Chapter 136: The Rival’s Instinct

After lunch, Kristoff returned to the office with a dark expression.

The atmosphere on the executive floor turned noticeably tense. Employees who crossed his path instinctively stepped aside, greeting him in hushed voices.

No one wanted to become collateral damage.

The moment he entered his office, he loosened his tie and pressed the intercom.

"Send Jack in."

A minute later, a man in his early thirties entered carrying a thick folder.

"You wanted to see me, Boss?"

Kristoff didn’t waste any time.

"What have you found on Richard Learson?"

Jack opened the folder.

"Richard Learson lost both of his parents when he was seven years old."

Kristoff’s brows drew together.

"They were the Learsons who were caught in the Mafia War?"

"Yes."

Jack nodded.

"The massacre wiped out almost the entire Learson family. Richard survived because he wasn’t home that night."

Kristoff remained silent, signaling him to continue.

"Afterward, he was placed in St. Marriane Orphanage."

Jack flipped to the next page.

"That’s where he met Miss Isobel."

"He was the one who found her when she first arrived at the orphanage. According to the staff, he looked after her like an older brother."

Kristoff’s eyes lingered on Richard’s photograph.

So...he hadn’t lied. The familiarity between Richard and Isobel wasn’t something that had developed recently.

It had begun years ago.

"Was there anyone else left in his family?" Kristoff asked.

"Only his aunt."

Jack paused briefly before adding,

"She disappeared shortly after Richard entered the orphanage."

"Disappeared?"

"There are no immigration records, no death certificate, and no financial activity under her name after that. It’s as if she vanished."

Kristoff narrowed his eyes.

"And Richard?"

Jack’s expression turned serious.

"That’s where things become strange."

He slid another page across the desk.

"The trail went cold after he turned eighteen."

"There is no university records No employment history. No criminal record. No medical records. For nearly twelve years.. There is almost nothing."

Kristoff looked up.

"Nothing?"

"It’s as if someone deliberately erased his existence."

Silence filled the office.

Jack finally broke it.

"The next record we found was only a few weeks ago."

"He returned to Novare."

"And within days, he officially assumed control of Learson Technologies."

Kristoff leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly against the desk.

His gaze drifted once more to Richard’s photograph.

The calm smile. The impeccable suit. The polished public image.

Everything about the man seemed flawless. Too flawless.

Kristoff slowly closed the folder.

"Keep digging."

Jack frowned.

"We’ve already exhausted our usual channels."

"Then use unusual ones."

Kristoff’s voice was calm, but firm.

"I want to know where Richard Learson spent those missing twelve years."

Something told him...

The answer would explain far more than Richard’s sudden return.

...

Richard drove Isobel back to Aioryx. He eased the car to the main road, the afternoon traffic flowing steadily around them.

Neither of them spoke.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It was the kind that came naturally between people who had spent years growing up together—one that needed no effort to fill.

Richard glanced at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road.

"Kristoff Dalton."

His voice was calm, almost casual.

"He’s interested in you."

A soft laugh escaped Isobel’s lips.

"Impossible."

"I’m serious."

"So am I."

She turned to him, amusement lingering in her eyes.

"You’re imagining things."

Richard smiled faintly.

"Am I?"

He waited until they stopped at a red light before speaking again.

"A man doesn’t postpone an important meeting just to interrupt another man’s lunch unless he’s jealous."

He looked at her.

The traffic light turned green.

The car rolled forward once more, but Richard’s words remained suspended between them.

Jealous...

Almost instinctively, Isobel replayed the scene at the restaurant.

Kristoff standing beside their table. His usually composed face had been unusually tense. His jaw had tightened ever so slightly.

His eyes...

She never saw him look at her like that before.

There was something restrained in his gaze, as though he wanted to say something but forced himself not to.

At the time, she had assumed he was merely displeased. After all, she had gone to lunch with someone he barely knew.

But now...

The more she thought about it, the harder it became to dismiss the possibility that Richard might have seen something she hadn’t.

Could it really be jealousy?

A tiny ripple stirred within her heart.

No.

She quietly shook her head. Kristoff himself had told her where his heart belonged.

There was no reason to believe that had changed.

"You’re overthinking it," Isobel said, more to convince herself than Richard.

"Kristoff already has someone he loves."

Richard didn’t answer.

"He only has eyes for her."

Isobel whispered, her gaze drifting to the passing cityscape outside the passenger window.

Richard’s words echoed in her mind.

"He’s interested in you."

Almost against her will, the image of Kristoff in the restaurant resurfaced.

The more she replayed the scene in her mind, the more uncertain she became.

But Kristoff had loved Charlotte for years. Everyone knew it—including herself.

He had made it abundantly clear that there would never be anyone else.

So why couldn’t she shake the image of his conflicted expression? 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice Richard watching her.

A forced smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"You’re thinking about him."

His voice pulled her back to reality.

"What?" She blinked before quickly looking away. "No."

Richard chuckled softly.

"You answered too fast."

Heat crept up Isobel’s cheeks.

"I was just thinking about what you said."

"And?"

She hesitated.

"...I still think you’re wrong."

Richard didn’t argue.

Instead, he smiled to himself and turned his attention back to the road.

Sometimes...

The more fiercely a person denied something, the closer they were to discovering the truth.

Silence settled over the car once more.

The faint smile on Richard’s face gradually disappeared.

His fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around the steering wheel.

Isobel hadn’t noticed it. But he had.

He had seen the possessiveness hidden beneath Kristoff’s carefully controlled expression.

The jealousy. The frustration.

The instinctive fear that another man might claim the woman who had quietly become important to him.

Richard understood those emotions all too well.

Because every time he saw Morgan standing beside Isobel...

Every time Kristoff looked at her...

He felt them too.

His gaze remained fixed on the road ahead.

For years, fate had separated him from her.

Now that he was finally back ...

He had no intention of losing her again.

Not to Kristoff. Not to Morgan. Not to anyone.