Lucas instinctively reached out and grabbed her hand. “Don’t be scared. I’m right here.”But Mia didn’t respond with words. All he could hear was her uneven breathing, and her grip on his hand kept tightening.He called out tentatively, “Mia? Are you still there?”She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the wave of discomfort rising in her chest. Thinking back to the treatment Sarah had given her earlier, she forced out, “Yeah... I’m here.”“I… I want to find Sarah,” she said at last, unable to hold it together.Lucas immediately picked up on her distress. “I’ll take you to her now.”But the hall was pitch black, and even he couldn’t tell which direction was which.The entire ballroom had plunged into darkness. Amid the confusion, someone shouted, “Is there a power outage?!”“Please don’t panic! We’ve already sent someone to check it out,” Sarah said calmly, stepping into the center of the room.So far, things were still under control. Several celebrities turned on their ph
“Fine, go ahead and eat it,” Sarah said, turning away.The table in front of her was lined with gingerbread cookies. She randomly grabbed a few and tossed them onto her plate, along with a couple of pastries.But Zachary circled around and stepped in front of her again, locking eyes with her.“Watch me eat it.”Sarah fought the urge to throw the plate in his face. She clenched her teeth. “What are you, five? You need someone to watch you eat an apple?”How had she never realized he was this childish before?His lips glistened with apple juice, and she instinctively swallowed. “I’ve got work to do.”“Is it really so hard,” he said, “to just say you want to kiss me?”Her eyes widened. “Who wants to kiss you, pervert?!”Her voice shot up in volume, drawing a few stares. She immediately lowered her voice again. “Narcissist.”She had no idea how to deal with him anymore. Just then, Melvin appeared, and she quickly walked over, hoping he’d drive Zachary away—he’d always hated the g
She nearly facepalmed.Which staff member bought those apples? Dock their pay.Zachary finally looked up. “You’re the only one who’s ever given me an apple.”Sarah blinked. “Seriously? You’ve never celebrated Christmas before?”“Every Christmas, tons of people try to send me gifts. I always have my assistant return them—unopened. I’ve never accepted a single one.”“That’s… kind of sad.”If Mia were standing here, she’d probably roll her eyes and say, “Sad? My Christmas apples probably ended up in some dog’s food bowl.”Zachary looked at her. “Sasa, I’m really happy today.”“You’ve only been here for five minutes,” Sarah replied, wary. “Wait! Don’t say some cheesy pickup line!”Steven wandered over just in time. “Zachary, tell her the ones I wrote for you! Way better than any cringey sweet talk.”Scarlett jumped in too, hyping him up. “Yeah! Steven is the king of romantic lines.”Sarah rubbed her forehead. There’s no saving her.“I wasn’t going to say anything cheesy,” Zacha
“Steven,” Zachary said calmly, “go back to Scarlett now. Don’t mention what just happened to anyone. And I mean anyone. Forget it, too. As for that man… I’ll look into him. Leave everything to me, alright? Acting on impulse is reckless. If you tip him off before we know the full picture, you’ll ruin everything. You don’t want him to get suspicious, do you?”Hearing Zachary’s words, Steven slowly calmed down. “Zachary… do you really think you can find him?”“I can,” Zachary replied without hesitation. “When I say I want to find someone, I never fail. And the fact that he dared come back to East Coast? That just makes it easier. He’s walked right into the trap. Don’t you want to know who’s the mastermind?”Steven nodded firmly. “I trust you, Zachary.”“Good. Then act like nothing happened. Eat, drink, have fun—just like before. Leave the rest to me.”—The banquet was going smoothly. As night fell, the weather turned chilly, so everyone moved into the hotel’s grand hall. Sarah had
The woman lowered her gaze, bit her lip, then looked up with a sultry smile. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said softly, “Good evening, Mr. Spencer.”“Evening,” Leon replied.As soon as he heard her voice, Leon realized she wasn’t the real thing—but God, she looked almost exactly like her.Those eyes, that delicate mouth, the pale, porcelain skin… Her features were nearly identical to Sarah’s.But the moment she spoke, the excitement in Leon’s eyes faded. No matter how alike she looked, she wasn’t her.Vivian noticed his disappointment and said lightly, “If you can’t have the real thing, isn’t a perfect copy the next best option? Besides, she’ll be very useful to us.”Leon didn’t respond. Instead, he slipped an arm around the woman’s waist and used his other hand to lift her chin, his voice low and smooth. “What’s your name?”“I’ll be whoever you want me to be,” she answered shyly, her eyes fixed on the tip of his nose.“Then your name is Sasa.”The moment the
Charlotte stepped back into James’s study. The cup from earlier was still tipped over, and the computer screen remained lit. She had to check—was there a second invitation?She reopened the Pine Mist Island Resort website—only to be met with a live broadcast screen.She forgot about crying. Wiping her tears away quickly, she clicked into the stream.The resort's site was airing the Christmas gala live from multiple camera angles. She could even switch between them.Charlotte felt like a detective, scanning each feed one by one—until finally, in the lower right corner of the main feed, she spotted a familiar figure.James.He really had gone to the party.Even after she’d torn that damn invitation apart, he’d still managed to get in.Fury surged through her. She grabbed the nearby cup and hurled it at the floor.The shattering porcelain rang out like a scream.So that was it? He liked her that much? Liked her so much that even just seeing her from afar, without a word, was eno