Lena Carrington and Alaric Winfield have been rivals since childhood, always competing with each other—from school to adulthood. When Lena’s family faces a financial crisis and her fiancé of three years heartlessly dumps her, all her old friends turn a blind eye, leaving her to fend for herself. One day, she runs into her ex-boyfriend, who’s with his new girlfriend, eager to watch her hit rock bottom. Frustrated and unwilling to give in, she then bumps into Alaric, her lifelong adversary. "Beg me, and maybe I’ll help you," he says, arms crossed, watching her with amusement. "I’d rather die than beg you. Keep dreaming." But later, she turns back. “Fine, help me! Name your terms.” He gives a slight smile, “Deal.” One night, she accidentally kisses him, and soon, she starts to notice that something about Alaric is changing...
View MoreAlthough Jade could only grab a quick meal with Alaric today, she felt an unexpected sense of satisfaction. In just an hour, her inbox was flooded with private messages:"Having dinner with which handsome guy? huh?""The hand across from you radiates serious sexual tension!""Don't think we can't figure out who he is just because you only showed his hand. That limited-edition watch narrows it down to a handful of people in the entire country.""Who's the lucky guy who caught the attention of our beauty?""Sneaking a boyfriend and not telling us?"Jade chuckled to herself, feeling a boost to her ego. She decid
“Congratulations on making your first connection here.” Alaric crossed his arms, his tone laced with sarcasm.The last item on their Z-country itinerary had been checked off, and they were now on the way to the airport. Lena glanced at him sideways. What’s his deal?“It’s a company connection.”“Did you not notice how tightly he was holding your hand?” Alaric’s tone was frosty.“What was I supposed to do? Yank my hand away? Our project’s success might depend on him.” Lena’s voice was calm, though slightly exasperated. The local government representative they’d met wasn’t exactly high-ranking, but she understood the principle of avoiding unnecessary conflict with autho
Lena glanced at Alaric, who hadn’t moved a muscle. Lowering her eyes, she swiftly swung her legs off the bed. “Forget it. I’m not thick-skinned enough to hog your bed. I’ll just—”As she brushed past him, her dress lightly swept against his leg. In an instant, Alaric’s hand encircled her waist, pulling her back against him. Her back pressed against his rising and falling chest, and even through the fabric, she could feel the heat emanating from his legs, now supporting her seated on his lap.Her breath hitched, and a gravelly voice murmured by her ear, “Be honest, were you thinking about sleeping with me?”The words were nearly the same as before, but the tone was completely different. The air had shifted. Lena’s heart pounded chaotically. She
Lena’s heart skipped a beat as she turned her head, finding Alaric standing there, hands in his pockets, a playful smirk on his face."Finished most of that coffee, huh? Aren’t you worried it’ll keep you up even more?" he teased.A small flicker of relief washed over her, but she quickly masked it, turning her head away with a huff. Of all things, he’d managed to track her down and call out her excuse. She lightly touched her cheek with her fingertips, glancing upward. "And what about you? What are you doing down here? How’d you even know I was at the café?""You’re afraid of ghosts, so obviously you’d stay somewhere well-lit," he said matter-of-factly, taking a seat across from her."
Lena ignored the architect's puzzled look. After carefully studying the drawing, she looked up and said, “This design is solid, no doubt. But I do have a question—when designing this linear layout, did you take the impact of wind direction and sunlight on the residents into account? Considering we’re by the seaside, it’s a crucial factor.”The two architects froze, seemingly caught off guard. Lena's focused gaze bore into them, prompting a response after a brief pause. One of them replied, “We’re addressing it by enhancing window sealing. As for the wind direction…”The other quickly added, “We’ll reassess the building’s orientation to see if adjustments are needed.”Lena nodded slightly before pointing out, “Another thing—I n
When Lena got home, she leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths. She was terrified that if she’d walked any slower, the words “Do you want to come up for a bit?” would have slipped out of her mouth.She kicked off her heels, tossed her bag aside, and buried her fingers in her hair, exasperated. “What’s wrong with you, Lena? Have you lost your mind?” she muttered, scolding herself. Her hair became as disheveled as her thoughts. She couldn’t let herself repeat the mistake she made last time—getting drunk and accidentally sleeping with him. No way. Not again....Even if his physique and skills were—Stop!She hurried into the kitchen and gulped down some ice water. The sudden
Cassian quietly stepped out of Tessa’s room. “Sorry about that—she fell asleep.”Lena guessed as much. “Her love for naps hasn’t changed one bit since she was a kid.”He sighed. “Exactly. I told her to finish just two pages of homework, and not even an hour later, she passed out at her desk.”Lena chuckled. “See? You do spoil her.”“What can I do? She’s my only sister.” He shook his head with a helpless smile. “Next time, I’ll invite you over earlier and cook for you to make up for tonight.”Lena’s eyes lit up. “Really? You better tell me in advance then, so I can skip dinner the day before!”
As soon as Lena entered Cassian's apartment, a teenage girl, around 14 or 15, came running out of the hallway. Her curly auburn hair matched Cassian's.Lena froze for a moment. The girl she remembered as barely waist-high had suddenly grown so much taller."Brother, you're back!" Tessa exclaimed, throwing her arms around Cassian. He gently patted her head—a habit he had with younger girls. "Look who’s here," he said, gesturing toward Lena.Tessa turned her head curiously and said, "Huh? Who’s this pretty lady? Is she your girlfriend? She looks familiar."Lena chuckled, "I’m not your brother’s girlfriend. But do you remember how you used to run to my house whenever your brother scolded you and you didn’t want to go home?"
Alaric picked up his phone, glanced at it quickly, didn’t type a single word, and put it away again. His expression turned two shades colder than before.Emma tried to keep the conversation going, but he clearly wasn’t in the mood to talk. His replies grew noticeably shorter.Thinking he might just be overworked and tired, Emma reminded herself of the research she had done before this blind date. Alaric had managed a large company at such a young age, and that alone had earned her admiration before they even met. She didn’t want to let go of such a high-quality match.The main course was finished, and dessert was served. Emma picked up her dessert fork but didn’t take a bite. Instead, she said, “I know you’re here because, like me, your parents pushed you into it. Honestly, I hate this kind of thing, t
In a private club suite, there were about seven or eight men, each with one or two attractive women in revealing clothes clinging to them. The room was thick with the smell of cigars and cigarettes, and countless bottles were scattered across the tables, creating a scene of indulgent decadence. At the center was Stellan, lounging back on the sofa. He pulled a woman in a short skirt onto his lap, unapologetically running his hands along her legs as she leaned closer to him. “Stellan, shouldn’t you be comforting that fiancée of yours right about now?” one of the men sneered. The woman on Stellan lap pouted and tapped his chest, “Oh, so you’ve got a girlfriend and you’re still here fooling around? You’re so bad…” Stellan looked utterly unbothered, even pleased. Grinning, he took hold of her chin. “We broke up,” he said. The girl looked surprised, then giggled, pressing her lips against his in a kiss that quickly turned passionate. The others barely paid them any mind, long use...
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