Laurent whisked Amelia away to the large private dressing room while Coulter slowly walked around, taking in the dresses, the suits, the opulence. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he slowly pulled it out.It was a message from Ian."Melissa, Madam Gabriella, and Caleb just went to the villa. They are still in there. I could have sworn I heard Melissa say she was going to laugh in your face at the party."Coulter broke into a laugh, his chest heaving lightly as he typed back. "I am thoroughly entertained. Why don't you have the guard scare Caleb a bit? I need a good laugh."The response came seconds later. "Genius, sir. I was going to do the exact thing."Coulter smiled to himself, then leaned back, turning towards the private dressing room door. Amelia was still inside, and he gave a small sigh and started to look back at his phone when the door opened.Ian had started typing, the bubbles appearing and disappearing in the chat, but Coulter slowly raised his head. Everything else

Melissa went through the final arrangements approximately seven hours before the party, then left the villa for the working hands to get ready. She had to get ready too. Makeup, stylists, and everything else.The penthouse was quiet when they got back, almost like it knew they would be leaving it soon. "I am going to take a shower," Melissa said, turning to Caleb who was still sweating.No one bothered to ask why he looked like he had seen a ghost. He also couldn't tell. Earlier, while they were at the villa, the guard had pulled his aside, then explained that the villa's owner us starting to express mild interest in returning to the country. Caleb had immediately paled. He barely had an explanation to feed Melissa by the time she realized he wasn't working her IPO with the five hundred thousand dollars she gave him, and now he would also have to come up with a reason why they could no longer stay at the villa after he had paid so much to buy it and then even done a housewarming. L

The villa was a glittering castle by the time disk fell, and cars started to line up outside the villa. The guard was ushering people in, and Caleb, dressed in the impeccable, rented suit, stayed outside with him, under the guise of welcoming guests, but was really just making sure the man wouldn't pull some stupid stunt during the party."You are sure everything is okay, right?""Be rest assured, boss," the guard said, waving in yet another fleet of cars, with the occupants nodding towards Caleb, who smiled at them and raised his glass of red wine. "Your party will go smoothly. I will make sure of that."Caleb nodded slowly, then adjusted his tie. Melissa and Madam Gabriella were already on their way, fashionably late, because they wanted to make sure that Melissa's entrance would be unforgettable.Melissa took in her reflection in the car's rear view mirror one last time as the villa came into view. She looked impeccable, her dress a dark red silk gown that caught the light and her

Melissa spun around so fast that her heel caught in the hem of her dress, and she stumbled forward ungracefully, her fingers reaching for the nearest support to stop her from falling. The nearest support happened to be a rushing, disorganized waiter still carrying cold drinks for the guests who were far too invested in the drama to even care about the drinks. She grabbed his suit hard, and the man stumbled forward, the drinks tipping off the delicate tray they had been arranged on. For a long moment, the glasses swirled dangerously close to the edge. Just as Melissa started to straighten, the glasses finally tipped straight unto Melissa's hair and dress, a mix of red and white and a green coloured drink that smelled like mint. The drops soaked straight into her dress, changing the colour to a sickly mix of green and white against red, and the drinks soaked straight to her feet. Melissa let out a long shriek of horror, and Caleb immediately ran towards Melissa, grabbing her before

Amelia sat in the front seat, her chest heaving hard, her jaw still clenched tight. Coulter sat beside her, his eyes resting on her, his hands idle on the steering wheel.She slowly turned, her eyes meeting his."What?"Coulter gave a small knowing smile. "How did you know the engagement ring is fake?"Amelia gave a small sigh, trying her best not to let her anger seep through. "It doesn't catch the light properly. A good enough imitation for someone who doesn't know much about diamonds."Coulter nodded slowly. A wave of silence washed through the car."You..." she started, her voice trailing off as if she was gauging what to say next. "You didn't ask that man to do it, did you? I mean, I won't believe a word that woman says seeing how unhinged she is, but.. the man came to you after. So I am left with only two things to believe and I am not sure which I would prefer."Coulter turned slowly, resting his head back. "Two things?""Yes.""What are they?"Amelia swallowed hard. "That you