Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 663

His phone buzzed again, and a nearly forgotten avatar suddenly popped up with a new message.

Isabel.

They’d added each other years ago for a project, but the Summer family had taken off since then. They weren’t even in the same world anymore.

He was sure she’d deleted him ages ago, the way the Capital’s top socialite would cut off old ties.

Curious, he opened the chat.

Isabel had sent a photo, the same one he’d just posted on his social feed.

But her question came out of nowhere.

[The woman in the photo, back to the camera, standing next to the head of the Nelson family. Is that Emmy?]

Juan frowned, confused.

Why was Isabel asking about Emmy? Shouldn’t she be more interested in the head of the Nelson family?

He glanced over at Emmy, who was talking with Jared nearby. The way she held herself, so sure, so confident, it stung to look at her.

He typed a short reply.

[No.]

Isabel’s replies came in quick, like she could see right through him.

[Really?]

[I bet you’re pretty jealous of her right now.]

[You’re the CEO, but while she’s just a board member in name, she’s the one getting all the attention. She’s out there making connections, and you’re in the background.]

[That’s why you posted those photos, right? Nine shots, not one with Emmy’s face, but you made sure Mr. Nelson showed up twice.]

[You wanted to show the Starlight board that you were there too. That you mattered. Am I wrong?]

Juan felt a jolt in his chest.

It was like she’d stripped away all his secrets with just a few sentences.

He felt exposed, and honestly, a little pissed off. Isabel really didn’t know when to stop.

He started typing out a denial, but before he could send it, another message popped up.

[If you want to beat Emmy at Starlight, I can help you.]

[But you have to do something for me.]

Juan deleted what he’d written. His fingers hovered, uncertain.

“All of our equipment connects to the ‘Dome’ platform. From just one terminal, we can coordinate machines across a whole county, a province, even the entire country. It lets us use resources to the max and avoids waste.”

Jared listened quietly, his dark eyes unreadable.

When Emmy finished, he finally nodded and spoke, his voice calm but carrying through the space.

“Ms. Eincoln.”

“The technology is impressive, and the idea is great. But these machines must cost a fortune.”

“A regular farmer could work their whole life and never afford any of this.”

“So how do you plan to make all this high-tech stuff actually help them?”

The room went dead silent. You could feel the tension in the air.

Even the state news reporter, who had been standing back, moved closer, camera and mic aimed right at them.

The question hit hard. It was brutally honest.

What made it hit even harder was who asked it—Jared, someone so powerful and untouchable, suddenly showing he cared.

The contrast was jarring, but in the best way.

He really was thinking about the people at the bottom.