+25 Schus

Wendy sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out her phone.

“bLook/b, Zac,” she bsaid /beagerly, showing him the screen. “I found this great travel guide for our trip. We bcan /bdo a road trip, hire two drivers, and explore at our own pace. Silverridge is huge, so driving will bbe /bway more convenient. After Lake Kessler, we can also visit—”

At that moment, Zac realized bthat /bWendy was really annoying.

His head was already pounding, and now she was talking his ear off, going on and on. It was grating.

If it were Charlotte, she would be worried about him. She would have made him oatmeal, sat by his side, and fed him spoonful by spoontul.

“Enough.” Zac cut her off Impatiently. “bWe’ll /btalk about it tomorrow. I’m tired.”

Wendy rucked her phone away, lowering her head, looking hurt.

Wendy’s voice wasced with hurtb. /b“Zac..nre you getting tired of me?”

Zac let out a heavy sigh. No matter how annoyed he was, he couldn’t bring himself to be too harsh with her.

“No, I just have a headache. The trip isn’t burgent/b. Let’s talk about it when I’m feeling better.”

“Okay.” Wendy leaned into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist, her touch soft and affectionate.

In a private lounge at an upscale club in Jersey bCity/b, a group of wealthy young men sat around ba /bcard table, bcasually /bying.

Jordan Zeller, always the observant one, caught sight of the watch on Sean’s wrist. With a cigarette between his fingers, he smirked. b“/bNew

Sean ced down a card, his grin stretching almost to his ears. “Nice, right? Charlotte gave it to me.*

Jordan frowned slightly, clearly puzzled “bWait/b–how did you end bup /bengaged to the Riley family? Was it byour /bbparents/b‘ bidea/b? It bdoesn’t /bbadd /bup.”

He and Charlotte ran in the same circles, but in their world, not all families were on equal footing.

Sean’s family, the Jaspers, held the most power and influence. As the family’s heir, his marriage should have been a strategic move–one

aligned with another powerhouse.

The Idleys, while prominent in business, were nowhere near that level.

Sean chuckled, his gaze soft. “It’s not an arranged marriage.b! /b

bSean /bleaned back casually ncing at his cardsb. /bb“/bbThree /byears ago, I went to Desmond Riley myself.

bthat /b

“I waited for Charlotte to graduate. The moment she did, I made my move. I told him–name your price. Whatever it btakes/b, I bwant /bto bmarry /bher.”

His eyes gleamed as he spoke, like a man finally iming something he had chased for years

Jordan smirked. “Man, I always thought you weren’t into worsen. You could’ve just said you were crushing on Charlotte instead of making us wonder.”

Ian leaned in, intrigued. “So, when did this all start? When did you flest fall for her?”

is gaze from lils cards. “That’s a secret.”

Si?an barely lifted his p

“Ohb, /be on.”n groaned. “You sure she even likes byou /bback? She literally ran away bfrom /bhome to escape an arranged marriage. What if you’re just a convenient choice? That watch could just be a polite thank–you gilt.”

Jordan, always the blunt one, tossed our casually, “By the way, did you know she had a boyfriend?”