Chapter 162: "I Love You Too"

The answer struck Jordan harder than he could ever have imagined.

A rush of happiness surged through him so suddenly and so powerfully that he shot to his feet without thinking.

Both hands came up to cup Aren’s face, and before she could understand what he intended, he leaned down and kissed her.

Aren’s eyes widened in surprise.

For a moment, the entire world seemed to freeze around them.

She could feel the warmth of his lips against hers, the pressure gentle rather than demanding, yet there was something unexpectedly weighty in the gesture.

It felt as though the simple kiss carried far more emotion than its softness suggested, as though Jordan had poured into it everything he had kept restrained inside himself for so long.

When he finally drew back enough to look into her eyes, his expression was filled with a sincerity that startled her.

"Ariana," he said quietly, holding her face between his hands. "There’s something I wanted to tell you much earlier, but I couldn’t."

He leaned in and kissed her once more, softer this time, before the words escaped him in a whisper.

"...I love you too."

The warehouse almost lost its roof.

A wild round of applause and cheers erupted from every direction, particularly from the Marchetti soldiers, who had apparently been waiting for nothing more than confirmation that their Young Boss had finally received Aren’s approval.

Their voices thundered through the hall, loud enough to seem as though they might shake the doors from their hinges.

Aren, however, barely heard any of it.

She continued staring at Jordan, her eyes wide as her mind struggled to process what he had just said.

’He... loves me too?’

A deep blush spread rapidly across her face. Her thoughts seized up entirely, leaving her standing there in stunned silence while the celebration continued around her.

’Wait...’

’I’m glad that he loves me too...’

’...but what does that have to do with kissing?’

’Or the bet?’

’Does loving someone, kissing someone, and dating someone all have something to do with each other?’

The questions came too quickly for her to sort through them. She desperately wanted to ask Jordan directly, but the fear of asking the wrong question was stronger.

If she revealed how unfamiliar she was with the customs of this world, she would inevitably expose far more than she wanted anyone to know.

So she simply stood there, cheeks burning, and decided to postpone the problem.

’I’ll have to ask Don Caio about this later.’

Meanwhile, another person had been rendered completely motionless by what he had just witnessed, although his stunned silence carried considerably more murderous energy.

Caio Sartori sat rigidly in his seat, staring down at the scene below.

He had certainly not missed Jordan’s grand romantic gesture. More importantly, he had also not missed the kiss.

His hands tightened into fists so fiercely that his knuckles turned pale, and for several seconds he looked as though he were considering punching through whatever happened to be nearest.

’This punk is definitely asking me to kill him.’

The thought had barely formed before Caio abruptly rose from his seat, fully intending to storm down to the ring and put an immediate end to what he had just witnessed.

But as he turned, movement caught his attention from his right.

Natalia Porto had also risen from her seat at the far corner of the gallery. Caio glanced toward her and instantly noticed one of her hands slipping calmly into the purse she carried.

The moment Natalia withdrew her hand, Caio’s eyes widened.

There was a pistol in it.

For one brief second, confusion overwhelmed him before turning into outright panic as Natalia raised the weapon in one smooth motion and aimed it toward the ring below.

"NO!"

Caio’s shout ripped across the gallery as he lunged toward her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP!"

Deeper in the gallery, every man immediately turned away from the celebration and polite exchanges.

Eduardo turned.

Gian turned.

Giovanni turned.

Their expressions changed instantly when they saw the pistol in her hand.

Alarm exploded through the room as the Dons and their men surged toward Natalia, but several rows of chairs separated them from her. By the time they reached the nearest aisle, her finger was already resting against the trigger.

Her aim was steady.

Straight at Aren’s head.

’I’ve gotta kill this bitch at all costs.’

Down below, Jordan’s attention had been momentarily drawn away from Aren by Caio’s desperate shout.

He turned toward the gallery and saw Natalia standing there with a gun raised, the barrel pointing directly toward them.

His eyes widened.

He didn’t think.

Instinct took over.

Jordan grabbed Aren and pulled her around, placing his entire body between her and the gun just as Natalia’s finger tightened around the trigger.

Unfortunately, Natalia realized what was happening a fraction of a second too late.

Her finger had already pulled the trigger.

The shot had already been fired.

BANG!

The gunshot tore through the warehouse, violently silencing the celebration.

For a moment, everyone seemed stunned by the sound.

Aren most of all.

One second, she had been standing in Jordan’s arms, her mind still struggling to process the whole situation. The next, he had suddenly jerked her around and wrapped his body around hers.

Then she felt him jerk violently against her.

A strange, breathless sound escaped his throat.

"Hurgh—"

Aren’s mind snapped back into reality all at once.

"...Jordan?"

Both her arms wrapped around him as his entire weight collapsed against her.

The bouquet was crushed between them before tumbling aside, its petals scattering across the canvas.

The bullet had struck high in his shoulder, just beneath the collarbone. The impact hit with brutal force, driving through muscle and sending a shock through his entire body.

He barely had time to register the heat.

Barely had time to feel the pain.

His vision went black as his body buckled beneath him. His knees gave out, one arm falling completely limp at his side, and he dropped heavily toward the cold floor.

Aren nearly went down with him.

"NO! JORDAN!"

Her voice broke through the stunned silence.

"MEDIC! MEDIC!"

Heavy footsteps immediately thundered across the warehouse as soldiers and medical personnel rushed toward them.

Down on the floor beside a bleeding Jordan, Aren’s eyes lifted for only a moment, scanning for any immediate threats until she caught sight of Natalia still standing in the gallery.

The Porto heiress remained strangely composed.

Beneath the calmness on her face, however, panic flickered unmistakably in her eyes as she seemed to realize the full weight of what she had just done.

She didn’t remain untouched for long.

A heartbeat later, men reached her from several directions at once. They seized her arms, forced the weapon away, and drove her down against the floor before completely restraining her.

Aren no longer cared.

With the threat neutralized, she had no room in her mind for Natalia anymore. Her entire world had narrowed to the young man collapsing in her arms.

"Jordan! Jordan! No!"

Her hands pressed frantically against the wound as dark blood rapidly soaked through his shirt and spread beneath her fingers.

"Jordan, stay with me! Hey, look at me! Jordan!"

Jordan couldn’t answer.

His eyes remained half-open, but they were empty. He was already unconscious before his body struck the floor.