Being Dumped by My EX, I Marriied His Older Brother-Chapter 101: He’s a Germaphobe; He Wouldn’t Want a Woman Like That

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: He’s a Germaphobe; He Wouldn’t Want a Woman Like That

Justin Kane detected an unusual note in her voice and thought something was wrong. "What’s the matter? I’m home."

Nina Thorne took a deep breath. "I’ll tell you when I get home."

After hanging up, Nina Thorne thought about what she was about to say. Her heart began to beat faster, and she felt a strange sense of excitement.

On the other end, Justin Kane hung up, his thick brows furrowing slightly.

’That girl... she sounded so anxious on the phone. Did something happen?’

"What is it? A call from your Nina Thorne?"

Seth Lawson asked leisurely from the opposite sofa, his legs crossed.

Justin Kane set down his phone with his long fingers and raised an eyebrow. "Cut the gossip. What brings you here again?"

"I heard something, of course. Since I was free, I came specifically to tell you." Seth Lawson’s expression was uncharacteristically serious.

Justin Kane arched a brow. "What is it?"

"April Graham. She’s back."

Seth Lawson’s expression was grim. "I heard she’s in Sylport. Do you think she came here specifically for you?"

Justin Kane’s eyes snapped up, his expression darkening slightly. "Are you sure?"

"No doubt about it. Shawn ran into her at the hospital."

Seth Lawson hesitated. "He didn’t feel right mentioning it to you, so he told me instead. I figured you needed to know."

"Let her come."

Justin Kane’s voice was frigid. "No one can interfere with where she goes."

Seeing how calm he was, Seth Lawson grew a little anxious. "She’s already here in Sylport. Aren’t you worried at all?"

"Besides, you’re married to Nina Thorne now. If she finds out about April Graham, it’s bound to affect your relationship."

Justin Kane crossed his legs and leaned back against the sofa, the picture of lazy nonchalance. His long fingers tapped against his knee, his eyelids lowered, hiding the look in his eyes.

The air around him grew heavy, making his mood impossible to read.

Seth Lawson sighed. "This whole thing is a headache. You should handle it sooner rather than later, don’t you think?"

"April Graham’s love for you borders on obsession. If she finds out you’re married to Nina Thorne, there’s no telling if she’ll go crazy."

Justin Kane’s expression was cold and grave. "I’ll take care of it."

Seeing his somber look, Seth Lawson grew more anxious. "How will you take care of it?"

"She lost her child back then. Now that she’s back, she’ll most likely want to be with you. What about Nina Thorne then?"

"Are you going to divorce her and marry April Graham?"

"..."

Standing at the study door, Nina Thorne heard every word of the conversation inside. It felt as if a hole had been punched straight through her heart.

A chill spread through her body, a coldness that seeped into her bones, as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar.

’So that’s her name... the woman he loves is April Graham?’

In an instant, the impulse that had driven her home vanished. Nina Thorne took her hand off the doorknob and turned to leave.

Inside the study, Justin Kane looked up, his voice sharp. "I’m not a charity. She wants to marry me, so I’m obligated to say yes?"

"Seth Lawson, not everyone is Nina Thorne."

The pressure around Justin Kane was glacial, his domineering aura overwhelmingly powerful.

He truly lived up to his reputation as the decisive Yama.

Seth Lawson gave a sheepish laugh. "All right, hearing you say that is enough for me."

-

Nina Thorne stayed in the bedroom, taking a long while to process her emotions.

She put the watch away and laughed bitterly to herself.

’It’s a good thing I overheard them.’

’If I’d impulsively confessed my feelings, it would have been so embarrassing.’

’At least I found out in time. I can pull back my feelings now. It’ll make things much simpler when he wants to separate in the future.’

But even as she thought this, her heart clenched painfully, as if bound by invisible threads that pulled and tore with a dull ache.

’It hurt so much.’

Nina Thorne sniffled and decided to take a shower.

When she came out of the bathroom, she found Justin Kane sitting on the sofa.

Nina Thorne froze when she saw him, stopping at the bathroom doorway.

Remembering what she had overheard, she suddenly had no idea how to face him.

Justin Kane’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why the shower as soon as you got back? Didn’t you have something to tell me?"

A smile played on his lips as his tall figure moved toward her.

Nina Thorne instinctively took a step back and forced a smile. "It was hot today. I was tired from being out, so I decided to shower first."

Justin Kane frowned, clearly sensing her resistance. His gaze grew suspicious. "Is that so?"

Afraid he would notice something and make things awkward, Nina Thorne tilted her head up and smiled at him. "Of course. We have the success party to attend later, don’t we? I just wanted to freshen up."

Justin Kane stepped closer and raised a hand to brush a stray lock of hair from her temple. "You said you had something to tell me. What was it?"

Nina Thorne felt his gentle touch and her back stiffened.

But after overhearing their conversation, her mind was no longer racing with fanciful thoughts as it had been before.

She flinched back slightly, meeting his gaze with a placid expression as she changed the subject.

"The company said I’ll need to be on set with the film crew for a while for the upcoming shoot."

"When?"

"In three days."

The producer had told Nina Thorne about it that morning, and she had originally planned to refuse. She had just decided to go moments ago.

"That soon?"

Justin Kane’s brows knitted together. "How long will you be gone?"

Nina Thorne clearly saw a strange flicker in his eyes and almost thought he was reluctant to let her go.

But the thought was fleeting.

Then, she spoke lightly, "Probably about the same as last time. Half a month or so."

"All right."

’As long as she’s back in time for the public banquet on his birthday, it’ll be fine.’

Nina Thorne lowered her gaze, not noticing the change in his expression.

The success party that evening was held at a seven-star hotel.

In addition to the cast and crew, many corporate elites were also invited.

