Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rivals to Lovers: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

"Alaric, I think I might have had too much to drink. I feel a little dizzy and unsteady," Jade said softly, her watery eyes looking up at him."Argo!" Alaric's voice was cold as he tried to pry Jade's hands off him, which clung to him like an octopus. He called out to the stunned Argo, who had been standing frozen in place.Argo snapped out of his daze and quickly hurried over."Help Jade stand," Alaric commanded.Argo pointed at himself in disbelief, and under Alaric’s impatient glare, hesitantly placed a hand on Jade’s shoulder. But Jade still wouldn’t let go. She closed her eyes and leaned toward Alaric.By then, Lena had already turned away. When Alaric glanced back, Elise had already reached her, taken her hand, and was pulling her along. Elise gave Alaric a sharp look and said curtly, "Take care of your friend, Alaric. We're leaving."Alaric was left speechless.Once they were out of earshot, Elise rolled her eyes again, this time even more dramatic

"I’m heading to the office for a bit. Ivy, our secretary, is getting married, and since I’ll be passing by, I’ll drop off a gift for her," Daisy said as she tidied up and spoke to her husband.Albert was polishing his fishing gear. “Sure, but aren’t you going to tell your son?”“No need. I’m just stopping by to say a quick hello and drop off the gift. There’s no reason to make a big deal of it.”She hesitated briefly in front of the cabinet where she kept her handbags. Since she was meeting an old friend later, she decided to go with a new bag—ostrich leather in a striking combination of dark red and tan.When her car arrived at the Winfield building, Daisy instructed the driver, “I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes.” After exchanging a few words with Ivy, she prepared to leave but happened to run into Lena stepping out of her office.“Good afternoon, Mrs. Winfield,” Lena greeted her warmly.“No need to be so formal; just call me Daisy.”Daisy had been

Not only was Elise freaking out, but Argo—Alaric’s buddy—nearly jumped out of his skin when he opened his social media app. He still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of what happened at the bar last time, and now there was another bombshell.A few days ago, he’d sent Alaric a message, but all he got back was an emoji—no actual answer to his questions. It was driving him nuts!Unable to wait until the next time he saw Alaric, Argo furiously typed a message: “Dude, who was that post aimed at just now?”To his surprise, Alaric replied almost immediately: “To the people spreading rumors.”Argo sprang to his feet, typing back in a frenzy: “Huh? You’re usually the last person to explain yourself!”Alaric’s response came quickly: “It’s gotten too annoying to ignore.”Argo was baffled. This was totally out of character. Last time, Jade had clearly ticked Alaric off at the bar, and he hadn’t done a thing about it. Yet today, he was acting the exact oppo

BoundaryAlaric didn’t have the habit of locking his door at home, mainly because no one ever came up to the third floor to look for him. The maids only came in to tidy up his room when he was out.Max skillfully slammed the door open and slipped inside. Hearing the sound, Alaric, who was in the dressing room, walked out. He saw Max looking up at him, so he bent down to pet Max gently and asked, “How did you get up here by yourself?” Then, scanning the doorway, he noticed a pair of ankles quietly standing there. That’s when he realized Lena had come up as well.He stopped buttoning his shirt, having already done up all the buttons except for the two on his chest. Lena acted nonchalantly but avoided making eye contact, saying, “Sorry, I didn’t know you were changing, and your door wasn’t locked…”Alaric seemed to think for a moment, then lowered his hand. “It’s fine. Did you need something?”He didn’t invite her inside to talk, and Lena stayed by the door, hesitating. “I wanted to ask

After hanging up the phone, Lena’s mind went blank for a few minutes, unable to think of anything.The call had been from her lawyer, notifying her that the court in Country U had ruled in favor of extradition, and the transfer process was officially underway. Her father, Martin Carrington, would be escorted back home next month.Back in early May, investigators from the Economic Crime Division had come to her door. That was when she first learned about her father’s $30 million embezzlement from his company. Later, she found evidence of the embezzlement in a document provided by her former company’s accountant, Elly. After handing it over to her lawyer, bits and pieces of information started trickling in. Among them: her father had used a fake identity and engaged in money laundering in Country U, which caught the attention of local authorities. He was subsequently arrested, and during a background check, it was discovered that he was an internationally wanted criminal. The authoriti