When They Beg I Rise (Lemira) novel Chapter 1119

Just as Jessica expected, all the color instantly drained from Barrett's face, leaving him looking like a sick ghost.

Jessica twisted the knife. "If you don't believe me, go look up the financial news. Search 'Everhart heir.' They've already met each other's families. That's what an actual power couple looks like."

The unspoken message was crystal clear: *You're a delusional toad trying to eat swan meat.*

Watching Barrett's entire ego spontaneously combust finally gave Jessica a rush of vindication. Lemira had a billionaire boyfriend who worshipped the ground she walked on; she wouldn't even use a guy like Barrett to scrape the mud off her shoes.

—

As Lemira and Orion drove away from the restaurant, her mind drifted back to the ugly scene with Jessica's family. A frown pulled at her lips.

Orion noticed immediately. "What's wrong?"

Lemira recounted the argument she had overheard.

Orion's response was casually ruthless. "That's an easy fix. I'll make a call and have someone teach them some manners."

"What exactly are you going to do? If their factory goes bankrupt, it'll cause massive drama for Jessica's family. As toxic as they are, destroying her relatives entirely might backfire on her."

That was exactly why Jessica had declined her offer to ruin them earlier.

Orion reached over and affectionately ruffled Lemira's hair. "Do I look that reckless? I'll just send someone to give them a very clear warning. They need to learn that arrogance has a price."

Beneath his casual tone, a glacial fury burned in his eyes. That arrogant little prick had actually thought he could hit on Lemira. He didn't even know his place on the food chain, yet he dared to compete with Orion.

Of course, he kept the darker parts of his thoughts strictly to himself.

One phone call from him, and the problem would be permanently handled.

Orion glanced at her as he drove. "Are we staying at a hotel tonight?"

Meeting his intense, dark gaze, Lemira felt a sudden rush of heat to her cheeks. She bit her lip. "The apartment we used to stay in... is that yours?"

Since they were back in Lyria, she felt a strong pull to revisit the place where they had spent so much time together.

Lemira leaned back, entirely comfortable letting him pamper her.

She logged into her account, and when she saw Orion's gamertag pop up next to hers, a wave of nostalgia hit her. It brought back all the memories of them queuing up together in her past life.

Suddenly, the guy sitting next to her leaned over with a sleazy grin. "Hey gorgeous, you play this too? Why don't you join our lobby? I'll carry you and boost your rank."

Lemira didn't even look up from her screen. "Not interested."

"Come on, sweetheart, do you even know what rank I am? I have girls begging me to carry them all day long, and I leave them on read. I'm handing you a golden ticket, and you're brushing me off?"

His buddies immediately started hyping him up.

"For real, Chad is a beast at this game!"

"Yeah, and Chad's a beast in other departments too, if you know what I mean."

Lemira's jaw tightened with irritation, and she completely ignored them.