Also in attendance were some of Seth Lawson’s friends from the industry.

Nina Thorne wore a long, floral-print dress in a simple white. The halter-neck design revealed her delicate, pale collarbones. Paired with her hair in a soft updo, she exuded an air of fitting elegance.

With Justin Kane standing beside her—tall and long-legged, with a handsome, chiseled face and a noble, elegant air—the pair naturally drew a great deal of attention.

"Mr. Kane is so handsome... Whoever gets to be his girlfriend would be so lucky."

"Mr. Kane is young and successful, and he’s never been in any scandals. A good man who stays out of trouble is a rare find."

"Haven’t you guys heard? I heard that to get with him, Nina Thorne went so far as to break off her engagement with Cole Kane..."

The hushed whispers were tinged with both envy and jealousy.

Hearing the malicious gossip, Jessica Jenkins said angrily, "If you’re going to be that catty, why don’t you say it to Mr. Kane’s face?"

"Gossiping like this, you’d better watch out or you’ll be thrown out."

The few employees who had been gossiping together quickly dispersed.

Nina Thorne noticed the commotion and glanced over, her eyes meeting Jessica Jenkins’s.

Jessica Jenkins froze, opening her mouth to greet her, but Nina Thorne quickly looked away.

A wave of disappointment washed over Jessica Jenkins.

The moment Nina Thorne and Justin Kane appeared, Seth Lawson spotted them and immediately strode over, letting out a whistle.

"Stunning."

Seth Lawson looked at Nina Thorne, his eyes full of admiration. "Nina Thorne, you’ve grown into such a beauty. To think, ten years ago, you were just a twelve-year-old girl."

Nina Thorne, accustomed to compliments since she was a child, smiled gracefully. "You’re too kind, Seth. And you’re not looking so bad yourself, still going strong."

Seth Lawson: "?"

Justin Kane couldn’t stifle a laugh. "Careful what you say. A vain man like him won’t be happy to hear that."

A bright smile spread across Nina Thorne’s red lips. "I’m just kidding. I’m sure Seth won’t mind."

"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare! You’re Reagan’s cash cow now. Tonight, aside from the director, you’re the guest of honor. You can be sure there’s a big bonus waiting for you."

"Thank you, Seth."

Nina Thorne’s smile was sweet and pure, radiating a calm confidence. She seemed to glow, even just standing there.

Justin Kane watched her with quiet eyes, taking in her every expression. His dark eyes overflowed with adoration.

That look in his eyes, however, was watched by a figure in the distance, sparking intense jealousy.

"So that’s her?"

The woman’s voice was laced with displeasure. Standing in a corner of the crowd, her eyes sharp, she said, "Justin Kane doesn’t like her type."

Angel Anson replied, "Who knows? For her sake, Justin Kane kicked his own adopted sister out of the Kane Family."

The woman’s eyes filled with hostility. She snorted. "She’s just a little white rabbit, pretending to be harmless. It’s all an act."

"Besides, she dated Cole Kane for five years. Her body is already tainted. Justin Kane is a clean freak; he’d never want a woman like that."

"Maybe he just thinks of her as a sister."

"..."

Nina Thorne vaguely sensed a pair of eyes fixed on her.

Puzzled, she turned her head, her gaze sweeping the area, but she didn’t see anything unusual.

Just then, the success party officially began.

Seth Lawson took the stage and lavished praise on the director, the production team, and especially Nina Thorne.

The large screen behind him played clips from the short series, displaying its impressive viewership numbers, chart rankings, and other achievements.

Finally, he called Nina Thorne to the stage to receive her million-dollar bonus.

Nina Thorne was taken aback, not expecting this part of the program. "Do I really have to go up?"

Justin Kane’s eyes were full of adoration as he encouraged her, "You earned this through your own talent. You should let everyone see the fruits of your labor."

Nina Thorne came from a wealthy family and had never been short on money.

But having become a screenwriter by a twist of fate, and now receiving recognition for work that so many people enjoyed—that was a feeling unlike any other.

Without much hesitation, she walked gracefully onto the stage.

Seth Lawson handed her the microphone. "Say a few words."

Nina Thorne nodded, taking the microphone. She looked out at the many faces in the audience, her posture poised and confident.

"In the past, someone told me that being a minor screenwriter wasn’t a respectable profession. To be honest, I even asked myself if this line of work was truly so demeaning that it deserved to be looked down upon."

"Later, someone else told me that there’s no such thing as a high or low profession, and that what matters is doing what you love. I want to take this moment to thank him very much." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"The fact that this project has become so popular, been enjoyed by so many people, and received recognition from the industry, I’m incredibly grateful to the director and the production team. And of course, I will continue to create, and I hope to write more stories that audiences will love. Thank you."

Nina Thorne stood on the stage with a smile, graceful and poised, every word she spoke ringing with sincerity.

When she finished, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

Justin Kane stood in the audience watching her, a clear, adoring smile warming his dark eyes.

’Whether she’s a screenwriter or a genius IT programmer...’

’None of that matters.’

’He just wants to see her happy. Her smile is like a flower blooming in the dead of winter—bright and full of vibrant life.’

Nina Thorne’s gaze met his, and a warmth spread through her heart.

She was about to look away and step down from the stage when she suddenly caught sight of a stunningly beautiful woman in a red dress walking up behind Justin Kane.

The woman raised her hand and patted Justin Kane’s shoulder. "Justin."

Justin Kane turned around, and the woman gave him a coquettish smile before leaning in and planting a kiss on his cheek.

Nina Thorne froze, her hands instinctively tightening on her skirt.

’A name suddenly surfaced in her mind: April Graham.’

Not knowing where the courage came from, Nina Thorne gritted her teeth, stepped off the stage, and walked straight toward them.