Vespera kept her head down, saying nothing. Alaric had invited her out for dinner, and she figured they could just eat and go their separate ways. There was no need to air her dirty laundry and let him know how difficult her situation was in the Thornfield family.As Vespera remained silent, Alaric's expression darkened. "Was it Yvonne?" he asked.Vespera hesitated. "You know about Yvonne and me..."She trailed off. Of course Alaric would know. As Heath's close friend, and the big boss of the entire entertainment industry, how could he not know about Yvonne's background?Vespera looked up at Alaric. "Please don't tell Aurora. I don't want her to know about this.""Why not? She's got Heath backing her up. He could easily help you get out of this mess," Alaric said, puzzled. How could someone willingly suffer without asking friends for help?Vespera shook her head. "I don't need help. Don't tell Aurora. She's already stressed enough dealing with Cheryl's situation. She doesn't need to r
Alaric was seriously ticked off by Vespera's transfer. He'd never met a woman like her before. All the socialites in the city were usually dying for him to take them out to dinner and then invite them back to his place. That's how the game was played. But Vespera? Alaric treats her to a meal, and she turns around and pays him back for half of it? Was she that desperate to keep her distance from him?Alaric felt like his ego had taken a major hit. He started questioning his own charm. Had he lost his touch? Was he no longer the heartthrob everyone used to fawn over? He couldn't accept that!He knew he had to turn this situation around somehow. Otherwise, Lysander would never let him hear the end of it.Before he could come up with a plan, his secretary called. "Mr. Strider, the actresses for the commercial audition have arrived.""Got it, I'll be right there," Alaric said, hanging up and heading out to his car.Skyline had recently landed an ad deal that needed a female celebrity as th
Yvonne stormed home, fuming from the unexpected run-in with Alaric that left her humiliated. The last thing she needed was to hear the maids gossiping about Vespera being picked up by a sports car. Furious and looking for someone to take it out on, Yvonne burst into Vespera’s room.Vespera looked up, confused. “What’s going on?”“Who were you with today, Vespera?” Yvonne demanded, her voice sharp.Vespera blinked, caught off guard. “Just a friend.”“A friend? Since when do you have friends with sports cars? Are you sneaking around behind our backs?” Yvonne’s glare intensified.Vespera recognized Yvonne’s bad mood immediately and decided to ignore her tantrum. She kept her eyes on her book, hoping Yvonne would lose interest.But Yvonne wasn’t done. She snatched the book from Vespera’s hands and ripped out a page. “Vespera, have you no shame? Flirting with guys while holding onto the book Quinn gave you?”Vespera froze at the mention of Quinn’s name. She finally looked up at Yvonne. “I
But Vespera was determined to keep her distance from Alaric. As they struggled, Vespera's bag fell to the ground, spilling its contents. Before she could pick them up, a gust of wind blew one of the pages away. Vespera quickly gathered her things and was about to chase after the loose page when Alaric grabbed her arm. "Are you crazy? Don't run into the street!"Vespera lost her balance and fell against Alaric's chest. She tried to push him away and go after the page, but he held her tight. They watched helplessly as several cars ran over the paper before the wind carried it away again. Vespera realized she'd never find that page now.Furious, Vespera shoved Alaric away. "Mr. Strider! Don't you have anything better to do? If you're so bored, go bother someone else! Leave me alone!""I'm bothering you?" Alaric laughed in disbelief. He was trying to help, and this was the thanks he got? Talk about no good deed going unpunished.Vespera's eyes welled up with angry tears as she watched the
Early the next morning, Alaric made sure to check if Vespera was at school before driving over.He pulled up to the dorms in his flashy sports car, phone in hand, calling Vespera. It was rush hour, with students coming and going, and many girls whispered among themselves, eyeing the expensive car and the handsome man who stepped out, wondering who he was here for.In his car were three pink boxes with pretty bows on top—obviously gifts for a girl. Some speculated whether they were packed with clothes or handbags, given their size.After waiting for a while with no answer, Alaric was about to head inside when he spotted Vespera in the distance. She was wearing a long coat that made her petite frame look even smaller, with her long hair flowing down her back, carrying a stack of books.Alaric waved, calling out, "Miss Thornfield!"Vespera stopped, visibly startled. She looked up and saw Alaric with his over-the-top sports car and the gathering crowd. Embarrassed, she tried to duck away,
Vespera opened the boxes, flipping through the books inside. Despite having similar titles, they covered a wide range of subjects - design, architecture, and even history. She was at a loss for words. There were so many books she'd never use, but she felt too guilty to sell gifts. Resigned, she picked out a few useful ones for her bookshelf and packed the rest away. Out of sight, out of mind.This gesture changed Vespera's opinion of Alaric a bit. She'd previously thought of him as an arrogant trust fund kid, especially given what she knew about his history with Elowen. Her dislike for Elowen had unfairly tainted her view of Alaric too.But now, the guy had hauled three boxes of books to her dorm. While not exactly priceless treasures or replacements for Quinn's gift, it still warmed Vespera's heart. At least he'd shown up like a real man.After that, Vespera didn't hear from Alaric again. They seemed to have reverted to being mere acquaintances, not bothering each other.Alaric, for
As the year drew to a close, Vespera, being the good student she was, had already started her holiday break. Unable to stand staying at the Thornfield house, she found herself constantly heading to Aurora's studio or visiting Cheryl on set. Cheryl was currently filming a popular period drama called Autumn's Whispering Fan.Although Cheryl was a talented actress, she wasn't well-versed in the complexities of showbiz, which made her relationships with other celebrities on set somewhat strained. Vespera often visited her, taking the opportunity to chat during Cheryl's breaks."Ves, I heard from Zane that you've been getting pretty close to his brother lately?" Cheryl asked with a gossipy look on her face."What? No way!" Vespera's face instantly turned red as she denied it.Cheryl grinned at her. "You're still denying it? Your face is all red! Come on, spill the beans! Is there something going on?""No! Really, there isn't! Don't make things up!" Vespera waved her hands in protest. "Ever
Lysander dragged Alaric into the bar, where he was a regular. Everyone from the manager to the staff knew him. As soon as he walked in, someone called out his name across the crowd.Alaric followed, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else, with a gloomy, don’t-talk-to-me expression. Lysander greeted the manager on duty and said, "Get us a private room upstairs. I'm having a drink with Mr. Strider."“Sure thing, Doc! Right this way!” The manager led them upstairs to the quietest room, stocked with the bar's finest. For a rich kid like Lysander, splashing cash was the norm, so the whole bar rolled out the red carpet for him, even bringing in a new girl to keep him company.Lysander didn’t mind at all. No girlfriend, no one special—he was a free spirit, not envious of Heath at all! And definitely not Alaric, who was moping around like a lovesick fool. Lysander was ready to use his charm to lift his buddy’s spirits tonight.“Hey, pour the gentleman a drink,” Lysander said, nodding to th