Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan)
Chapter 146

Before I could extract an answer from Ronan, Logan, with a look of irritation, grabbed my hand and placed it into Ronan's. "Well, this counts as an introduction. You can chat, and I have other fish to fry. You guys can figure out the partnership," he announced.

After a few steps, he whirled around and shot me a teasing look, "Aaliyah, I forgot to mention, it's not me who wants to help you, and it's him. If you have any questions, ask him." With that, he dashed off.

I turned my attention to the man before me named Ronan. He smiled, his eyes showed a familiar mix of gentleness and mischief that reminded me of the Ronan I once knew.

His large hand enveloped mine, a squeeze of reassurance as he said, "Let's sit down. We've got a long road ahead of us."

His hand, rough but warm, continued to hold mine.

"Getting to you wasn't easy, so I had to find Catherine," he said, looking at me, "Turns out I was heading in the right direction."

I cleared my throat, gained composure, and quickly withdrew my hand, sinking into the couch, and I asked, "How do you know my situation? Did Catherine tell you?"

"That's not important," he replied, sitting opposite me in his usual fashion, "What's important is that I'm here to help you get everything."

"I still want to know why are you like this now. What happened? Why did you suddenly leave school and disappear?" I bombarded him with questions that had been eating at me.

He simply smiled and looked at me with emotions concealed in his eyes.

Ronan used to be like this when we were alone. But now, his face, so alien to me, felt like a blast from another lifetime.

I never thought I'd see Ronan again, let alone under these circumstances, as my business partner, wearing a face I barely recognized.

Irony of fate.

If I had a choice, I would rather not meet Ronan, especially when I was at rock bottom.

Ronan broke his gaze, got a cup of coffee, and slid it across the table towards me.

"I know what you've been through, and honestly, it might be worse than you think. You should prepare for that," he said with a grave tone, "You can share your thoughts with me. The more detailed, the better." I suddenly felt nervous, and perhaps a little embarrassed.

I took a deep breath, evading his question, and asked, "Are you sure you want to be my partner?"

"Do you have a better choice?" Ronan asked, looking at me.

I was speechless. I didn't have a better choice, let alone a solid plan.

"We're not talking about a small amount of money here. The stock market is risky, and given my current situation, I don't have a certainty," I said, laying my cards on the table.

Truth be told, I was scared that he was the financier. I had already dragged Addrion into this mess. I couldn't do the same to Ronan.

"Ronan," I looked at him, and said, "This is my battle. You don't have to get involved. I don't know that you are my business partner. I..."

"If you trust me, let me handle this. Don't worry too much," he said, looking at me. I thought I saw a hint of tenderness in his eyes.

I felt a flutter of panic and quickly averted my gaze.

Seeing my hesitation, Ronan continued, "I know it's a tough situation. I can have Elbert draw up a contract. As a third party, I can buy the shares from you, Jaylan, and other shareholders. Once things settle down on your end, I can sell them back to you at the same price."

"The same price?" I was surprised. "I thought we agreed to be partners?"

With a smirk, Ronan replied, "Of course we're partners. But I have my plans which I can't reveal just yet."