Chapter 7: A Childhood Promise and a Stinging Bait

A sharp pain in her stomach forced Emma to get out of bed several hours later. The nauseating hunger—an effect of drinking alcohol on an empty stomach just a few hours earlier—left her with no choice but to go out in search of food at the hotel's twenty-four-hour restaurant.

However, fate seemed far from finished with tormenting Emma's sanity that night.

The moment Emma opened her room door, the sight waiting for her in the dimly lit hallway greeted her immediately. There, leaning against the corridor wall not far from her room, stood Zane with Violet Iris. The woman was standing on tiptoe, her arms wrapped affectionately around Zane's neck as she showered his neck with intimate kisses. Zane made no attempt to stop her; instead, he let Violet continue with his eyes closed, as though deliberately savoring her affection to vent the anger he still harbored toward Emma from earlier.

Emma paused for a brief moment.

Instead of crying or throwing a tantrum as she would have seven years ago, a faint, bitter smile curved across her lips instead.

Instead of reflecting on what I said in the room earlier, this bastard immediately found someone else to satisfy himself right in front of me, Emma thought, utterly at a loss over how shallow Zane's heart truly was.

Without any intention of confronting them or causing a scene, Emma continued walking calmly. She passed the affectionate couple as though they were nothing more than decorations along the hotel corridor.

Seeing Emma's indifferent and icy reaction, Zane's ego was suddenly stung. A burning sensation spread through his chest as he felt completely ignored. With a rough, sudden movement, he shoved Violet's shoulder, breaking their embrace.

"Zane! Why?" Violet cried out in protest, pouting as she struggled to catch her breath after her desire had been interrupted so abruptly. "Didn't you say we were going to sleep together tonight? You were the one who brought me to this floor!"

Zane did not answer. His eyes remained fixed on Emma's retreating figure as she walked toward the elevator.

Feeling that her pride had been trampled, Violet immediately grabbed the sleeve of Zane's shirt, forcing him to look at her.

"Hey, have you forgotten, Zane?! I'm the little girl who saved you when you almost fell from the top of that mountain! When you got lost in the wilderness and nearly died! And your promise back then... you said I would be the only woman you would ever love!"

Zane coldly pulled his arm away, staring at Violet with sharp, impatient eyes.

"Forget that ridiculous childhood promise, Violet."

"What?!" Violet gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief as she heard such heartless words come from the man who had always pampered her in front of the public.

Without caring about the shock written all over Violet's face, Zane brushed past her and immediately broke into a light run after Emma. But he was too late. The elevator doors at the end of the hallway had already closed, carrying Emma down to the lower floor. Zane cursed under his breath and slammed his fist against the elevator wall in growing frustration.

He had lost her.

Meanwhile, Emma chose not to go to the hotel's main restaurant. Instead, she headed toward the open lounge area near the swimming pool on the lower floor, where it was much quieter, hoping to get some fresh air.

Her footsteps suddenly slowed when her eyes caught sight of a very familiar man sitting in one corner of the lounge.

Lucas.

The powerful middle-aged man was sitting casually on a luxurious rattan sofa, a glass of red wine in one hand as he gazed at the city's nighttime skyline with the elegance of an absolute ruler.

A sharp, calculating smile appeared on Emma's lips.

She recalled every detail from the article she had read in the bathroom earlier—this man was untouchable, cold, and believed that every woman was a trap.

Let's see how long that wall of ice can hold, Emma thought boldly.

Emma walked closer, deliberately allowing the soft clicks of her heels to echo against the marble floor. When only two steps separated them, she stopped and leaned slightly toward Lucas.

"Mmm... Uncle," Emma greeted him in a deliberately casual yet teasing tone, breaking the silence of the night.

Lucas did not move, but his ice-cold gaze slowly shifted away from the city view and locked directly onto Emma's face, where a smug smile now lingered.

"Have you investigated me over the past hour, Uncle?" Emma asked in a near whisper, her eyes gleaming with dangerously fearless confidence. "Well... at the very least, after checking all of my information, you now know that I'm not one of the cheap women your family sent to trap you."

Lucas's hand, which had been about to raise the wine to his lips, froze instantly in midair.

The pair of dark eyes belonging to the European billionaire stared at Emma with an intensity that suddenly became deeper and sharper, stripping away every layer of expression from the young woman who now dared to disturb his peace.