Chapter 16

The moonlight wove like silk.

Leo Archer and I sat in the car, the air silent, words flowing unspoken between us.

After a few seconds, he suddenly let out a soft laugh:

“My dear, aren’t you going to say something to me?”

I sighed lightly. “It was my fault. At first, when you acted that way, I thought it was just an unspoken game between adults.”

“But I told you before, we were just having fun–”

“That’s not what I meant.”

He cut me off abruptly.

“The fact that you’re the owner of the team–why have you never told me?”

I looked at him calmly.

“It would’ve been too much trouble if I did.”

He paused, as if suddenly understanding.

“That day, after we were photographed and it trended online, the manager came to me and said there would be a press conference to deny the relationship–was that your idea?”

Leo Archer leaned in, bracing one hand on the seatback behind me.

“Victoria Sterling, am I really so unsightly in your eyes?”

The distance between us shrank inch by inch. Our breaths mingled, the air thick with an ambiguous tension.

But in the reflection of his eyes, all I saw was my own calm, indifferent gaze.

“Because we’re not in a relationship.”

“My life–how I live, which path I take–was decided four years ago. I won’t let you disrupt my rhythm. As for why I didn’t tell you I was the club’s owner, it’s because this–”

I paused, choosing a word less sharp,

“This fleeting affair–after it ends, I don’t want it to affect your future work with the team.”

“Because ensuring that I can help the team achieve good results and gain greater commercial value is also part of your career.”

His nose was almost brushing mine. Amid our mingled breaths, I once again caught the crisp scent of blue eucalyptus on him.

“If you’ve thought everything through so thoroughly, aren’t you worried that now that this has come out, I might transfer to another team during this break in the competition?”

I was silent for a few seconds. “That’s your freedom, too.”

He gave a short, derisive laugh, pulled away from me.

He pushed open the car door and left without looking back.