Chapter 45 She turned her head away , trying to escape his touch . " Hold still , " his deep voice commanded softly . Sarah tensed up , her voice awkward . " Mr. Reynolds , I can do it myself … " " Almost done , " Zachary continued , clearly not intending to stop as he focused on gathering her hair . Her hair was thick and heavy in his hands , silky black and smooth to touch . The sea breeze carried its fresh scent to him . From his angle , he could clearly see her elegant swan - like neck , its graceful lines strangely enticing . His eyes darkened slightly as he swallowed , quickly looking away after securing the final loop of the hair tie . " Done . " " Thank you , " Sarah replied stiffly . Noticing her tension , Zachary teased unexpectedly , " What's wrong ? Falling for me ? " Sarah froze . The flutter in her heart just now had been real . But someone like Zachary was far out of her reach . First , she was divorced . Second , the Reynolds family's status and wealth far exceeded the Chancers . Their standards for a potential daughter - in - law would be exponentially higher - a divorced woman with no connections would never qualify . Better to kill any feelings before they could grow . " Mr. Reynolds , " she looked at him directly , deciding on honesty , " I think we should maintain appropriate boundaries . Our only connection is Mia's treatment . Beyond that , if you genuinely want to be friends , I'm honored . " Leaving it at that , she stood and walked toward Steven's grill , offering to help . 1 Zachary watched her go , raising an eyebrow . He'd been too hasty , shown his hand too soon . But no matter there was plenty of time . After a satisfying beach barbecue , Steven drove everyone home , dropping off Scarlett and Sarah in turn . Once Sarah had gone inside , Steven teased Zachary . " Boss , you must really be serious about Sarah , huh ? " Zachary sat with his eyes closed , not bothering to look at Steven . " What makes you say that ? " 1/2 Chapter 45 Steven grinned . " Last time we planned a beach barbecue , you called it unsanitary and made us go to a restaurant instead . " Zachary : " … " 11 Perhaps exhausted from the late night , Sarah slept well , completely forgetting the afternoon's unpleasantness . Though she woke up later than usual the next day , she still made it to school on time . But something felt off about the atmosphere . Sarah frowned , noticing students whispering and staring as they passed . Learning from experience , she immediately pulled out her phone and opened the university forum . A highlighted headline at the top caught her eye : " Beautiful School Counsellor's Secret Affair Exposed - Ex - Husband's Heartbreaking Discovery ! " Sarah smiled . Even now , the Chancers wouldn't leave her alone . Did they really think she was so helpless ? Clicking through to see the supposed evidence , she felt contempt . She recognized the scene immediately - photos from when Zachary had picked up Mia and invited her to dinner . Zachary , Mia , and even his car were heavily pixelated , leaving only her face clearly visible , making it appear like she was on a date with some man . They called this evidence ?