Chapter 10 Few hours later . 65 vouchers She was right . Again . Because of course she was . The chicken adobo was divine . Rich . Tender . Flavor - packed . The sauce alone tasted like it had been blessed by generations of Filipino grandmothers . I told myself I'd have one serving . That was a lie . I had three . Maybe four . Jeeves might have kept count . I hoped not . And then she brought out leche flan . LECHE , FLAN . That golden slice of creamy heaven with caramel that shimmered like lies and temptation . It jiggled . Mocked me . Whispered " one more bite won't hurt . " So naturally , I finished it . " Did you lace this with sorcery ? " I muttered mid - bite . She winked . " Butter . Sugar . Egg yolk . Childhood trauma . The usual . " And then she just ... sauntered off . As if she didn't just ruin me , body and soul . One hour later , I was in the middle of fake - exercising , groaning dramatically on the yoga mat , when a very evil idea hit me . I glanced toward the kitchen , where she was washing dishes in yet another ridiculous outfit - this time a casual crop top and leggings , probably costing less than the towel I use to wipe my mouth , and yet somehow making her look like a goddess on laundry day . And that's when I made my move . I reached for the hem of my shirt . Stretched . Groaned . " Oh man ... that flan workout is killing me ... " And then - Off came the shirt . Just like that . Steven McLeon : 30 years old . Billionaire . Former racing god . Still got it ... I angled myself just so on the mat , glistening under natural penthouse lighting like a cologne ad . The abs were there . They were showing up for battle . It was payback . Pure and beautiful payback for her accidental wet T - shirt moment . I was the villain now . The sexy , shirtless villain . And I knew - knew - when she turned around , she'd freeze . Maybe gasp . Maybe drop a plate . Any second now . She turned . 11:26 Thu , Sep 18 Chapter 10 Looked at me . Paused . I smirked . : She blinked once , expression flat . " Put . Your . Shirt . Back . On . " My smirk faltered . " Excuse me ? " " You look like a sad fitness YouTuber who got dumped mid - push - up . No one's impressed ." I sat up . " Are you kidding me ? These abs paid for this penthouse ." 071 E55 vouchers She shrugged , drying her hands . " Yeah , and now they're sitting there like two drumsticks trying to recover from lunch . Put it away , superstar . You're full ." I gawked . " Full ? " She raised an eyebrow . " You had four cups of rice . You're in a food coma . You are the abs , but the abs are not awake right now ." I stared at her , betrayed . " You're supposed to drool ." She smirked as she walked past me . " I only drool for leche flan ." Wounded . Betrayed . Played like a drumstick . I lay back down dramatically , shirtless and offended . She didn't even give me a second glance . And that's when it hit me . This girl ? She was dangerous . Not because she cooked like a dream or tortured me with physical therapy . But because she made me , Steven Freaking McLeon , feel like I wasn't the center of the universe anymore . And for some twisted reason ... I kind of liked it . ***** ( Madison's POV ) Holy . Mother . Of . Garlic Rice . There he was . Steven McLeon . Shirtless . Glorious . Smirking like he just stepped out of a cologne ad titled " Sins of the Six- Pack And oh - he still got it . Those abs . Not six . Not seven . EIGHT . Eight - pack abs . Sculpted like they were chiseled by petty Greek gods in a midlife crisis . 11:26 Thu , Sep 18 Chapter 10 71 1355 vouchers Toned , glistening , golden skin , every muscle flexing like they had contracts with Calvin Klein . I stood there , dish towel in one hand , trying to look unimpressed . Key word : trying . Because in my brain ? Absolute chaos . Where did the rice and the chiken go ?? He ate four servings ! FOUR ! Was he digesting it with sheer willpower ?? Did he convert adobo into core strength ?? My eyeballs ? Working overtime . Zoom . Scan . Snap . Mental screenshots taken in HD . Memory folder : " Abs McLeon - For Scientific Research ( and maybe dreams ) . " But on the outside ? I gave him nothing . Hell no ! Flat expression . Professional sass . Ice Queen energy . I raised one eyebrow and said , " Put your shirt back on . You look like a motivational TikTok influencer that sells questionable supplements ." He blinked . Victory . I walked past him , towel in hand , heart racing like I had just done a sprint session . But inside ? Oh , honey . Inside , I was clutching a pillow and screaming . Good Lord the man is carved from regret and temptation . That V - line alone could bankrupt me emotionally . Focus , Madison . You are a professional . A mature adult . A strong , independent woman who doesn't drool over abs in broad daylight- I glanced back for 0.3 seconds . Yep . Still shirtless . Yep . Still hot . I muttered under my breath , " Stupid perfect torso . " The worst part ? He knew . He knew what he was doing . 11:27 Thu , Sep 18 Chapter 10 : " Still here ? " he said , voice low and slow and way too aware of itself . I leaned on the counter . " Still shirtless ? " He grinned . " Still devastating ? " 71 155 vouchers Ugh . I rolled my eyes and walked over with my glass of water . " You done flexing for the furniture ? " He sat up , abs doing things they had no right to do , and smirked . " Depends . Did the furniture respond better than you did ? " I gave him a look . " I was this close to calling pest control . You looked like a very hydrated gym rat ." He laughed - laughed , deep and rich and the kind of sound that wrapped around your spine and tickled parts . of you you didn't know were lonely . " Wow , " he said . " That's new . Usually people try to climb me when I do that ." I sipped my water coolly . " Well , I'm not ' people . " " Oh , trust me , " he murmured , gaze locking with mine , " I noticed ." For a split second , everything stopped . No words . Just the space between us thick with tension , challenge , heat . Then I blinked . " Put a shirt on , Romeo . You're too pretty to be taken seriously ." And with that , I turned and walked away . I could feel his smirk still burning into my back . And I smiled too - because he didn't know it , but this war ? I was winning . Mentally drooling ? Absolutely . Publicly surrendering ? Never. AD Comment Send gift