Caroline stretched her lips into an alluring smile, not even intimidated by the blinding flashes of cameras in front of her. After her last pose, she continued walking on the red carpet.

“You’re stunning as ever, Miss Young!” A woman in her mid-twenties greeted Caroline. Her name was Tessa Lee, CR Jewelry’s Marketing Department manager.

Caroline politely smiled at her.

“The fans are going crazy! They think you’re the perfect brand ambassador of CR Jewelry!” Tessa said with excitement.

“You’re flattering me too much! It’s an honor to be the face of your brand,” Caroline replied.

Tessa grinned. “By the way, the chairman is over there. I’ll introduce you to him.”

Caroline didn’t have a choice but to follow Tessa. After all, it was part of her job. At times, it could be draining, but years of being in such an industry made her used to it.

Caroline spent the next thirty minutes socializing and proposing toasts with many higher-ups from the company. Not long after, she finally had a chance to escape from them and find a quiet place to rest.

But before she could even walk away, her eyes immediately landed on Finn Balcom.

Stunned, Caroline took a step back. Her hands trembled, and her champagne glass almost dropped to the floor. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Seeing the man in front of her made her realize that there would always be people who wouldn’t fade away from her memories quickly, no matter how hard she tried to forget them.

Most especially those whom she loved and hated.

Caroline heard the CR Jewelry’s chairman speak, snapping her back to reality. “Good to see you here, Mr. Balcom! Have you met our brand ambassador yet? I’ll introduce you to her.”

The chairman looked at her and smiled. “This is Caroline, our newest brand ambassador. You must have heard of her?”

Finn was a very tall man, probably more than six feet tall. The dark grey suit hugged his body perfectly, and the pair of gold-rimmed glasses made him look more ravishing.

He stared at Caroline for a long while until a slight smirk formed on his lips. “Of course. Carol is very popular and quite a beauty.”

Caroline’s hold of the champagne glass tightened. She gritted her teeth and tried her best not to throw the glass at Finn’s face.

‘How can he look despicable and dignified at the same time?’ she thought.

The people around them laughed at Finn’s comment. Wide smiles were painted across their lips, interested in Finn and Caroline’s relationship.

“It seems like you know each other well, Mr. Balcom,” the chairman asked.

Finn shook his head. “Not really. I’ve watched many of Carol’s works, and I admire her talent and skills.”

The people nodded their heads simultaneously.

“I see, Mr. Balcom. I guess you two must have a lot to talk about, so we’ll excuse ourselves first. See you.”

Caroline heavily sighed as she watched the crowd around them disperse. Only she and Finn were left on their spots. Uninterested in talking to the man, she turned around and stepped away.

However, a firm hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Shocked, Caroline took a few steps backward until her foot tripped on someone else’s foot.

Caroline gasped as she stumbled and almost fell, but Finn successfully caught her in his arms. He lowered his head, buried his nose in her hair, and gently sniffed it.

“You changed perfume?” A chuckle escaped his lips.

“Stay away from me,” Caroline muttered before removing herself from his hold. She put a distance between them as she controlled her emotions.

Over the years, Caroline had mastered how to hide her real feelings. But for some reason, Finn always knew how to trigger her anger.

Finn took a step closer to her and cupped her chin. “You look hotter when you’re mad,” he whispered.

Caroline’s eyes glistened in pure rage. The winged eyeliner she had made her eyes look fiercer, which amused Finn even more.

Years had already passed, but he would still do anything just to see those eyes of hers.

Unfazed by Caroline’s anger, Finn lifted her chin and whispered in her ears, “Still got that short temper of yours, huh? I thought that after what happened, you learned how to behave.”

His words instantly fueled her anger. Her body started to tremble, much to Finn’s delight. Suddenly, he removed his grip from her chin and smoothly transferred his hand to her shoulders.

“Come on, let’s go and get some drinks,” he cooed, but his firm grip on her shoulder told Caroline she didn’t have a choice.

She muttered several curses in her mind. She hated him so much! Just the thought of what he had done to her made her want to send him to hell.

The two of them started to walk. Caroline kept her gaze on him as her mind constantly tried to think of ways to snap his head off.

All of a sudden, Finn chuckled. “You can’t take your eyes off of me, can you? You must have missed me a lot.”

“You—” Caroline said, but her words were cut off when she suddenly bumped into someone.

Horror etched her face when she saw the content of her glass already spilled on the person’s shirt.

“Oh, sorry. She was busy staring at me that she didn’t notice you,” Finn apologized, although there was no remorse in his voice.

Caroline raised her head and saw Simon’s threatening gaze directed at the man beside her. Then, his eyes transferred to her, making her swallow hard.

“It’s fine,” he gravely said.

