Jace finished the video call not long after Selena left office,his mind kept drifting—more specifically, drifting toward the woman whose sit is near the far corner of the office.
Selena.
He didn't even understand why he kept glancing toward her sit,expecting to see her bent over her laptop, biting her lip the way she always did when she was focused. She looked… distracting. And he hated that she distracted him.
But it was lunchtime now.
And he realized he hadn't heard her voice, her typing, or even her light footsteps for a while.
Jace lifted his gaze again.
Her desk was empty.
Completely empty.
His brows furrowed sharply.
He reached for the desk phone to buzz her—then paused. Something churned in his chest, something he didn't want to name. Instead, he stood and walked out of his office, hands tucked in his pockets, face cold and unreadable.
"Selena?" he called lightly.
Silence.
He checked the conference room. Empty.
The hallway. Empty.
He stepped back into the main office, irritation starting to pulse at the base of his jaw. "Where did she go?"
He spotted her bag still by her chair.
So she hadn't gone home.
He glanced around again, tension tightening inside him. "Did she… leave without telling me?"
That thought hit him harder than it should.
Suddenly, the door clicked as his assistant walked in, carrying a stack of files. She paused immediately, noticing the storm on his face.
"Sir… is everything okay?"
"Where is Selena?" Jace asked sharply. His voice wasn't loud, but the edge in it could cut glass.
His assistant blinked. "I—I don't know, sir. I thought she was still here."
"She's not," he said, jaw tightening. "And she left her post without informing me."
The assistant swallowed. Even the temperature around them felt colder.
"Well… she received a call earlier," she offered quietly. "I didn't listen in, but she seemed… excited about it."
Jace stiffened.
Excited?
For who?
Before he could ask, his phone pinged. A message from security.
'Ms. Selena left the building five minutes ago.'
He stared at the words.
She left.
Without him.
And without permission.
He felt something hot and unreasonable flash through him—not anger, no. It was sharper. Darker. Jealousy that pushed straight through his ribs.
He typed quickly:
Where did she go?
Security responded:
'She crossed the street. Entered the café opposite the company.'
Jace froze.
The café.
The exact place Andrew had called her about.
Understanding slammed into him like a punch.
"She went to meet him," he whispered, fingers curling.
His assistant shifted nervously. "Sir… do you want me to call her?"
"No," Jace said immediately. Too quickly. His voice dropped, colder than winter. "I'll go myself."
He didn't even bother taking his suit jacket. He strode toward the elevator, tension in every step, jaw clenched so tightly a muscle pulsed in his cheek.
He kept replaying the last hour in his head.
Selena smiling softly at her desk.
Her phone lighting up.
Her standing quietly, slipping out… without telling him.
He remembered seeing her briefly while he was on call,not knowing she was slipping out.
A swirl of emotions tightened in his chest—possessive, frustrated, undeniably jealous.
Why does it bother me this much?
The elevator doors slid shut.
Because she wasn't supposed to leave without him.
Because she shouldn't smile for another man.
Because the idea of Andrew sitting with her, laughing with her, looking at her with intention—
Something inside him snapped.
By the time he stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby, Jace's expression had transformed fully into the mask of a cold, dangerous CEO—one who had murder-level jealousy simmering in his veins.
He stepped outside, eyes immediately locking onto the café across the road.
And through the glass window, he saw her.
Selena.
Laughing.
With Andrew.
Jace's breath stopped.
His hands tightened at his sides.
For the first time in a long time, the great Jace Arinston felt something unfamiliar and explosive:
He was losing control.