Chapter 151
The man’s gaze was dark and unreadable. “At the Summit Forum, you need to shine.
Selene didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Are you picking up the tab for me this time, Professor?”
Isadora laughed. “Miss Selene, please–choose whatever you like. Mr. Vaughn has arranged for the entire collection from the European ready–to–wear line to be brought in. There’s no budget.”
Selene’s heart did a little leap of delight. So Leo really had considered bringing her into the Draco Research Institute after all!
He wanted her to stand out, to make a mark at the Summit Forum.
Another challenge from Leo.
“Thank you for the generous welcome gift, Professor. I promise I’ll repay you a thousandfold–I’ll make sure you see my worth.”
A pure, radiant smile blossomed across Selene’s face. If Leo was prepared to invest in her, she’d make sure he got a spectacular return.
With Daph at her side, Selene picked out a few gowns. She slipped into a dressing room and, after a few minutes, emerged transformed.
“Wow!!”
Daph, perched on the sofa, watched with wide, sparkling eyes. She’d never seen Selene in a gown before, let alone one encrusted with crystals.
Selene glided into the room, the hem of her dress swirling like stardust at her feet. For a moment, it was as if she’d stepped straight out of a fairy tale.
“Mama looks like an angel!” Daph gave her a huge thumbs–up.
“Come here,” Leo said quietly.
Selene walked over and knelt gracefully at his feet, the gown’s rippling skirt pooling around her like a silken wave.
“Do you like it?” She looked up at him, the gesture oddly reminiscent of a knight pledging loyalty to her king.
Leo picked up the pearl necklace that an assistant was holding in a velvet box. His cool fingertips brushed the nape of her neck as he fastened it around her throat, the
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Chapter 15
contact sending an Involuntary shiver through her.
Selene glanced up at Leo, her eyes clear and resolute–like a soldier receiving her commission.
Daph, quick as ever, snapped a photo with her smartwatch.
Just then, a message from Adrian popped up. He’d sent Daph a picture of a capybara plushie–her current obsession. In return, Daph sent him the photo she’d just taken.
“Mama is drop–dead gorgeous today!”
Back at the law firm, Adrian checked his phone, and the corner of his mouth lifted as soon as he saw Selene’s photo.
Graceful, unvarnished beauty–like a lily blooming in clear water.
He made it to his office and sat down, intending to admire the photo at leisure. But his gaze snagged on something at the edge of the image–an unfamiliar pant leg.
Whose pant leg was that? Where’s my knife?
He zoomed in, scrutinizing the photo.
No doubt about it: those belonged to a man, probably around six–foot–two.
Adrian messaged Daph. “Where are you and Mama?”
“At Professor’s house.”
Adrian’s eyebrows shot up. Which professor? What kind of teacher behaved like
this?
He was already composing a legal complaint in his head.
Then another message from Daph: “Mama’s professor is my great–uncle.”
Great–uncle?
So it was that Vaughn–the prodigy the family had talked about for generations.
Since Adrian was a kid, Leo had always been the golden standard–the one his father compared him to.
Did the golden boy also reach for that distant moon?
Adrian leaned his elbow on his knee, phone in hand. His clear, bright eyes stared at
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the photo, his other hand propping up his cheek.
In the picture, Selene gazed at Leo with a look of pure, glowing admiration.
Gradually, Adrian’s lively expression faded, his eyes dulling as bitterness crept in.
He ran his tongue along the inside of his teeth, tasting nothing but sourness.
Sweet Moon would never look at him like that. That look belonged to someone worshipping a god–pure reverence.
He shot off a text to Theodore.
“Maybe I’m just destined to be the other man.”
Theodore, currently having tea with a group of old professors, nearly spat out his drink when he read Adrian’s message.
