Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Hidden Game: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

Halfway through her shift, the manager tapped Violet on the shoulder. “Do me a favor and run some drinks upstairs—we’re short on staff.”Violet untied her apron and followed the directions to the upstairs bar. There were plenty of private rooms up here, plus a big central hall packed with tables, laughter, and loud, thumping music. The dim lights gave the place a hazy, almost decadent vibe.She had just dropped off a tray of cocktails when someone whistled at her. “Hey, gorgeous, can I get your number?”Violet kept her polite smile in place. But the guy was tipsy, his eyes crawling from her face down to her waist, lingering there with obvious hunger.“C’mon, just a number?”

Violet quietly rolled the car window back up. The air inside grew heavier—Julian was clearly pissed. Maybe it was her unexpected appearance tonight that had set him off.“Alright. I’m sorry. Today was my last shift, I promise nothing like this will ever happen again.” She meant it, but her eyes couldn’t help drifting back down to the watch on her wrist.Julian thought about how his idiot friends had been eyeing her earlier, treating her like some toy to mess with. The thought alone felt like a weight pressing on his chest. For a second, he even wanted to tell the whole room she was his wife—just so those greedy stares would back the hell off.He pinched the bridge of his nose. That impulse felt foreign. He’d never once publicly claimed any girlfriend before. Usually, when people guessed, he’d just laugh it off.And besides, Violet wasn’t really his wife—just a name on paper so he could get the shares. Their deal lasted a year, nothing more. Adding feelings into the mix would only make

Violet froze at the sudden shift in topic. Kids? Julian hadn’t given her the slightest heads-up. She glanced sideways at him, waiting for his answer.He lounged back on the couch, all casual. “C’mon, Aunt Nora, you know I don’t like kids.”Nora tilted her head toward Violet. “And you? You not a fan either?”Violet blinked. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about it. We just got married. I’d rather enjoy a little time as just the two of us first.”The second the words left her mouth, she swore she heard someone breathe a little easier.She still had no idea why Julian had pulled her into this marriage—only guessed it was something he could only get by being married. But kids? That was never part of their deal. And she wasn’t about to treat a baby like some bargaining chip.Nora chuckled. “Fair enough… besides, you’re still young. No rush.”After a bit more small talk, Nora finally let them head out. Serena had gone quiet ever since Julian had thrown her little jab back at dinner. She just s

Julian stepped into the brand-new hookah lounge, let his eyes adjust, and scanned the crowd. Spotting Felix across the room, he pushed through a couple of tables. “Not bad, kid. Place looks solid.”Felix clasped his hand and bumped his shoulder. “Thanks. But aren’t you forgetting something?”Julian waved him off. “If you mean that thing you wanted—next time, I’ll get it for you.”“Not that. I meant… where’s your wife?”Julian blinked, caught off guard for half a second—then he saw Lydia’s head pop up from behind the bar. “Told him, what’s the big deal? Felix’s practically family.”Julian arched a brow. “Well, guess it’s out now.”Felix jabbed him lightly in the shoulder. “The hell, man? What’s with the secrecy? Too pretty to share, is that it? Even with me?”Lydia’s eyes lingered on Julian, waiting for what he’d say.Julian shook his head slowly. “Nah. She’s just been tied up. We agreed we’d go public a little later.”Felix frowned. Something didn’t sit right. “So what’s with rushing

At Ashford Biotech, a few board members had arrived early for the meeting and were chatting casually around the conference table.“Did you guys see the latest market report? A small startup just beat us to it. Their imaging algorithm runs twice as fast and is two percent more accurate than ours.”“You mean Medi AI? I’ve been keeping an eye on them since last year. They’re using artificial intelligence in diagnostics—reading medical scans faster and more precisely than any existing system. It’s a total game changer.”That immediately caught the others’ attention. “Yeah, I’ve heard a few doctors talking about them too. But does anyone actually know who owns that company?”They all looked around at each other and shook their heads.Weird. A company that type would need serious funding—probably old money or pharma connections—but somehow nobody knew where the hell it came from.After a pause, someone suggested, “Could it be the Winthrops? Their hospital group would kill for that kind of te