His voice sent shivers down Caroline’s spine. She looked away and prayed that no one heard the loud beating of her heart.

Caroline felt like fate seemed to enjoy playing with her.

In less than twenty-four hours, she bumped into her ex-boyfriend not just once but twice. In those moments, she was with two different men.

Caroline could only imagine what Simon must be thinking right now.

“I’ll ask my secretary to pay for your clothes,” Finn said beside her, interrupting her thoughts.

Both of them scanned Simon’s outfit. Dressed in a white t-shirt, denim pants, and black boots, it seemed like Simon didn’t get the memo that this was a formal event.

Finn took Caroline’s wrist and moved past him without waiting for Simon’s reply. Caroline, on the other hand, silently tagged along with Finn. She knew that this man was easier to deal with than Simon.

Finn displayed a smile of satisfaction. He slid his arm around Caroline’s waist, crouched, and pressed his lips near her ears. “What a pity you didn’t obey me earlier,” he teased.

Caroline clenched her teeth and disregarded Finn’s remark. However, there was something she couldn’t completely ignore.

She could feel someone staring at her from behind. The intensity of his gaze made her mind absolute haywire, and her chest couldn’t stop pounding.

She didn’t need to look back to check who it was. Of all people, she knew Simon the best.

Meanwhile, Simon remained on his spot. His brooding eyes watched how Finn rested his hand on Caroline’s waist until they disappeared in the crowd. He looked away and scanned his surroundings to look for a glass of wine.

In just a few minutes, Simon had already finished his fourth glass of wine. He couldn’t find any more potent alcohol, so he settled with gulping down wine as if it was just water.

He put down his sixth glass and was ready to drink a few more when Leo Sheen, his assistant, approached him.

“Mr. Johnson.”

Simon turned to him. “Done now? Can I leave?” he asked. Impatience was laced in his tone, making Leo panic. Bullets of sweat formed on the side of his face.

Hardy appointed Leo to be Simon’s personal assistant, and today was his first day of work.

The Johnson family had two legitimate sons. Hardy was a favorite subject of most journalists, but he never failed to protect his family’s privacy and never let them show up in public.

Leo thought that Simon, Hardy’s younger brother, would be easy to get along with. However, his first encounter with him instantly deflated his optimism.

Simon refused to wear a suit for the party. Instead, he wore jeans and a pair of boots. He made it clear to Leo that he didn’t plan on mingling with anyone and would leave the event as soon as possible.

‘He’s a tough nut to crack,’ Leo thought as he sighed.

He laughed nervously and glanced at the empty glasses beside Simon. “I’m afraid we can’t leave yet, Sir. The CR Jewelry’s chairman wants to talk to you.”

When he heard the company Leo mentioned, Caroline’s image immediately flashed on Simon’s mind.

“No,” he muttered darkly before leaving Leo to the bathroom.

Leo thought that working for Hardy was already like serving a king. However, meeting his younger brother tonight made Hardy look more amiable and patient.

He clicked his tongue as he stared at Simon’s retreating form. At that moment, he knew he would have a hard time with his new boss.

Indeed, Simon Johnson was a tough nut to crack.

As soon as he left the bathroom, Simon was greeted by a group of ladies in beautiful dresses, talking and laughing.

He looked away and was ready to leave when he heard Caroline’s name. He stopped in his tracks and silently looked at the women again.

“Did you see Caroline Young’s face just now? Why is she like that? She was paid generously to come here and put on her friendly smile in front of the guests! I don’t get why CR Jewelry chose her,” A woman stressed.

“Why are you surprised? She was obviously chosen because of her popularity,” another voice said.

“Yeah. She’s been a hot topic recently. Also, she has paired up with Lucien again, attracting all those hopeless fans to root for their nonexistent love story. Last night, I heard that gossip about her went viral. Everyone’s very eager to ride on her fame.”

“Their management must be working hard to keep their clout. I just saw Caroline on the terrace, and she’s with a different man. Who knows? She must be his sugar baby,” one said, and the women giggled together.

Simon clenched his fists as he listened to them. These women must be talent managers or agents. He felt so disgusted listening to their envious voices as they talked about Caroline. On top of it all, the word ‘sugar baby’ left a bad taste in his mouth.

His neck and ears reddened in anger. Veins in his arms protruded as he fisted his hands. He didn’t know that he had already caught the women’s attention.

“Hey, handsome. Are you interested in the showbiz industry? You certainly have the looks,” one of them said.

Simon was towering over them. His white shirt perfectly showed off his fair skin, well-shaped biceps, broad shoulders, and perfectly-shaped waist. It would be too hard to ignore a sight like him.

He was a perfect epitome of a manly guy.

And people would always dig for manly guys on the television.

