I was at a complete loss for words.

I never imagined in a million years that this would be how I’d run into Wesley Wenn again—utterly humiliated.

But let me set the record straight. There was no dramatic, scandalous history between Wesley and me.

My father was Wesley’s PhD advisor. Wesley was just one of his many students.

He and Mark had been classmates during grad school. When Mark and I started dating, I’d often go to the business school to see him. Occasionally, I’d bump into Wesley, but we hardly knew each other beyond a polite hello.

Later, Wesley spent more time at my house, working with my dad on research projects. Even then, we rarely interacted, and when we did, it was nothing more than a nod or a brief greeting.

Mark and Wesley had some kind of unresolved tension between them, though. I never knew the details, but it was obvious from the disdain on Mark’s face whenever Wesley’s name came up.

Mark especially couldn’t stand him after Wesley became one of my father’s PhD students. More than once, when Mark came to pick me up from home and saw Wesley there, he’d drop hints, warning me to keep my distance from him.

Back then, I was too naive to see through Mark’s insecurities.

After my father passed away, Wesley attended the funeral. He saw me standing alongside Mark, representing the family and thanking the mourners.

Once the guests had left, Wesley approached me and said, “June, do you even know who Mark really is? Honestly, with your intelligence level, I don’t even know how you got into Riverside University.”

Before I could ask Wesley what he meant by that, Mark showed up out of nowhere and punched Wesley square in the face. “Wesley, I’ve had enough of you.”

Wesley held his face for a moment before calmly chuckling, then threw a punch right back at Mark. “Funny, I’ve had enough of you too.”

The two of them ended up brawling right there in the middle of the funeral reception, and security personnel eventually had to pull them apart.

After that, I didn’t see Wesley again—until tonight. This was the first time we’d crossed paths in years.

He still looked just like he did back in college—composed, cool, distant. The kind of man who always seemed out of reach. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, every inch the successful professional.

Shivering from the cold, I pushed my wind-blown hair out of my face. “Wenn… Wesley?”

Wesley adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m surprised you still remember me.”

I stood there, embarrassed and unsure of what to say. I lowered my gaze, unable to meet his eyes.

Wesley looked me up and down. “Are you broke or something? Because you look like you’re out here trying to scare people in the middle of the night.”

As handsome as he was, he really didn’t know how to talk to people.

I forced a smile, but it was more out of courtesy than humor. I wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

Then, in that split second, I snapped out of the fog I’d been in. If Wesley hadn’t shown up and pulled me back from the street, I might have joined my parents in the afterlife tonight.

Given that we weren’t exactly close, I mumbled a quick “Thank you” and “Goodbye” then turned to leave.

But after taking a few steps, I hesitated.

I glanced back over my shoulder.

Wesley was still standing there, watching me, his deep eyes hidden behind those gold-rimmed glasses, impossible to read. His all-black suit, which looked expensive and impeccably tailored, had a bit of dust on it from when we’d fallen.

After wrestling with my thoughts for a moment, I finally found the courage to speak. “Wesley… could you… could you help me get a room somewhere?”

Wesley froze, staring at me, speechless.