From Ashes to Queen: Now I Call the Shots novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Soup, Shadows, and Strange Behavior

Back in the day, once Jasper buried himself in research, he could go three days without eating or sleeping.

When the project ended, everyone else collapsed from exhaustion, but Jasper would still be perfectly fine -and somehow attend two more tech symposiums afterward.

So for this iron man of a scientist to suddenly bring up something as mundane as “dinner“… was almost disturbing.

And then, as if that wasn’t shocking enough, Sean saw Scarlett following them out of the lab, looking like she was in a rush.

“Hurry up! I’m starving!”

With her acting so impatient, surely Jasper would scold her and tell her to get lost.

But the next second-

Car keys flew through the air and landed in Sean’s hands.

Jasper: “Go start the car.”

Sean’s heart turned into a screaming rubber chicken.

This wasn’t logical.

This wasn’t real.

Inside the car.

The front passenger seat was filled with gaming gear, so Scarlett and Jasper both sat in the back.

Sean fully expected Jasper to refuse. He’d seen firsthand just how impossibly picky the man was.

But to his absolute disbelief, Mr. Fletcher opened the back door without a word and got in.

Too many surprises today. Sean was starting to wonder if he was dreaming.

He couldn’t help it-

He pinched himself.

Ouch.

He kept quiet and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

A pleasant scent drifted from the car’s air freshener, slowly relaxing everyone inside.

Scarlett leaned back casually, cracked the window open, and let the breeze wash over her face as she rested

her eyes.

Her black hair flowed like silk in the wind, breaking the light into scattered shadows.

Each glimmer bent reality–chaotic, irregular, yet somehow harmonious, without flaw.

Her face sat perfectly at the center of that strange, shifting light.

The glow layered over itself again and again, making her features appear even more delicate, more sculpted.

Suddenly, Jasper opened a small drawer beside him and pulled out a notebook and pen.

He bowed his head slightly, and the scratch of the pen echoed softly in the silence.

Before long, a three–dimensional figure formed on the page–made of light and shadow.

He frowned for a moment, glanced at Scarlett again-

Then his brow gradually relaxed.

His fingers twitched slightly.

Now the figure had a circuit diagram next to it.

When he added the final stroke, a rare flicker of satisfaction passed through his eyes.

Scarlett had drifted off without even realizing it.

She only stirred when Sean hit the brakes and called out, “We’re here.”

She slowly opened her eyes.

It was rare for her to fall asleep in an unfamiliar setting.

But today had been an exception.

The air freshener didn’t seem tampered with–she could only blame her fatigue.

Outside the car, she looked up at the restaurant’s décor.

Not bad.

It was the top–rated five–star restaurant in Trenwyn–she’d only been here once before.

That time had been to celebrate Rebecca’s scholarship win.

The bitter irony was that she’d dared to question whether Rebecca had stolen her research notes–and the Joyner family forced her to host the dinner.

Back then, she’d been foolish enough to think she’d misunderstood Rebecca.

So she’d paid for everything out of pocket.

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The bonus she earned from her experiment disappeared in one night.

Thinking back, she wished she could time travel just to slap some sense into herself.

Sean, as usual, ordered a full spread of the restaurant’s best dishes—he made it a personal mission to try the finest food in every city he visited.

Scarlett was truly starving and ignored their conversation completely, focused solely on eating.

But she hid it well–her movements graceful and composed, as if she were simply savoring each bite like a connoisseur.

In reality, the Joyner family had punished her so many times for eating “improperly” that elegance had been ingrained into her very bones.

Still… she was kind of choking a little.

Jasper waved over the waiter and, shockingly, ordered soup.

Sean was stunned again.

Was this really the same guy who only drank plain water and never touched soup?

When the soup arrived, Jasper didn’t even touch it.

But Scarlett helped herself to two small bowls.

Something felt off.

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Scarlett could tell she was being stared at. She looked up and locked eyes with Sean, who was eyeing her like a scientist observing an experiment.

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