A knock sounded at the door before Steven Conklin stepped in, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Well, well, Winston. Did I just see a woman running out of here? Or were my eyes playing tricks on me? Looked like the Abbott family's little princess." Winston adjusted his shirt collar, buttoning it neatly one by one. His demeanor was proper and serious again, nothing like the reckless man of a moment ago. He smoothed the expensive fabric with steady fingers, saying nothing. "Hold up-did someone slap you?" Steven suddenly leapt forward, shocked. "Who the hell dared to hit you, of all people?!" Only then did Winston lift his eyes, glancing at Steven with cool detachment. "The one who just walked out." He got hit... by a woman?! Steven gaped so wide his cigarette slipped right out of his mouth. He scrambled to catch it, fumbling awkwardly. I'd better keep this quiet. If word gets out, Winston's pride will take a serious hit. Steven was silent for a moment before slapping his thigh. "Sure, a real man doesn't fight women, but we can't just let this go. Winston, I heard she and Sebastian are a thing. I'll grab Sebastian for you, let you vent your anger on him!" Both the Renard and Kairos families were pillars of Brisden's elite, and for years, they had kept to their own paths. But recently, the Renard family had expanded rapidly, taking over half of the city's market. Even going head-to-head with Sebastian was nothing to fear. And even without his family's backing, Winston had more than enough means to deal with a single man. But Winston's face went cold. His ink-dark eyes cut sharply toward Steven. "What did you just say?" Steven thought he hadn't spoken clearly and repeated, "Anastasia and Sebastian are together. They-" Before he could finish, Winston clapped a hand down on his shoulder. At first, Steven didn't sense the danger, but as the pressure mounted, growing heavier and heavier until even his knees trembled, sweat broke out across his back. "Winston?" he ventured cautiously. "Did I... say something wrong?" They had grown up together. Normally, Winston wouldn't treat him like this-unless he had just been stupid enough to touch a nerve. Winston's gaze slid over him, his voice icy. He poured himself a glass of wine and downed it in one gulp to calm his nerves. No, I must be imagining things. There's no way Winston is that much of a freak. After leaving the club, