Who?

Morning sunlight filtered softly through the curtains, spilling across the bedroom in pale golden streaks.

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

Isabella’s lashes twitched faintly before her brows slowly knitted together.

…Wait.

This pillow felt too soft.

And this bed—

Her eyes snapped open.

A luxurious crystal chandelier hung above her head. The unfamiliar ceiling, the faint scent of sandalwood lingering in the air, the dark grey walls, the absurdly expensive-looking furniture—

Isabella froze.

“…What the hell?”

She shot upright so quickly that her head spun instantly.

“Ow—!”

Fragments of last night rushed back into her mind in broken pieces.

Dinner.

Drinking.

Getting lost.

That disgusting fat man.

Alex.

Then—

Her expression blanked.

“…No way.”

She immediately yanked the blanket down to inspect herself.

Clothes changed.

Clean pajamas.

Her soul nearly left her body.

“AHHHHH—!”

The bedroom door suddenly swung open.

The maid standing outside looked startled. “Miss Isabella, is something wrong?!”

Isabella pointed at herself with trembling fingers. “Who changed my clothes?!”

The maid blinked before quickly lowering her head respectfully. “Please rest assured, Miss Isabella. It was me and the other female staff.”

Isabella’s soul finally crawled back into her body.

“…Thank God.”

The maid hesitated briefly before speaking again.

“Sir instructed us to prepare breakfast once you woke up.”

Isabella paused.

“Sir?”

The maid looked confused for a moment, as though the answer should have been obvious.

“CEO Sterling.”

“…Oh.”

For some reason, hearing that name this early in the morning caused her brain to short-circuit for two full seconds.

The maid smiled politely. “Would you like me to help you freshen up first?”

“No need, no need. I can do it myself!”

After washing up, Isabella stood in front of the bathroom mirror for a while, staring at her reflection silently.

Then she sighed.

“…This is embarrassing.”

How did she even end up sleeping at Alexander Sterling’s house again?

At this rate, she was starting to feel weirdly familiar with the place.

A few minutes later, she walked downstairs.

And immediately spotted him.

Alexander sat at the dining table with a cup of coffee beside him, calmly reviewing documents on a tablet.

The soft morning light filtered across his face, easing the usual cold sharpness around him.

He looked… comfortable.

Relaxed.

As though this was simply another ordinary morning.

Hearing her footsteps, he lifted his gaze.

Their eyes met.

Then his gaze paused slightly.

Probably because her hair still looked messy from sleep.

“You’re awake,” he said calmly.

His tone was natural.

Too natural.

As though her appearing in his house first thing in the morning was no longer strange at all.

For some reason, Isabella suddenly felt awkward.

“…Morning.”

Alexander’s gaze lingered on her briefly before shifting toward the seat across from him.

“Come eat first.”

The breakfast spread on the table was ridiculously excessive.

Soup dumplings.

Toast.

Fruit.

Congee.

Eggs.

Even her favorite mango juice was there.

Isabella blinked.

“…Did you rob a restaurant this morning?”

A faint trace of amusement flickered through his eyes.

“No.”

She sat down slowly, still slightly dazed from the hangover.

Then another thought suddenly struck her.

“…Wait.”

She looked up suspiciously.

“How did you know I like mango juice?”

Alexander calmly turned a page on the tablet.

“You drank three cups the last time.”

Isabella froze.

“…You remembered that?”

This time, Alexander finally looked up properly.

His gaze met hers steadily.

“I remember many things about you.”

“Oh—”

Isabella nearly choked on her juice.

She immediately lowered her head and coughed awkwardly.

“Umm… where’s Saviee?” she asked quickly, looking around to avoid his gaze.

“He has an appointment with his doctor,” Alexander replied without looking up again.

“Doctor?” Isabella frowned slightly. “Is he sick?”

Alexander finally lifted his gaze from the tablet, looking at her as though he couldn’t believe she was only realizing this now.

“He has a speech disorder caused by PTSD,” he said calmly. “Why do you think he communicates with a board?”

“Oh…”

Isabella blinked.

“I never really thought deeply about it.”

Alexander looked at her for a second before shaking his head faintly.

“You really are a little dumb sometimes.”

“Hey!”

A faint smile almost appeared in his eyes before disappearing again.

“I’m leaving,” he said as he stood up. “Feel free to stay as long as you want. If you need anything, tell the servants. Or call me.”

“I’m leaving soon too,” Isabella said while rolling her eyes. “I have scenes to shoot, you know. You’re not the only busy person here.”

At the chairman’s office in Crown Real Estate—

Edwin Durges’s fierce-looking face trembled with anger as he slammed his palm heavily against the table.

“That’s impossible! We’ve always handled things this way, and Sterling Corporation never complained before! Why are they suddenly making an issue out of it now?!”

The manager standing opposite him looked equally anxious.

“There have been internal changes within Sterling Corporation recently, so their quality control has become much stricter. Whether this matter passes now depends entirely on their attitude. If they choose to overlook it, we’ll be fine. But if they decide to pursue the matter seriously… then the fault is ultimately ours. We violated the contract first.”

Edwin paced back and forth irritably.

“Then what the hell are we supposed to do now?!”

The manager lowered his voice cautiously.

“Rumor has it that Alexander Sterling personally ordered the agreement to be rejected. At this point… the only option left is approaching him directly.”

Hearing that, Edwin’s expression became even uglier.

“Nothing works on that man! He can’t be moved by threats, persuasion, bribes, or women. Trying to negotiate with him is basically a dead end!”

He abruptly stopped pacing.

“…No. Wait.”

His eyes narrowed slowly.

“If it’s women…”

A strange look crossed his face.

“…There might actually be one person who can move him.”