Chapter 4

"Of course! You've rightfully earned that reward!" Amelia said while looking at me with a hint of approval.

She quickly scribbled an address on a piece of paper and handed it to me. "You'll manage this nightclub. It's now up to you to prove whether you can establish yourself, Mr. Cole."

I glanced at the paper and was shocked to find the address for Elysium. That was the nightclub Tristan owed money to. It was a very popular place in Hearthsea. Was she seriously giving it to me?

Amelia made a phone call. 15 minutes later, a man who was probably in his early 30s came in. He had a firm jaw and a serious expression.

"Simon, this is Nathan Cole. From now on, he'll be in charge of Elysium. Nathan, this is the manager of Elysium, Simon Foster."

I rose to my feet with a smile and nodded at Simon, offering him my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Foster. I look forward to working with you."

"I look forward to your guidance and support as well," Simon said with a smile of his own as he returned my handshake.

He gave me a brief summary of the nightclub's operations before rushing off to work.

I turned back to the smiling Amelia and said, "Thank you, Ms. Shaw."

Before I could say anything else, my phone started buzzing incessantly, so I pulled it out to take a look.

Howie Lester: "Hey, everyone! Our class reunion will start at 7:00 pm tonight! Make your way over to VIP Room 111 at Regalia. Come if you can! I heard that Elaine, our class belle, will be bringing her boyfriend with her. We must give him a warm welcome!"

A barrage of messages had immediately filled the group chat.

Jimmy Lewis: "Even Elaine is coming? I'll definitely be there!"

Fabio Hayes: "Her boyfriend? Is that Tristan Finch, the son of the family who owns Finch Group? Goodness me. Elaine has really made it, huh?"

Amber Jones: "Whoa, Howie! You got us a booking at Regalia? I heard you'd have to spend at least ten grand there."

Elaine Steiner: "Make sure you come, everyone! Tristan is looking forward to meeting all of you."

When I saw Elaine's profile picture pop up, my brows furrowed, and a wave of nausea hit me. I knew she was doing it on purpose. She wanted to humiliate me and force me to witness just how well she was doing for herself.

"What's wrong?" Amelia asked me.

"Nothing. There's going to be a class reunion, and Elaine intends to bring Tristan along. It's a blatant attempt to humiliate me. I'm not going to go there and—"

"You're going! Why wouldn't you go?" Amelia exclaimed in excitement, her eyes sparkling. "This is a great opportunity to make a fool out of those two despicable people. I'm coming with you. Just the thought of it thrills me!"

I was a little taken aback. I didn't expect Amelia to be even more eager than I was. Just what on earth was she planning to do?

Amelia pulled out her desk drawer and took out a bunch of car keys. I spotted a Mercedes-Benz, a Porsche, and even a Bentley…

"Nathan, which car do you want to drive to the reunion tonight?"

That row of keys made my heart pound. These were luxury cars I had only dreamed of… but they weren't mine.

After shaking my head, I grinned as I took out the keys to my electric moped. "Would you like to join me for a ride, Ms. Shaw? It's got a 360-degree panoramic sunroof and a fully human-operated navigation system. The speed is fully contingent on which mode I use.

"With its combination of front and rear brakes, I can guarantee that it's a safe ride! And, it's from a proudly homegrown brand!"

Amused by my words, Amelia laughed before remarking cheerfully, "You really are something, Nathan. I'm starting to regret putting you in charge of the nightclub now. You should be a sales manager instead!"

She came over and grabbed the keys from me, saying with a smile, "I'll join you for a ride then. It's my first time, you know. I'm actually looking forward to it."

At 6:00 pm, I came over on the moped and parked outside the office building to wait for Amelia. She was the last one to get off work. When she spotted my shabby electric moped, her eyes actually lit up with wondrous excitement.

"Your personal driver is here, Ms. Shaw. This way, please!"

Flashing a grin, I gave her a helmet and even helped lock it in place for her. She took her seat behind me with ease before asking me with a smile, "This helmet looks pretty new. Did you just buy it?"

"I bought it just for you. You get the new one, while I'm wearing the old one. See how thoughtful I am?"

"If I were a silly teenager, Nathan, I might've actually believed you," Amelia commented before giggling.

I could tell she was genuinely happy.

I twisted the throttle, and the moped shot forward.

Amelia screamed in surprise, instinctively wrapping her arms around my waist. Her chest pressed against me. Her soft body made me feel a little lightheaded. Her scent began enveloping me…

If only she were really my girlfriend.

I glanced sideways and noticed her face was slightly flushed.

