He stared for three or four seconds before he finally made a move.

Eleanor Bishop trembled all over. The longing she had felt for all these years completely shattered in this instant.

’She missed him so much. The moment they were together, she was utterly lost in him.’

’She loved him. She really, truly loved him. She, Eleanor Bishop, had never loved a man like this before. That was why, when it came to him, she never knew how to refuse.’

The woman’s reaction made the man stop what he was doing.

He looked at her, his expression cold.

’The moment he thought about how many men this woman had been with...’

’...he grew furious. So, so furious.’

He raised his hand and violently shoved the woman in his arms away.

Eleanor Bishop’s eyes were red as she cried out in disbelief, "Archie, you..."

Archie Lockwood sneered, "If you just want money, you know what to do." ’Didn’t she do a fine job the first time she came to seduce him?’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’She could do just as well now.’

Eleanor Bishop’s head cleared a little, her eyes filled with sorrow. Before she could even react, Archie Lockwood had already grabbed her hand tightly.

"Get on with it!"

"..."

At Archie Lockwood’s shout, Eleanor Bishop’s treacherous tears started to fall again. "Okay, I... I’ll do it..."

Archie Lockwood’s face instantly darkened, his eyes bloodshot. He reached out, yanked her forcefully, and threw her onto the bed. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, spitting out each word, "Eleanor Bishop, you are... utterly... fucking... cheap!"

...

***

Mika Summers and Tristan Grayson took Kiki to see a movie, and the family of three returned home afterward.

’What’s strange,’ she thought, ’is that I had clearly decided to leave. But somehow, in the end, I came back to this house again.’

She looked down at Kiki, who was fast asleep in her arms, her delicate brows furrowed deeply.

"Take Kiki to his room. You can sleep with him tonight," Tristan Grayson said coldly when he saw her standing motionless in the living room.

"Mm," she replied faintly and carried Kiki upstairs.

Watching Mika Summers go upstairs, Tristan Grayson sank wearily onto the sofa. He picked up the keys from the table, a bitter smile playing on his lips. ’Is she really planning on leaving?’

’If Kiki hadn’t told me, would I not have even known when she was gone?’

Thinking about this, he gave another bitter smile, got up, and headed for the door...

「Vespera Bar.」

Cassian Jennings had already lost count of his drinks for the night. A little drunk, he asked, "Ian Shaw, didn’t you say Tristan was coming? Where is he?"

"He should be here soon," Ian Shaw replied nonchalantly, his arm around a woman, toying with a lock of her hair.

"If Tristan isn’t here in the next half hour, I’m leaving," Cassian Jennings said with a smirk, getting to his feet and unsteadily grabbing a bottle from the table.

Ian Shaw shot him an annoyed glare. "What’s the rush? Aiden Avery isn’t here yet, either."

The moment he heard Aiden Avery’s name, the smile on Cassian Jennings’s lips turned mocking. "He’d show up with me here?"

"He’ll come," Ian Shaw said dismissively, sneering.

Cassian Jennings tilted his head back and chugged a large mouthful from the bottle, then casually tossed it aside. He walked over to Ian Shaw, yanked the woman out of his arms, and said, "Come on, let’s go dance!"

Suddenly yanked to her feet by Cassian Jennings, the woman shot Ian Shaw a displeased look.

Ian Shaw just curled his lips into a smile and nodded for her to go along.