

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