We rode in silence the whole way, as if sharing a quiet, romantic moment. I even thought to myself that if time could freeze right now, I'd be the happiest man alive.

At 7:00 pm sharp, we arrived at Regalia. A ton of luxury cars were parked outside the restaurant. My electric moped stuck out like a sore thumb.

Amelia took off her helmet, pulled out a face mask, and winked at me. "If I show up as your girlfriend with the mask on, it'd be even more fun when we humiliate Tristan later."

I was stunned. She just made a very good point. I was eager to see just how flabbergasted Tristan would be when Amelia took her mask off.

Tristan's fiancee was now my girlfriend! Just the thought of that thrilled me.

Amelia had only just put on the face mask when I heard an exaggerated exclamation ringing out behind me.

"Whoa! If it isn't Nathan Cole, the brainiac! What's this? Have you started working as a deliveryman? My, my… This moped of yours… sure is something."

I turned and saw Howie Lester, my class representative back in college, arm in arm with a heavily dolled-up woman. He was wearing a designer suit, his hair slicked back. He'd deliberately made sure that his eye-catching gold watch peeked out from beneath his sleeve.

The woman with him was Izzy Morris. She was also a classmate of mine who'd been a wallflower back in college. But now, she managed to use her pretty face to latch onto Howie.

Howie sized me up from head to toe, disdain practically dripping from his eyes. "No offense, Nathan, but three years in and you're still this pathetic? Would you even be able to afford your share if we decide to split the cost of the class reunion evenly? Shall I tell the others that I'll cover your portion, too?"

"That won't be necessary," I retorted coolly before taking Amelia by the hand and heading into the restaurant.

Amelia blushed a little, making her look even more stunning.

Howie grew a little dazed when he saw her. His eyes flickered with heated attraction. Even though the mask hid half her face, nothing hid her sultry figure.

He scoffed from behind, saying, "To think that he's trying to show off by bringing a woman to the reunion when he's already this pathetic. Just wait until Elaine and Mr. Finch arrive. We'll see how he fumbles to try and save his dignity then!"

The VIP Room 111 at Regalia was massive and very extravagantly furnished. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling, dazzling everyone.

Over 20 of my former college classmates had arrived. They were gathered in small groups. The guys, who were mostly in suits, were having boastful conversations about business projects and the stock market. The women were all decked out in finery as they compared their handbags and accessories.

My arrival immediately halted the lively chatter. Most of them looked at me with gloating expressions, as if maliciously delighting in my situation.

A guy who once tried and failed to woo Elaine deliberately called out in a loud voice, "Nathan Cole? You actually showed up? I heard you got fired recently. Have you found a new job?"

"Yeah, Nathan. If you're having a hard time, you should tell us, your old classmates. We can help you find some work to do," another woman said with feigned generosity as her eyes roamed all over my cheap clothing.

Holding Amelia's hand, I found us a seat in the corner and poured us a glass of water each.

"Sorry about that," I said apologetically. "I'm guessing my class reunion looks like a complete farce to you."

Amelia smiled faintly. "It's fine. I've seen more than my fair share of people trying to make grand overtures of superiority."

Felix Gibson, a good buddy of mine, came over and said in a lowered voice, "Ignore them, Nate. They're all just a bunch of bootlickers who are eager to suck up to Elaine and Tristan. It disgusts me. By the way, who's this?"

He looked at Amelia, who was sitting beside me.

"My girlfriend," I proudly replied.

I even took Amelia's hand and waved it in front of Felix.

"What the hell? You're the man, Nate. I thought you'd be down in the dumps after breaking up with Elaine. Who knew you'd find yourself someone new so soon?" Felix exclaimed. "You're incredible!"

He gave me a thumbs-up before looking at Amelia, adding, "You've got good taste, Nate. The new future Mrs. Cole is so much better than Elaine."

Amelia turned red at being referred to as "the future Mrs. Cole". She could only look around and pretend as if she hadn't heard him.

"What are you doing now, Nate? Do you want to join my company? I can talk to my superiors about it," Felix suggested.

"It's fine. I already have a new job," I assured him.

"That's great! That bunch of brown-nosers sure are arrogant!" Felix fumed.

Just then, the door to the private room opened, with a waft of perfume filling the room first. Everyone stopped talking and turned toward the doorway.

Elaine had arrived. She wore a Dior dress, with a Louis Vuitton handbag slung over her arm. Looking radiant in her exquisite makeup and glossy hair, she was holding a man's arm intimately.

The man was none other than Tristan.