“Liam, what brings you here?” she asked with an endearing smile. Liam leaned comfortably against the backseat with his arms crossed in front of him, his voice cool as usual. “Checking up on you for your parents.” Caprice made a face. Liam glanced at the bag she had slung over her shoulders. “What’s your plan?” “I don’t know.” She had only just quit her job and hadn’t figured out her next move. He asked, “Are you still looking for a job?” She admitted quite frankly, “I have no idea.” Liam dropped the matter and turned to the driver. “Drive.” The driver promptly stepped on the gas pedal. They arrived at Sparkrow University girls’ dormitory shortly after that. Caprice was going to leave when Liam suddenly remarked, “Come to me if you’re looking for a job.” “Alright, I got it,” she responded politely. Then, she got out of the car and marched into the dorm. Liam watched her from inside the car. The only thing on his mind was the imagery of the man walking C
Why did she need Heather to enter the city? She could simply go directly to Liam! Heather was doing the same old thing of boasting about her status in Carter Tech City and rubbing her relationship with Liam in her face. Then again, it had been a while since she last saw Isabel. She considered for a moment before deciding, “Thanks for your offer. It is my off day today, but I’m not in the city right now. I don’t think I can make it there in time.” “Well, that’s a shame. Isabel is going to be one of our ambassadors, and I’d love to introduce you to her if you came.” Caprice frowned. Why did she need Heather’s help to see Isabel? Furthermore, it sounded like Heather did not know about Isabel being Liam’s sister. It would make sense if the general public did not know, but she, of all people, should know. Did Liam never mention that to her? Freya emerged from the bathroom. Caprice was surprised to see her still sticking around the house since she should be at w
Caprice quickly became flustered. A wave of embarrassment washed over Freya as well. She took Caprice’s hand and quickly scuttled away from the crowd that was viciously scrutinizing them. They fled the scene hastily. Caprice nearly tripped over while wading through the crowd. At one point, she accidentally bumped into someone. The man she bumped into groaned loudly and quickly grew upset. “What’s wrong with you? Are you blind or something?” Caprice turned to the man, ready to apologize. That was when she realized that it was Moses, Kenneth, Jonathan, and another employee at the company. They looked just as surprised to see her. The person she bumped into was Kenneth. He quickly withdrew the angry intonation in his voice and greeted her with a delightful smile, "What a coincidence to see you here of all places! It must be fate.” Moses shot a look at him, then he stepped forward and asked Caprice in a caring voice, “Were you hurt?” "Moses, aren’t you going to chec
Freya could sense Kenneth's disdain toward Caprice. Always the loyal friend, she backed Caprice up, "That's right. I managed to get two spots for me and Caprice two days ago. We don’t need your help to get inside.” Upon hearing this, Kenneth and Jonathan turned white, they felt called out. Moses expressed regretfully, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just asking out of curiosity. I happen to know someone who works inside, so I figured I could help you girls out if you haven’t secured a spot yet.” “I know you didn’t mean it like that, but I think some of you here don’t feel the same way,” Freya hinted not-so-subtly. Caprice gently nudged her to signal her to stop being so confrontative with Jonathan and Kenneth. It was too late. Kenneth immediately scoffed upon hearing her remark. “It must have been pretty expensive. I believe the scalper price goes for around five thousand. You sure are splurging for the occasion.” Freya refused to back down. “So what if
Jonathan stated quite bluntly, "Mr. Moses, she’s not a good fit for you or our company. All she’s good for is being the plaything of her patrons. You’d better forget about her.” Kenneth felt the same way. “He’s right, you know.” Moses frowned sullenly. He was sure that Caprice was nothing like they were making her out to be. Why were they so vehemently against her? Was he wrong about Caprice? …. Only several meters behind the thicket of trees was a small pathway hidden from view. The path was parallel to the main road leading into Carter Tech City. It led up to a separate gate that provided entry into the city. Only the employees at Carter Tech City were aware of the existence of the pathway. Heather hid behind the thick bushes and quietly stalked Moses, Kenneth, and Jonathan. She listened in on their conversation. She had been lurking here ever since Caprice joined their group. It came as a surprise for her to see Caprice here at all. It turned out that she had
Freya's eyes widened. It seemed like she just had an epiphany. After a while, a flash of determination shone in her eyes. She smiled widely and nodded approvingly. Caprice smiled as well when she noticed the effect the words she said had on Freya. The two friends continued chatting for a while until they saw the crowd begin inching toward the entrance. In ten minutes, the gates of Carter Tech City would open. Everyone rushed to the gate and formed a line, eager to enter the city. Freya quickly pulled Caprice up to her feet and joined the crowd. There were more than a dozen ticketing booths by the gate, therefore the people formed as many lines as there were booths. By mere coincidence, Caprice and Freya found themselves queuing in the line right next to the one Moses and his group queued in. Moses immediately noticed the girls and greeted them. Caprice acknowledged him with a faint smile before turning away. Kenneth and Jonathan hardly bothered to greet
Freya swung around and began to get into a screaming match with them. “No! The tickets I bought are genuine. There must be something wrong with the scanner!” “There’s only one way to find out. Why don’t you let the people in line try it with their tickets?" Despite having passed through the gate, Kenneth stood on the other side and inserted himself into the argument. Freya shot a glare at him. “Alright, I’ll show you!” With that, she pulled Caprice to the side and let the next person in line step up to the booth. The stranger took his phone with the QR code shown on its display and hovered it over the scanner. Beep! Green light. The gate opened swiftly. The stranger cheerfully strode through the gate. A stiff silence fell upon them. Caprice and Freya could feel the scrutinizing gazes of everyone around them cast on them. They had turned into laughingstocks. Freya was flabbergasted. Caprice was just as much taken with disbelief. How could this be? Fr
Someone else suggested, “It has to be the owner of Carter Tech City. Who else would warrant such a grand display?” A pin-drop silence loomed over the scene as everyone stared at the car expectantly. Even the people who had already passed through the gates into the city leaned over the barrier and waited to see what would happen next. The car slowly accelerated forward and seemed like it was going to run over Caprice. “Caprice, get up!” Moses’ frantic shout shattered the silence. It was only then that people noticed Caprice still doubled over on the ground, and they began to point at her and laugh. She tried to use a fake ticket to enter the city, then she obstructed the city owner’s entry into the city. They expected the security to haul her out of here like the pest she was. As they thought about her misery, the security forces began approaching her when they noticed that she was in the way. Just when it looked like the security forces were going to haul away like