"Ah!" Serena wobbled in her high heels, losing balance and stumbling forward. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact.
But before she could fall, a warm hand caught her firmly at the small of her back, steadying her.
She blinked her eyes open and found herself staring into Xavier’s dark, amused gaze.
Her heart thumped. Quickly regaining her posture, she shoved him away and cleared her throat, her voice laced with embarrassment. “Seriously? You live here and still manage to bump into someone?”
Xavier grinned, smug. “Excuse me? You’re the one who turned around and crashed into me. What was I supposed to do—vanish?”
“I moved so you could open the door.”
“My door’s never locked. You know that.”
Serena scowled. “The last time I was here was years ago. How was I supposed to know you still haven’t kicked that habi
Karina furrowed her brows, heart in complete turmoil.If she refused to apologize to Serena, Xavier would definitely pull up the front desk footage. By then, wouldn’t he find out she’d actually hit the receptionist?Her image in his mind had already taken a massive hit because of her verbal abuse toward Serena—she couldn’t afford to make things worse.“Xavier…” Holding onto one last hope, she softened her voice, almost begging, “Can’t we let this go for the sake of my father? I just… I can’t bring myself to apologize to a woman who humiliated me.”Pulling out her father now, huh?Xavier sneered inwardly!If he were intimidated by her father or the Carters, he wouldn’t have tried every possible way to reject the arranged marriage with them.But appearances had to be maintained—for now, he didn’t want to completely tear things apart.So he
“No need, really! There’s no need!” Karina was still struggling to make a final effort.But Xavier’s tone was unusually firm. “No, this matter must be thoroughly investigated both emotionally and rationally! Not only to give you an explanation, Miss Carter, but also to provide one to the entire hotel staff and every guest staying here!”“Brody is someone I personally selected and transferred to be the team leader. If he did mishandle things, then I also bear responsibility, and I must apologize to all our employees!”“Moreover, this is a matter of public order! If not properly investigated and it spreads, other guests might begin to doubt the hotel’s security, which could affect our business!”“So, I hope Miss Carter will stop obstructing me and allow me to carefully finish watching this surveillance footage, alright?”Every word he spoke was reasonable and left Karina speechless.
Both people in the room turned toward the source of the voice.At the office door, Xavier stood tall, one hand casually in his pocket. His already commanding presence was further amplified by the sharp, dark-gray tailored suit he wore, making him look impossibly striking—impossible to look away from.Karina’s eyes sparkled as she called out sweetly, “Xavier, you’re done already?”“Mhm. Sorry to keep you waiting. They were doing the final prep run for the opening ceremony in the main hall. This hot spring resort is X Group’s biggest hospitality project this year, and as the person in charge, I can’t afford to be careless. I took extra care checking the setup—ended up taking more time.”“There’s no need to explain so much to me.” Karina lowered her gaze shyly, her tone both bashful and pleased. “The Carters’in business too. I’ve grown up around this stuff—I
“Yes, sir! A female guest said someone was banging on her door nonstop, disturbing her rest. When I got up there, I did find a woman outside the door. She wasn’t just knocking—she was shouting insults at whoever was inside. I asked for her name, but she refused to tell me. That’s why I detained her for questioning.”A dangerous glint flickered in Xavier’s eyes. “What exactly was she saying?”“She said…”Thinking back to the string of expletives Karina had just unleashed, Brody—a grown man—was almost too embarrassed to repeat it.He took a few steps away to put some distance between himself and Karina, then carefully picked his words for Xavier.“She didn’t seem to care who lived there. Kept shouting things like ‘cheap little tramp,’ said she had no shame, didn’t deserve to live in a place like that, and told her to get the hell out… s
As he finished speaking, the security chief strode forward, grabbed her arm, and began dragging her away.“You bastard! Let go of me!” Karina flailed with her free hand, hitting him wildly as she shouted furiously, “You’ll regret treating me like this today!”“Whatever you say,” the security chief replied indifferently. “You were disturbing other guests and being verbally abusive—it’s clearly your fault. No matter how you twist it, I’m just doing my job. I’ve done nothing wrong!”“Hmph! Laugh while you can! Soon, you’ll be the one crying!”She yanked her arm with all her strength, but the chief’s grip was firm. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break free.Still struggling, they soon reached the elevator lobby.While waiting for the elevator, Karina suddenly softened her tone and said, “Hey, Mr. Security, you're gripping my arm so h
“Hello, this is Hotel Security,” a respectful male voice answered.“Hi, I’m a guest in Room 3601.”As soon as he heard ‘3601,’ the security operator's eyes widened, and he immediately became highly attentive.His tone became even more cautious and deferential. “Miss, how can I assist you?”“There’s a crazy person banging on my door, seriously disturbing my rest. I’d like to request that security send someone over to handle the situation.”“Understood. I’ll dispatch someone immediately. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.”“It’s fine. Just get someone to drag her away quickly.”“Rest assured, Miss!”The moment the call ended, the operator jumped up and ran out.“Captain! Captain!”Inside the head of security’s office, right next to the operator’s desk,