Sean heard her murmur but chose not to respond. There was nothing to say—anything he said would only stir up more trouble.Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, someone approached him. It was Cooper, his expression calm and composed.“Hello, Mr. O’Connor,” Cooper greeted politely.Sean turned to face him. “You’re the man who picked up Ms. Stroud?” he asked with a slight nod.“Yes,” Cooper replied.“All right.”“I was hoping to have a quick word with you,” Cooper said, falling into step beside him. “Ms. Stroud asked me to have you review the updated list of candidates for the company partnerships. She’s finalizing the team and wants your input before anything is confirmed.”Sean raised an eyebrow. “Candidates? I thought she already had people in mind.”Frankly, he didn’t understand why she would involve him—he wasn’t even part of the company.“She did,” Cooper said carefully. “But she made some changes. She asked me to remove Ryora Global Enterprises from the shortlist.”Sean sto

Hearing that sentence made Sean frown. He had been right—she was going to blame him if they found him at the table.“I was here first,” he replied coolly. “And isn’t it proper courtesy to apologize when you spill something on someone?”Chloe rolled her eyes, clearly unbothered. “Maybe if you weren’t lurking around like a creep, I would’ve seen you there.”Rosalind shot her a look. “Chloe.”“What?” Chloe shrugged. “It’s true.”She glared at Sean, her gaze clearly stating she had no intention of apologizing. And if she had seen him there, she probably would’ve done it on purpose.“It’s clearly his fault for joining us at the table when he saw we were already seated,” Chloe added, folding her arms. “It’s retribution for ignoring the rules of high society.”Nate nodded in agreement. “That’s right. I have to side with Chloe. Ms. Springfield, there’s no need for you to defend him or cover for him anymore—you're divorced.”Rosalind stepped back at that, visibly affected. Nate was right—they w

Seeing the number of men, Nate was petrified. He had only wanted to act tough for a moment—to impress Rosalind—but he hadn’t expected reinforcements.It had already been hard enough to keep his cool when it was just the red-haired man. Now, with ten more looming behind him, Nate knew there was no chance he could handle them.He hadn’t even truly handled one. How was he supposed to take on ten?His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he stared at the group closing in. None of them were smiling. They looked like they’d been waiting for an excuse to cause trouble.Chloe’s earlier confidence cracked. “Okay... well, that’s not fair.”The red-haired man—still bleeding, still smiling—took a few slow steps forward, hands casually stuffed in his pockets as his backup flanked him like shadows.“Wow,” he said slowly, looking Nate up and down. “This is your knight in shining armor?” He snorted, then turned to Rosalind. “I’ve seen cardboard cutouts with more spine. Do you naturally have terrible tas

The room froze.Ace’s smile faltered.Everyone had turned to see who had dared to speak earlier. And when they saw Sean, a stunned silence took over, followed quickly by murmurs from all corners of the ballroom.“Who is that…?”“Wait—did he just threaten Ace?”“Is he drunk or just suicidal?”“I’ve never seen him before.”“Did he say he’d rip someone’s arm out?”The tension thickened, the air turning electric as people craned their necks to get a better look.Sean stood at the entrance, his eyes sharp and unreadable.Ace narrowed his gaze. “And who the hell are you supposed to be?”Sean took a calm step forward, and the crowd instinctively watched him as he moved. Some of them began to wonder if he was just stupid or brave.“I said,” he repeated, louder this time, “take your hands off them.”More murmurs followed, louder now, laced with disbelief.“Is he insane?”“He must not know who Ace Carlisle is.”“Look at him—he’s not even blinking.”“Is he military or something?”“Maybe a bodygu

“What do you mean by I laid my hands on him?” Sean questioned, eyes narrowing. “I haven’t touched him yet. And did you just say he was Ace Carlisle?”Nate scoffed. “Yes! The Ace Carlisle. You must’ve grown up under a rock if you don’t know who that is. Do you have a death wish?” He turned to the crowd, throwing his hands up. “This guy must think he’s in a video game or something. What, you thought you were the hero now?”Some of the guests snorted quietly.Murmurs rose around the room.“He’s got a point.”“What was that guy thinking, picking a fight with Ace?”“Seriously, he must be insane.”“Even if he can throw a few punches, this is Ace Carlisle we’re talking about.”“Sean just made everything worse for all of us.”Nate stood a little taller, encouraged by the murmuring support, while Sean simply stared, unmoved.Sean remembered the name Carlisle. It was the same name as the man who had kidnapped Abrill—and now they had the audacity to show up at this party and try to molest anothe