Billionaire's Second Chance At Love

Chapter Eighty-Two

"I still don't get your mom's connection with someone like Simon Walsh," Jasper admitted, chewing on a fry as they all sat in the living room, with some soft music playing in the background.

It was the third day of the four of them staying together, and to Carmen's relief, neither of their friends had doubted a thing. But then again, Ronin and she had barely made any kind of contact ever since the day the two of them arrived. Except for a few hours in the office and sometimes in her room when Molly would be out arguing with Jasper on one thing or another, she hardly even saw him in person.

It was ridiculous, though, the way she felt so jittery and edgy all the damn time, afraid someone would know, someone would read through her. Especially Molly. God, being secretive was definitely not her strongest suit. She was dying here.

"Hey," Molly snapped in front of Carmen's face, trying to get her attention back on the conversation at hand. "Where did you go? Come back to us and tell us what you know."

Carmen blinked rapidly, suddenly blinded by all the eyes on her. She felt a certain pair of eyes on her the most, the one that made her feel the warmest. For a moment, her gaze drifted to Ronin, who sat on the farthest cushioned chair, with his legs spread out on the table and crossed at the ankle. His eyes were currently on the screen of his phone, but she knew he had been looking at her not so long ago. He really was great at making people a fool, wasn't he? That's exactly how he made sure to make her believe that he never had any interest in her.

"What are you even looking at? He's not going to speak for you," Molly rolled her eyes, annoyed. "He's just as clueless as all of us. You're the only one with some sort of answers."

Was that what they thought?

Huh. They couldn't have been more wrong.

"I wish I did," Carmen finally spoke, sighing, hugging the throw pillow tighter. "But I don't know her intentions. She left long ago and returned out of nowhere. The truth is, I can't even make a wild guess about what her relations with Simon are. It's all a puzzle even to me."

Jasper threw his head back, sinking more into the couch he was lying on. "Ugh. Why's everything getting more and more complicated? Isn't it twisted enough that we are in the middle of a civil war here? Now we have Simon back, and to me, it seems like he's not letting go without revenge."

"He's not here for revenge," Molly made a point, nibbling on her thumb nail. "At least I don't think he is."

"What makes you think that?" Carmen asked, curious.

Molly explained, "If revenge was really something he was here for, he had all the chances to do that when you were on his turf. But he didn't."

"Perhaps he didn't want to cross her mother?" Jasper suggested, shrugging, before his lips stretched into a mischievous grin. "I mean, are you sure your mom isn't some sort of mafia queen, Carmen? Because that's the only reason I can think of why Simon would be on her payroll."

He chuckled, but his laughter hung awkwardly in the air. Seeing the bemused looks everyone seemed to be giving him, he cleared his throat and stifled his chuckles. "Fine. Got a better theory? Bring it on."

Ronin set his phone aside, finally joining the conversation. "Simon's motives are unclear, but I agree with Molly. If he wanted revenge, he had plenty of opportunities before."

Molly nodded in agreement. "Exactly. We need to figure out what his actual game plan is. Maybe he's after something bigger than personal vendettas."

Meanwhile, Carmen was stuck on something Jasper had said: payroll. The mere word managed to spark an old memory, something Simon had mentioned when they were still on the cruise. She perked up, sitting straighter. "You know what? When I asked Simon why he helped Jenna escape the wedding, he told me that she came to him for help and he was in a position to help her. Could it be that it's some kind of his business?"