Can't Win Me Back

As Alyssa stared at the man in the photo, her heart clenched with each beat, then raced erratically.

The yellowing border indicated the photo's age.

In the image, Jonah and the man appeared intimately affectionate.

Even though the photo couldn't speak, Alyssa could tell that Jonah and he were lovers. Their affection for each other was evident in

the depth of their eyes.

Jonah's smile in the photo was so bright and warm. Even Alyssa, who had been raised by Jonah since childhood, had never seen

such a smile on his face, not even when he was with Julien.

Somehow, a murky and inexplicable emotion lodged in Alyssa's chest, causing her discomfort.

Suddenly, she heard steady footsteps outside the study.

Alyssa quickly put the Bible back in its place and slipped the photo into her pocket.

The door to the study clicked open.

Jonah, wearing dark blue silk pajamas, entered leisurely. When he saw Alyssa, a smile crept on his face. "When did you come, Lyse?

Did you wait for long?"

"Not too long."

Alyssa's face stiffened slightly as she glanced outside. "Is Jul awake?"

"Not yet. He loves to sleep in. We had a good tlast night, so | doubt he'll be up before afternoon." Jonah's dark eyes rippled Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

with affection as he spoke.

Alyssa bit her lip and took a deep breath before saying, "Jonah, could you close the door? | want to talk to you privately."

Jonah didn't think much of it. He turned to close the door and then returned to stand in front of her. "Lyse, you don't look too good.

What happened?”

Alyssa lowered her eyelashes and slowly retrieved the photo from her pocket before handing it to Jonah. "Who is this person,

Jonah?"

As Jonah looked at the photo, his face instantly drained of color. His heart clenched painfully before plunging into uncontrollable

palpitations.

So many years had passed, but his heart still pounded violently when he saw him as if it were his first tmeeting him.

"Your... ex?" Alyssa got the affirmative answer from his stunned expression.

Jonah's fingertips trembled as he took the photo. His voice was hoarse. "You found that Bible?"

"I stumbled upon it. You know how | like to snoop around. | often like to go 'treasure hunting’ in your study."

Jonah smiled, but his eyes were tinged with sadness, and he felt stifled. "When | was still Judas,’ he was one of Cloudtop's heads.

He sacrificed himself formore than once. He used to be one of the most trusted and cherished people in my life."

Of course, Alyssa knew about Cloudtop.

It used to be the largest gang in the country, with influence all over Andgalbia. Even during the heyday of the Ivory Gang, it

couldn't compare to Cloudtop back then.

But later, Cloudtop disbanded, and its members scattered to various corners of the world.

Sof the core members from back then were said to have established their own gangs, but no one could recreate Cloudtop's

glory.

To be precise, the glory of the era when "Judas" was in charge.

Alyssa lowered her voice and asked, "So where is he now?"

"Dead."

Jonah's chest felt empty, as if the heart that died with the man back then had been brutally dug out again at the mention of him.

"Six years ago, he was exposed as a spy from Kontina's underground organization called Khaos. His job was to infiltrate Cloudtop,

gather intel, and undermine its influence from the inside."