---- Chapter 153 "No. Imade a reservation at a restaurant," Jonah said ina low voice. Before Tara could respond, he added, "You haven't had lunch yet, have you? Come eat with me." Tara instantly regretted opening her mouth earlier. She had asked something she shouldn't have. She politely declined. "Thank you, Mr. Pearson. But that's really not necessary." "The food there is pretty good. Think of it as a way to treat yourself," he said. His words made Tara hesitate .

She had planned to just order takeout. He added calmly, "We'll get to the restaurant in about two minutes. If you're in a hurry to get back, I can take a detour." That made her feel even more self-conscious. She quickly said, "Then I'll take you up on that, Mr. Pearson." Jonah glanced at her through the rearview mirror, then looked ahead. "You don't have to be so nervous around me." ---- The deep, smooth sound of his voice helped her relax a little.

About five minutes later, the car pulled into the underground parking lot of a well-known building. Tara got out of the car. Jonah stepped out right after her. He stood before her, and his figure was tall and lean. She didn't dare look him in the eye. He glanced down at her and said quietly, "Let's go up. Jonah was tall and usually walked with long, confident strides, but now he slowed his pace to walk beside her. Tara hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Mr.

Pearson, about how I treated you before... aren't you angry?" He pressed the elevator button and said evenly, "Who hasn't made mistakes?" She stared at him in surprise. Jonah lowered his gaze and met her sincere eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed as he said, "You've really changed." Tara nearly lost herself in the depths of his gaze and didn't dare look any longer. She quickly looked away, amazed by how forgiving he really was.

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---- She suddenly remembered her first day in this world, when he had his driver hand her an umbrella. As they stepped into the elevator, she brought it up to Jonah. "And about that day... thank you for the umbrella ," she said. As the elevator went up, an image flashed through Jonah's mind-Tara standing in the pouring rain, trembling. Her eyes, trying hard to stay open and see the path ahead, no longer held the usual haze of ambition . Instead, they were filled with confusion and unease.

The memory made him frown. "That incident was handled poorly. I looked into it at the time and fired the people responsible. I want to apologize to you," he said. Tara's eyes widened in shock. She quickly shook her head. "About that..." She didn't even know what to say. Back then, the original host had been provoked by Stella's words. She had always been belittled and isolated in the villa because she had never given up trying to seduce the four male leads.

Stella only showed kindness to the male leads. She always spoke in a condescending and passive -aggressive way ---- toward the original host. Driven by sudden anger, the original host lost control and pushed Stella. Stella had her back to the wall and was standing beside the stairs. The push was aimed toward the wall, but Stella stumbled in the direction of the staircase. The original host panicked and tried to catch her.

But before she could, Stella had already grabbed the stair railing in time and didn't fall. She shrank back in fear and cried out, "Tara, I'm sorry! Please don't push me down the stairs!" That scene had happened to be witnessed by Lance as he passed by, which led to everything that followed. That was why the original host had screamed in frustration when she was thrown out of the villa in the original story. Tara hadn't expected Jonah to actually investigate the incident.

No wonder, after more than two months had passed and she finally worked up the courage to look it up online, everything was gone. She had thought no one cared enough to bother with a scandal involving a nobody. But looking back now, it was probably Jonah who had stepped in and wiped it clean.