Chapter 4

Tommy's gaze stayed fixed on the doorway as he said, "I forgot to tell you. Ariel's last project was a huge success, so the manager's planning to promote her."

"So this is a celebration party for Ariel," I stated.

Tommy's attention was elsewhere. He didn't realize that my voice had already turned icy.

"That's right. Didn't you always complain that I never invited you when I hung out with my colleagues? That's why I invited you this time."

"Tommy, do you remember what day it is today?"

Tommy looked at me in bewilderment.

I nodded, smiled, and said, "Tommy, let's break up."

The confetti poppers went off.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Ariel!"

The explosion of confetti and the cheering drowned out my voice.

By then, Tommy had already rushed to Ariel's side and wrapped an arm around her.

The corner of my lips curled into a mocking smile, and I turned to leave.

I checked my phone and realized Mom had sent me a message half an hour ago. "Your dad and I have boarded the plane. I'm relieved you've finally figured things out."

The young man also happened to be in Draville. Mom said he already agreed to have dinner with us on Wednesday night.

I replied, "Sure." Then I hurried off to the airport.

The next day, I took my parents sightseeing around Draville. We had just finished visiting an attraction when I received a call from Tommy. He anxiously enquired about my whereabouts.

I didn't want to deal with him, but Tommy sounded so frantic, as if something serious had happened. In the end, I sent him my location.

Not long after, Tommy hurried over. To my surprise, Ariel was right on his heels.

When he saw my parents behind me, he froze for a moment before pulling me aside. He lowered his voice and questioned me.

"What's going on? Didn't I tell you I have to be with Ariel on Wednesday? I'm not free to have dinner with your parents."

I cast him an indifferent glance. "You may not be free, but does that mean I can't invite someone else to dinner?"

Tommy thought I was just saying that out of anger and didn't take it to heart. He took out his phone, tapped into a post, and pointed to one of the comments, asking, "Stella, you made that comment, didn't you?"

The post featured several photos taken in the private room from the previous day.

The first photo showed Tommy with his arm around Ariel's shoulders. The second showed him smearing cake on her face. In the third photo, their heads were pressed together closely.

Ariel had made that post, and the caption was, "Had a celebration with my colleague. What a wonderful day!"

There had clearly been other colleagues present at her celebration yesterday, yet she had only posted pictures of her and Tommy.

Ariel's little scheme was so obvious. I scoffed as my gaze fell on that comment.

"I'll be honest. This male colleague already has a girlfriend."

The person who had left that comment even attached a photo of Tommy and me. No wonder he thought I was the one who had posted it.

Tommy fixed his gaze on me. "Ariel's account is under attack. Everyone's cursing her in the comments. If this blows up, it could hurt her.

"Hurry up and reply to that post. Say you were the one who made that comment. Tell everyone you were there too, and we're all good friends."

"And what if I refuse?"

Tommy froze before saying in a low voice, "Stella, you weren't like this before."

He looked at me with a trace of disappointment. It was as if I were the one who had done something wrong. The truth was, he was the one in the wrong.

Before I could even say a single word, Ariel suddenly broke down in tears. "There is nothing between me and Tommy… If my manager comes across that post, my promotion will be ruined!"

Mom and Dad stood nearby. They had no idea what was going on and were looking over at us anxiously.

Tommy suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Stella, if you refuse to help me, I'll ask Mr. and Mrs. Grimm instead!"

With that, he turned toward them, but I called out to him coldly. I really didn't want them to worry about me anymore.

"I'll do it."

I went into the post and typed, "I made that comment earlier. I already ended things with the guy in the photo. Whatever they do has nothing to do with me."

Tommy frowned slightly. "Even if you were trying to clear things up, you didn't have to say stuff like that."

But now that the matter was already settled, he looked a little more relieved.

Tommy looked at me gratefully. "Stella, I knew you still had a good heart. As for tomorrow's dinner, I'll do my best to hurry back and spend time with Mr. and Mrs. Grimm."

I didn't utter a single word, and Tommy took my silence as agreement. He wrapped his arm around Ariel and left.

Dinner had been scheduled for 6:00 pm the next day.

At 7:00 pm, Tommy said he had just dropped Ariel off and would be rushing over. At 8:00 pm, he said she was having menstrual cramps. Since he had to buy her some medicine, he would be running late.

At 9:00 pm, I heard hurried footsteps outside the private room. The next moment, the door opened, and Tommy stepped inside carrying all kinds of gifts.

"Mr. and Mrs. Grimm, I'm sorry I'm late…"

But when Tommy saw what was happening inside the private room, the smile on his face instantly froze.