Chapter 3

She pointed at Mason and me, like she had just grabbed onto her last lifeline.

"They didn’t dare use their IDs to register! That means they’re hiding something! This woman is way older than that guy. There’s no way they’re in a normal relationship! She’s obviously keeping a younger guy on the side behind her husband’s back!"

I let out a cold laugh and met her gaze head-on. "So that’s your justification for knowingly breaking the law—livestreaming and spying on hotel guests’ privacy?"

The moment my words fell, Riley froze for only a few seconds before exploding. "I invaded your privacy? Don’t you know what the hell you two were doing yourselves?!"

She jutted her chin out and pointed right at my face, turning to complain to the police instead.

"Officers, don’t be fooled by her! She’s selling herself! Bringing a man to a hotel behind her husband’s back on Valentine’s Day! Check her phone! Check that guy’s phone too. There’s definitely money transfers between them!"

One of the officers, Officer Levi Goodman, frowned, his gaze shifting toward me with a trace of scrutiny.

On the livestream, her phone was still unlocked, and the comments were scrolling wildly.

"Yeah, didn’t she say she’s innocent? Let’s see her phone!"

"Exactly, if you’ve done nothing wrong, what are you afraid of?"

"I bet there’s definitely transaction records."

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a suit, looking polished on the surface, hurried over.

"Officers, what’s going on here? What happened?" He was Ryan Todd, the hotel manager.

I had thought help had arrived and that he would at least care about the hotel’s reputation and give me a fair explanation.

Suddenly, I caught a subtle movement. When Riley saw him, she instinctively reached out, as if to grab his arm, then stopped herself because the police were there.

That tiny gesture made my heart sink.

Ryan first greeted the officers with a broad smile, then turned to us, his expression shifting into one of concern laced with reproach.

"You two guests caused quite a disturbance in your room. Our front desk was concerned for your safety, so she came to check on you."

I let out a cold scoff. In a single sentence, he had twisted her voyeuristic livestream into something entirely different. No wonder he was the manager.

The next second, his tone shifted, turning stern. "However, our hotel is a legitimate establishment, not a place for you to cause trouble. Filing a false police report carries legal consequences."

I never expected him to bite back like this.

"Your actions have already seriously affected our hotel’s reputation and disturbed other guests’ rest. You need to leave immediately."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. "You’re kicking us out?"

I glanced out the window. At some point, the wind and snow had picked up.

It was Valentine’s Day, and the ski resort hotels were already fully booked. If we left now, we wouldn’t even have a place to stay.

With Ryan backing her up, Riley instantly grew bolder. Her face was filled with undisguised smugness and mockery.

"You heard him. Get out. It’s snowing outside. I’d love to see where you two end up."

Ryan remained expressionless as he spoke into his radio, "Security, send two people to Room 808 to remove the guests’ belongings."

Riley grew even more excited, raising her phone toward the livestream.

"Guys! Here comes the best part! Let’s take a look inside their room and see just how wild things really are!"

As she spoke, she started charging into my room.

"Wait." My voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make everyone present stop in their tracks.

I looked at the two of them coldly and curved my lips into a faint smile. "Are you sure you want to go in?"

Riley froze for a second, then burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, what? Are you scared? The more you try to stop me, the more I want to see. I’m going to show everyone exactly how disgusting you really are, and what you’re really like behind the scenes!"

I smiled along with her, locking eyes with her. "Go ahead. Just don’t regret it."

She let out a dismissive snort and shoved the door open.

The next second, she froze in place, like she had turned to stone.