Divorce With Benefits: A Second Chance At Love
Chapter 65: Her Confrontation

Chapter 65: Her Confrontation

Jerica gritted her teeth, ignoring it. Right then, the door opened, and Jared stepped in, looking tired, his shoulders tense, and yet his expression softened when his eyes met hers—until he registered her glare.

His face paled, and he swallowed, looking for all the world as if he’d walked into a lion’s den.

She raised an eyebrow, arching her lips into a thin line. Did she look that furious?

Jared seemed to think so. She watched him swallow again, his eyes darting from her face to the space between them, like he wasn’t sure if he should even take another step.

"I committed perjury in court today... for you." Her voice was clipped, cold, but simmering with an underlying heat. She watched his face, waiting for the shock to sink in.

He froze, his mouth falling open, clearly not expecting that. His gaze softened slightly, looking almost pained. She could tell he hadn’t wanted her involved in his mess. He’d probably thought he was protecting her by keeping her in the dark, but he had miscalculated the consequences. Badly.

Jerica wasn’t going to make it easy for him. She took a deep breath, leveling her gaze at him. "The land deed you were looking at?" She shook her head. "It’s connected to the Glover family, and I followed the trail. The discrepancies... they’re serious enough to require criminal court intervention. The land itself was under federal contention until, suddenly, the Glover family took an interest." She paused, watching his face grow paler with each word.

"And now... there’s a resort sitting there, in the name of a Glover proxy."

The shock was evident in Jared’s eyes. She knew he hadn’t expected her to discover all that. He thought that he had pulled the wool over her eyes and she didn’t investigate anything.

Jerica reached for the paper on the table and tossed it toward him. "I found this," she said, her voice tinged with bitterness.

He caught the paper, his eyes widening in recognition. "This..."

"Yes, this." She met his gaze with a fierce, steady glare. "I always knew you were smarter than me, but this..." She gestured toward the paper, her pride both wounded and oddly awed. "I don’t know if I should applaud you or be furious that you cracked my code and snuck into my files without even a hint of respect for my work." Her tone sharpened. "How long has this been going on? How many files did you go through without telling me?"

Her voice softened, tinged with irony. She had always prided herself on her intelligence—a 162 IQ, a label of "genius" since school days, the girl who knew how to secure a network so tightly no one could infiltrate it. She’d even done some coding and hacking for fun, enjoying the challenge of creating unbreakable systems.

But here was Jared, dismantling it all with unnerving precision. It stung, though she had to admit, a small part of her admired the brilliance of it.

He took a tentative step forward, his hands raised slightly, as if in surrender. "It wasn’t easy," he admitted softly. "It took me...a long time to figure it out." She could see a hint of an apology in his eyes, a desperate attempt to pacify her, to show that he hadn’t taken her genius lightly.

She crossed her arms, not quite ready to forgive. "Did you get anyone else’s help?" Her voice was cool, but she felt a spark of satisfaction hearing that he’d struggled. It was one thing to be deceived; it was another to learn she’d put up a good fight, even unknowingly.

"No." Jared’s voice was firm, even a bit indignant. "I wouldn’t involve anyone else. I didn’t want anyone touching this—it’s your work." He seemed genuinely uncomfortable, shuffling slightly as he shifted his weight.

Her lips twisted into a smirk. "Well, here’s your chance. Say whatever it is you need to say. Get it all out."

For once, he didn’t look like the confident, formidable lawyer she knew in court. He looked guilty, apologetic—like a man who knew he’d broken something that wouldn’t be easy to fix.

"You—"

Her phone buzzed again, interrupting him. That same unknown number. With a sigh, she glanced down, ready to ignore it, until she caught his sharp intake of breath.

"That’s... Judge Jefferson’s personal number." He blinked, disbelief etched in his expression.

"His number?" Jerica’s face contorted with disgust. "Why would he be calling me?" The very thought made her stomach twist. She didn’t want anything to do with the man who had carelessly thrown her into court, smirking, as if she were nothing more than a pawn in his game. For all she cared, he could go to hell.

But seeing Jared’s intent gaze, she pressed her lips into a tight line and accepted the call. She got up and began pacing toward the bedroom, the disgust evident in her tone. "Why do you keep calling me?"

From behind her, she heard Jared’s footsteps. She didn’t close the door, half-wanting him to overhear, to see the mess she was pulled in because of him. She had to come across that disgusting man she wanted to avoid for the rest of her life.

"Do you want me to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth... Uncle Jefferson? Or should I call you Your Honor now that you are a judge?" Her voice was laced with bitter sarcasm.

"Jerica Evans..." The voice on the other end had a familiar, patronizing softness, as if trying to assert authority over her. A voice she had long grown to despise.

But Jerica didn’t back down. She’d learned to steel herself against that tone. "I heard you’re aiming for a Supreme Court nomination," she said, her words slow and deliberate. "If you think subpoenaing me today had led to unpleasantness, just wait until Congress calls me to testify about you. Won’t that get broadcast live?"

"Fine, I’ll recuse myself from this case," the judge said.

"Recuse?" Jerica raised her voice. "Do you think I want that to happen?"

Jerica’s grip on her phone tightened, her gaze darkening as she listened to the voice on the other end. The judge’s voice carried a subtle warning, a thinly veiled command wrapped in casual authority.