THIRD PERSON’S POV

After returning from dinner with Lance, Sophia had gone straight into the bathroom without speaking much to Bianca.

Emotionally and even physically, she felt completely drained.

She let the hot water pour over her skin as she stood under the shower.

Usually, hot showers calmed her wolf, but tonight even her wolf remained restless beneath her skin.

Sophia closed her eyes tightly. The images from the restaurant kept replaying in her mind no matter how hard she tried stopping them.

She saw the images of Zade feeding another woman and that actress leaning against him comfortably.

“Husband.”

Her chest tightened painfully again. Sophia’s eyes burned with tears but she shook her head.

No.

She refused letting herself cry over him again.

Hadn’t she suffered enough already?

When she was done, she moved to her room and took her phone from the nightstand.

Several notifications filled the screen. They were all from Zade.

Sophia opened the chat but the moment she did, she became even more confused.

Every message had already been unsent. The screen only showed repeated notifications.

Message unsent. Message unsent. Message unsent.

Sophia blinked in confusion.

What did he say? Why unsend his messages.

Meanwhile, Zade still sat inside his car. He hadn’t gone home yet.

His wolf remained unstable and restless.

Zade stared down at his phone again, expecting a message from Sophia. He got nothing.

His jaw tightened harder.

Earlier tonight, after watching Sophia leave with Lance, he had nearly driven back to Bianca’s apartment. The urge to drag Sophia away from every man around her had become almost uncontrollable.

But eventually...he forced himself to stop. Instead, he sent messages - too many messages.

These were angry ones, possessive ones and drunken emotional ones he immediately regretted after sending them. So, he unsent all of them.

Zade leaned his head back against the seat. For the first time in years...he genuinely didn’t know what to do anymore.

Then suddenly, another thought entered his mind.

Tiffany.

Perfect.

Zade opened another chat window, then sent a short message to her.

Zade: Come see me tonight.

-

At Damien’s villa, Tiffany sat beside Ashley’s bed pretending to help her read.

Ashley looked much healthier now but she still remained emotionally dependent on Tiffany constantly.

Damien sat nearby reviewing work documents quietly while occasionally looking at Ashley with concern.

The atmosphere inside the room remained peaceful until suddenly, Tiffany’s phone vibrated.

The moment she saw the sender, her expression changed instantly.

It was Zade.

Panic showed in her eyes immediately. Her heart skipped hard in her chest.

Damien noticed at once.

“What happened?” he asked.

Tiffany immediately locked the phone screen, too quickly.

“N-Nothing.” She said.

Damien’s eyes narrowed. Her reaction looked strange. She seemed...tense.

“What message scared you like that?” he asked calmly.

Tiffany forced a soft laugh “It’s not a big deal.”

“Then?”

Her mind raced quickly now. She absolutely couldn’t let Damien see Zade’s message.

Quickly, Tiffany lied.

“It’s just one of those emotional-learning videos from my university group,” she lied smoothly. “They keep sending psychology content nonstop lately.”

Damien stared at her several seconds longer. His wolf instinct clearly sensed something slightly off but eventually...he looked away again.

“Mm.” he hummed.

Tiffany silently exhaled in relief. Thankfully, Damien didn’t press further. Still...her heartbeat remained uneven now. Zade contacting her shocked her deeply.

She was a bit excited to respond but then, she saw some other notifications. It was the news articles tonight.

She opened them to read. The articles were everywhere already.

They showed photos of Zade dining intimately with famous actress Celeste Laurent. The photos had spread online within hours. Even social media was flooded with discussions about them now.

Yet...he was still messaging her privately?

Tiffany smirked. She felt a little excited and so did her wolf. Because despite the actress beside him tonight... Zade still contacted her.

Ashley yawned sleepily beside her “Tiffany...”

Tiffany softened her expression. “Yes?”

“I’m tired.”

“Then sleep, my love.”

Several minutes later, Tiffany finally stood.

“I should go home tonight,” she said softly. “I still need studying.”

Damien looked up “At this hour?”

“There’s a research deadline approaching.”

He frowned “You’ve barely rested lately.”

Tiffany forced a tired smile. “I’ll be okay.”

Damien sighed quietly as he stood “I’ll drive you.”

Tiffany nodded “Thank you?”

The car ride remained mostly silent. The moment Damien stopped outside her new villa, Tiffany quickly thanked him then hurried inside almost immediately.

Only after locking the front door behind herself did she finally pull out her phone again.

Her heartbeat got even faster. She opened social media first and immediately saw them – photos, videos and articles of Zade and Celeste dining together intimately tonight. One video even showed Celeste leaning against his shoulder while smiling brightly at him.

Tiffany’s expression darkened. She felt excited before but now, she felt a bit jealous.

Despite understanding logically that Zade probably used the actress for publicity...she still disliked seeing another woman beside him, especially one that beautiful.

Her fingers tightened around the phone. Then slowly...a small calculating smile appeared on her lips.

Tiffany realized something important - Zade wanted her attention tonight. Otherwise, why contact her immediately after appearing publicly with another woman?

He was testing her, trying pulling her closer emotionally.

And honestly...that realization made Tiffany feel triumphant.

Men like Zade never chased women. Women chased him.

But now? He was contacting her first.

Her pride immediately swelled. Tiffany opened his messages again.

“Come see me tomorrow night.”

She typed back calmly.

Tiffany: I don’t think it’s appropriate. You already have someone accompanying you publicly tonight. I don’t want misunderstandings.

She tossed the phone onto the bed after sending it.

Playing hard to get always worked best with powerful men, especially men used to getting everything easily.

Several minutes later, her phone vibrated again. Tiffany grabbed it eagerly.

But the moment she read Zade’s reply...her smile froze in place.

Zade: Suit yourself

That was all? Nothing more. No explanation. No chasing. No emotional reaction.

He just replied indifferently like he didn’t care?

Tiffany blinked slowly at the screen. Her pride became slightly wounded immediately.

His detached response made her feel like she overestimated her importance.

Still...she quickly recovered.

No. That was fine too. Actually....it was better.

Men like Zade became more invested slowly over time. The more unavailable she appeared, the more attention he would eventually give her.

At least...that was what Tiffany believed.

She smiled to herself as she looked at her phone.

Meanwhile somewhere else in the city, Zade stared coldly at Tiffany’s rejection.

And felt absolutely nothing.