“Excuse me, Mr. Chris!” One of the waiters asked him to move aside as he stood in the middle of the way, with a soft nod, Christian moved aside.The night was too perfect, too calm, and that alone made Christian uneasy.The laughter, the gentle exchange of looks, the orchestra’s slow melody… everything flowed like a well-rehearsed dream. But beneath the perfection, he couldn’t shake some strange weight sitting on his chest. The faint warmth of the amulet still lingered against his palm, and his eyes occasionally darted across the grand hall, looking for that unfamiliar man he’d seen earlier.He scanned the crowd again and again.Guests mingled and laughed, champagne sparkled under chandeliers, while Oliver was still putting on his best future CEO smile, but the man in the black suit, the one with the silver wind-shaped brooch had vanished completely.Christian adjusted his tie and exhaled softly. “Don’t overthink, Chris,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s just another guest, probab

"Mr. Edward," one of the partners said from the corner of the hall, rising from his seat, his tone polite but edged with arrogance, "I have nothing against this young man, but isn’t it a little… premature to call an intern Employee of the Year, when it's just a few monthi?"The sudden voice from the crowd cut through the happiness of everyone like a blade.The air turned heavy, while laughter faded, every head turned toward the man who spoke.Edward’s hand, still resting on the microphone, paused for a second. His composed smile didn’t waver, but his eyes sharpened faintly, the glint of steel beneath calm waters.Another voice joined in to support those earlier words."I agree," said a woman from the opposite table. "He’s talented, yes, we all know that, but the award is meant for full-time employees, isn’t this… unusual?"Luna clenched her jaw in anger, Andrew muttered under his breath, "What’s wrong with these people? Are they jealous of his achievement or what?" "If not that," Ki

••NO POV••"What’s wrong now…" He muttered under his breath, his tone was calm but turned alert because of sudden power cut.He blinked in the deep darkness, his gaze shifting toward the doorway and the door was slightly opened.As he adjusted his eyes to the dim light, a figure appeared at the end of the corridor. He could see a woman hesitantly stepping quietly, her perfume heavy in the still air but he felt that perfume was familiar."Mia?" He whispered under his breath, frowning, "why is she here?" Mia looked anxious, and confused. "Oliver? Are you here?" That was all it took, Christian understood everything. Oliver’s strange confidence, the drugged drink, bringing to a place like this, all of it pieced together in an instant. Without another word, Christian stepped to the side, silent as a shadow, and slipped out through the second door, closing it softly behind him. The faint sound of the latch clicking echoed in the silence. Inside, the faint creak of footsteps and

"That guy deserves this," Luna said while holding Christian's hand, gently he patted on Luna's hand, "looks like you're worried about me...." Luna hummed quietly, "I was scared to death thinking you really fell in that bastard's trap." "Why would I?" Christian chuckled, Aurora's eyes reddening with furiousness after looking at Christian and Luna's closeness.Adrian cleared his throat, "it's good to control your possessiveness, if not, that guy will be freaked out, he is too naive!"She just rolled her eyes, Andrew and Kira also slowly went to join Luna and Christian.All the people who are in the waiting hall surrounded by a thick air with tension, the silence was so sharp it felt like it could cut even a glass.The servant threw water on the face of Oliver, while he laid half-conscious on the couch, water dripping from his hair, and Mia sat on the floor beside him, shaking, nervousness evident on her face as all her plan changed out of a sudden.Her dress was thorn with visible ski

••NO POV••"Did you even hear what I've just said?" Adrian sighed looking at Christian's silence, but even then Christian didn’t respond.Adrian’s words still lingered in the air, heavy and sharp, hanging over both of them like an unspoken judgment.The corridor was silent, almost too silent, except for the faint music drifting from the room far behind them, but here, in this dim corner, everything felt colder than usual.Christian finally inhaled, steady yet hollow, trying to break the silence."Sometimes," he said quietly, staring at the floor rather than at Adrian, "it’s better to break a heart in the beginning itself rather than increasing someone’s hopes for a long time, though it hurts now, it's far better than suffering later."Adrian’s expression froze at the words of Christian, he continued, in a calm voice… it sounded almost too calm.Calm in a way only someone deeply hurt or deeply determined can be."If I let her believe something that wasn’t real… if I let her have hope f