Selene stepped out from the Golden Gate suite and immediately caught the commotion downstairs.
From the mezzanine, she paused, watching the crowd gathered around a focal point on the ground floor.
Adrian’s voice sounded quietly behind her. “I never asked you–back when Natalie was alive, what was your relationship with her like?”
Hearing that name, so distant now, Selene froze, momentarily lost in old memories. She turned to Adrian, puzzled. “Natalie grew up with Felicity. They were like sisters–always close. I… didn’t really get along with Natalie.”
Her first meeting with Natalie had been at the Thompson family’s welcome banquet. Natalie had taken her aside and issued a warning.
Thinking back, it was probably something Felicity had said that put Natalie on edge, making her hostile from the start.
Selene’s gaze drifted to the dazzling crystal chandelier, her eyes clouding with old regrets.
“Things got better between us, though, before she died.”
And then, on an ordinary morning, Selene had woken to the news: Natalie was
gone.
The man who hurt her paid the price, but the Vaughn family was never the same–laughter vanished from their halls.
Selene glanced at Adrian, genuinely surprised. “Why are you bringing up Natalie all of a sudden?”
Adrian looked down toward the ballroom. “That girl down there–she was Natalie’s friend.”
Selene blinked, following his gaze. Was he talking about that injured waitress?
She turned back, only to find Adrian’s face inches from hers–their breaths almost mingling.
Her eyes widened, and in that moment, all she could see were his striking, soulful
eyes.
11.26
“Keep this between us, okay?! His voice was low and teasing, as if sharing a secret just to amuse her.
From the lobby below, Leo could only see most of Selene’s figure blocked by Adrian’s frame.
From Harrison’s vantage point, however, the two of them on the stairs looked scandalously intimate–like they were about to kiss.
He no longer cared about the sobbing waitress beside him. Ignoring Vivian’s attempts to hold him back, Harrison strode toward the staircase, not even realizing he was running now.
In what felt like a heartbeat, he was behind Selene.
She didn’t sense him until a sudden chill crept up her neck and a large hand clamped down on her shoulder.
Before she could react, she was yanked backward by a forceful grip.
As she lost her balance, Adrian caught her by the waist just in time, pulling her into his arms. She collided against his chest, breathless.
Adrian drew her firmly to his side.
But another man’s hand was still clamped around her slender waist.
Something snapped in Harrison’s mind.
All his boundaries–patience, restraint, reason–were trampled in an instant.
He met Adrian’s gaze, and saw nothing but challenge and disdain in the other man’s
eyes.
With a surge of fury, Harrison swung at Adrian’s face.
Adrian dodged, the fist barely grazing his cheek–but in that split second, Adrian flashed a mocking, triumphant smile.
Realization struck Harrison; he’d played right into Adrian’s hands.
And then everything spun out of his control.
There was a heavy, sickening thud.
Selene felt Adrian’s grip vanish from her waist. She saw him crash into a marble column with bone–jarring force, the air knocked out of him.
He clutched his chest, staggered, and blood spilled from his lips.
