Leon had barely stepped out of the Pure White Palace when his phone buzzed.Mia’s name flashed on the screen.He hesitated only a heartbeat before sliding his thumb to answer.Her voice reached him immediately—gentle, a bit hurried, carrying a sweetness that still made something tighten in his chest.“Leon… are you busy right now?”“No,” he said quietly, “I just finished something.”“That’s good.” She exhaled softly, as if relieved. “I wanted to tell you—since Marina agreed to visit the family estate again, Clara is organizing a family dinner tonight. She wants everyone present.”Leon lifted his gaze to the sky. The sun was starting to dip, leaving streaks of rose-gold behind the clouds.He had a premonition already—Clara rarely organized anything with good intentions.“A dinner?” he repeated.“At Nightfall,” Mia added. “The best restaurant in the whole city. Clara said it’s a special occasion and… you must come.”Something inside Leon twitched, but not in surprise. Clara didn’t “invi

Inside the opulent glow of Supreme Private Room No. 1, Oliver Taylor sat like a king who had just won a small kingdom. His back was straight, chin slightly raised, fingers tapping leisurely against the table as if he had personally built the luxury around him. Every compliment landed on him like warm sunlight, and he basked in it shamelessly.Clara, seated on one side, raised her wine glass with a smile that stretched wider each time she glanced proudly at him.“Oliver, truly, your capabilities keep surprising me,” she said, her voice floating proudly. “To book a place like this… even I didn’t expect it.”Oliver offered a small laugh—the kind meant to seem modest, but it failed miserably when paired with the smug sparkle in his eyes.“Aunt Clara, it was nothing, really. Just… pulling a few strings.”Beverly chimed in instantly from the other side of the table. “Nothing? Oliver, don’t downplay yourself. This is Supreme Private Room No. 1. People wait months, sometimes years, to get acc

The room had frozen into a single, collective heartbeat.Oliver was on his knees, his entire body shakin from the raw, primal fear of Rafa’s shadow looming over him. Rafa’s hand hung in the air, fingers curled, ready to deliver a strike that would likely knock out teeth, dignity, and any illusions Oliver had about his own importance.The Quinn family sat stiffly, breath locked in their throats. No one dared speak, no one dared move. Even the air felt heavy, pressed down by the threat of violence.A calm, steady voice drifted across the room like a blade slicing through fog.“Rafa. That’s enough.”It wasn’t loud, and yet, head in the Supreme Room turned toward the speaker, faces twisting with disbelief. Clara squinted, unsure she had heard right, while Beverly jerked in her seat. Leon, the “useless son-in-law”, the man everyone dismissed, ignored, belittled for years.He was the one who spoke, and nobody knew whether they should protect him or pretend like they didn't know who he was.

The shock of Rafa’s apology hadn’t fully settled before the room began buzzing again—softly at first, then growing louder as people tried to drag themselves back into some familiar version of reality. But Beverly was the first to snap out of the stunned silence.Her fingers twisted together nervously, but her voice suddenly rose with a kind of desperate certainty.“There—there must be another explanation,” she announced, as if trying to overwrite the last ten minutes of existence. “Rafa wouldn’t bow to us over a room mistake. Someone must have told him something. Maybe he heard about Mia’s connection with Marina.”Clara blinked, startled.“Marina?”“Yes,” Beverly said, seizing onto the thought like a lifeline. “This whole thing clearly has to do with Marina respecting Mia. That’s all. Nothing else makes sense.”She nodded emphatically, as if she were trying to convince herself more than anyone else.“It’s obvious,” she continued. “Powerful people like Rafa would want good relations wi

He looked at her, and then, contrary to all her expectations, he smiled.She tried very hard to read if he was trying to mock her through that smile, or be sarcastic, but she only found it to be warm, almost affectionate.“Why?” He repeated calmly. “That’s simple.”She looked up at him expectantly at the same time as leaned slightly closer and said, with an absolutely straight face: “Because I’m the legendary mysterious boss. Rafa is afraid of me, no matter what I say.”Mia stared at him, blinking once. Blinking twice, and then, she burst out in disbelief.“What? Leon, be serious! I asked you the question in concern–”He lifted a shoulder, shrugging casually. “I am being serious.”She swatted his arm lightly, cheeks puffing in frustration.“Stop joking! You don’t have to make fun of me just because I asked a question.”Leon chuckled softly, staying just as calm and casual. “But I told you the truth…”Mia rolled her eyes.“Right. And I’m secretly the queen of the universe.”He only sm