Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Academic Credentials Crisis

Lila’s POV

His gaze was too intense, so hot it made my chest ache.

I didn’t go back to my own room that night.

Moonlight spilled through the French doors, casting a silver path across the dark carpet. He let go of my hand and went to the bathroom to wring out a warm towel. When he returned, I was standing by the bed in a daze, my fingers unconsciously tracing the fading red mark on my cheek.

“Sit down.” His voice was low, laced with a tenderness that brooked no refusal.

I obediently sat on the edge of the bed. He knelt on one knee before me, gently pressing the warm towel to my bruised cheek. His knuckles occasionally brushed against my jaw, searing hot like an ember. I could smell the familiar scent of cedar on him, mixed with the lingering aroma of champagne from the banquet hall. Strangely, it calmed me.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked again.

I shook my head, but just as he looked up, my eyes met a flash of gold deep within his pupils—a sign of his lupine nature awakening. He immediately lowered his gaze, hiding that feral glint away.

“Don’t be afraid of me,” he said, his voice raspy. His thumb gently grazed the corner of my mouth, the movement so restrained it was almost reverent. “I will never treat you the way they do.”

My breath caught in my throat.

His fingertip paused on my lips. He didn’t move any further, but it was like he had lit a fuse that burned from the corner of my mouth straight to my heart. I wanted to pull away, yet I wanted to lean in. My body was far more honest than my mind—I even tilted forward slightly, like a thirsty plant reaching for a raindrop.

He noticed. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he abruptly pulled his hand back. But just as I thought he would retreat, he suddenly leaned forward, planting his hands on the mattress on either side of me, trapping me between him and the bed. He was so close I could count the shadows cast by his eyelashes, feel the heat radiating from his rising and falling chest, and hear the almost inaudible growl hidden in his suppressed breaths.

“Lila…” His voice was so hoarse it was nearly broken. “If you get any closer, I can’t promise I’ll remain ’human.’”

His breath brushed against my earlobe, sending a shiver through me. My body went weak, my heart pounded like a drum, and my fingers unconsciously clutched the front of his shirt. Beneath the fabric, his muscles were tense, scorching, and powerful, like a beast on the verge of losing control.

But he didn’t move.

He simply rested his forehead gently against mine, his nose brushing my cheekbone as he took a deep breath, as if drawing in some kind of sustenance to maintain his sanity.

After a long moment, he slowly pulled back and stood up, his back to me. “Go to sleep. I’ll keep watch outside.”

But just as he turned to leave, something came over me, and I grabbed the corner of his shirt.

“Jasper…” my voice was as faint as a whisper in a dream. “Tonight… can you stay? Just… stay with me.”

He froze, his back ramrod straight. After a long pause, he answered with a low, “Okay.”

He didn’t get into the bed. He just sat in the armchair by the window, his silhouette melting into the moonlight.

But I knew he was watching me all night.

————

Morning sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting soft patches of light on the floor. I opened my eyes to find the space beside me empty, but the sheets were still warm.

I shook my head, forcing away those hazy, romantic thoughts. Today was the day I submitted my application for a full-time position at AR Architecture Design Company. This was my future, my bid for independence after stepping out into the world. I couldn’t afford any distractions.

After washing up, I changed into a simple, cream-white skirt suit and took a deep breath in front of the mirror. The woman staring back had a determined gaze. She was no longer the timid foster girl of the Goodrich family, nor the terrified contract wife of the Hale Family. She was Lila, a rising star about to enter the architecture industry on her own merits.

When I came downstairs, Jasper was in the dining room eating breakfast. He wore a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing well-defined wrists. Seeing me, he pointed to the seat opposite him. “Sit. Have something to eat.”

On the table was his usual black coffee and a fried egg. In front of my seat, however, was a bowl of warm oatmeal with a small dish of maple syrup on the side. A warmth spread through my chest, but I said nothing and quietly sat down.

“Going to the office today?” he asked casually.

“Mhm, to submit my application for a full-time position.” I scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal. “I applied to AR on my own, and I earned this internship myself. I want to… make a living on my own abilities.”

He didn’t say anything, just nodded. He gave me a calm look before returning to the documents in his hand. His gaze held no doubt, no pity—only a quiet sort of trust. That, more than anything, put me at ease.

The driver dropped me off at the AR Building and said respectfully, “Ma’am, Sir said he will come pick you up at four this afternoon.”

I nodded and walked into the building, briefcase in hand. AR Architects was the top design firm in the city. Getting an internship here and the chance for a full-time position had been my biggest goal after finishing my master’s degree. Over the past three months, I had worked on refining the plans for three large-scale commercial complexes. My mentor even said that my thesis project was good enough to be archived as an independent project.

The HR department was on the fifteenth floor. I had all my materials prepared—transcripts, a copy of my degree certificate, my mentor’s letter of recommendation, and my meticulously crafted portfolio—all neatly packed in a document folder. I walked toward the office of the HR specialist, Vivian Lin.

Vivian was a woman in her early thirties with exquisite makeup and a smile so perfect it looked like it had been measured with a ruler. She took the folder from me, her fingertips brushing nonchalantly against the back of my hand, carrying a hint of faint, almost imperceptible distance.

“Lila, congratulations. It’s not easy to get this far.” She opened my folder, her gaze lingering on my degree certificate for a few seconds. The corner of her mouth curved into a strange arc. “But, we still have to follow procedure. You can go back and wait for our notification.”

I felt a little uneasy, but I still thanked her politely and left.

However, at three in the afternoon, while I was discussing a façade detail with my department, my supervisor, Mark, called me into the conference room.

“Lila, there’s a problem.” Mark’s expression was grim. “HR just received an internal verification request questioning the authenticity of your master’s degree. The claimant alleges that you never completed your final thesis defense, and there’s no record of your degree conferral in the university’s system.”

I felt like I’d been struck by lightning, my mind completely blank. “Impossible! My degree is real! I attended the ceremony, I went through the entire process!”

“I know it sounds absurd,” Mark said with a sigh, pushing up his glasses. “But the system records are indeed anomalous. HR is now requiring you to take a temporary leave of absence to cooperate with the internal investigation. If you can’t provide official proof from the university within 48 hours, your application will be automatically rejected.”

A chill ran through me. This was too bizarre. My physical degree certificate was locked in the safe at Moon Hidden Villa; the paper copy was clear and correct. ’Could there be a problem with the university’s database? Or… did someone tamper with it intentionally?’

I didn’t dare think about it any further. ’I’m just an ordinary intern. Who would go to such great lengths to target me?’

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