Simon clenched his jaw and glanced at the woman talking to him. She was also the same person who labeled Caroline as a sugar baby.

Without any word, he walked away from her.

Finn’s grip on the side of Caroline’s waist tightened as they smoothly exited the huge hall. Caroline didn’t want to make a scene, so she had no choice but to follow him until they both arrived at the underground parking lot.

Finn forcefully made her get into the backseat of his car before sitting beside her. He shut the door and looked at the driver, signaling him to start the car.

“Where are you taking me? The event is not over yet, and my manager will look for me,” Caroline said while looking at him with irritation.

Finn grabbed her purse. “It’s over,” he replied nonchalantly.

Caroline took a deep breath. “No, the higher-ups will probably think I’m rude because I left the party. My career is at stake here, Finn!” she convinced him.

Suddenly, Finn threw her purse to the side and moved closer to her. Caroline’s eyes widened, and she hastily moved away from him to avoid body contact.

But before she could move again, Finn’s arms were already resting on the sides of her body, trapping her. The small distance between them made Caroline shiver in disgust. She tried to move away from him but to no avail.

“CR Jewelry badly wants to collaborate with me. They would do anything to please me. Heck, they could even send you to my place if I want,” Finn said in a low voice while staring at her lips.

“You really think they will look for you after seeing that I’m the one who took you away from that party, hmm?”

The answer was obviously no.

Caroline had already memorized the dark and ugly side of the entertainment industry. She knew how far people would go to achieve something.

She tried to calm herself down and think clearly. “Where are we going?”

Finn didn’t reply. Instead, he grinned at her and leaned on his seat lazily, looking at the scenery in front of them.

The whole ride was eerily silent, which made Caroline more uncomfortable. She watched the night view of the city in a daze as the car steadily moved onward.

She let out a small yawn. Bumping into Finn and Simon was too overwhelming and draining for her. She felt like her mind couldn’t function properly anymore.

Not long after, she drifted off to sleep.

Finn glanced at Caroline and noticed that she was already asleep. She was breathing softly while her head leaned on the window.

Finn gestured to the driver to lower the temperature of the air conditioner before covering Caroline’s body with a blanket. He was about to retrieve his hand when all of a sudden, Caroline started to sleep talking.

“I swear, I will kill you if you hurt him….”

“Give me back my baby….”

“Go to hell, asshole….”

“I will kill you, Finn Balcom. Mark my word….”

Finn’s eyebrows knitted as he watched her murmur. She must be exhausted that she couldn’t even talk in an audible voice. He leaned closer to her to hear what she was saying. Then, he noticed that she was crying.

Caroline let out a small whimper as Finn gently wiped her tears away. He stared at Caroline’s sleeping face for a while.

He smiled.

“You despise me a lot. I wonder what you saw in that doctor,” he whispered.

Simon had lost all his patience for this awful party. For the past thirty minutes, he hid in the corner, drinking all the wines he could get from the passing servers.

Leo stood by his side, silent and unmoving. He just prayed that Simon would stay here until the end of the party, so both of them could end the night peacefully.

Obviously, Simon was in a bad mood. He felt like no amount of alcohol could erase the images of Caroline with Lucien or Finn in his mind.

Not to mention the things he heard near the bathroom earlier.

Although the entertainment industry would be the last thing that would spark Simon’s interest, he had heard a lot of stories about the dark things that happened there. Looking back, Caroline was just a nobody in the industry when they were still in a relationship. However, after they called it quits, she suddenly rose into stardom.

Everybody knew her. She was always the face of articles and billboards.

“Mr. Johnson,” Leo suddenly said beside him, disrupting his thoughts.

“What?” he asked in annoyance.

Leo gave him a nervous laugh before glancing at his wristwatch. “T-The event is done, so we can leave now. I’ll drive you home.”

Simon put down his glass and immediately went outside. Leo ran and trailed behind him. “Mr. Johnson, please wait for me at the entrance of the hotel. I’ll just get the car in the parking lot!”

Three minutes had passed. Simon stood in front of the hotel entrance with his hands in his pocket. He blankly stared at the passing cars in front of him while his mind wandered elsewhere.

Living in the mountains alone for a long while made the city life strange to him. He wasn’t even surprised when Melvin teased him that he looked like a primitive man.

All of a sudden, a bright light flashed before him. Simon frowned and saw that the light came from the car not far from him. Then, he noticed a woman running toward the car while she pressed the phone to her ear.

A realization hit him. The woman was Caroline’s agent.

Simon looked around and looked for Caroline, but he didn’t see her.

“I can’t find Caroline. She’s not picking up my calls, and the security couldn’t find her on the CCTV footage. What should we do? Should we call the police?” Caroline’s manager said in a panicking tone, unaware that she had just caught someone’s whole attention.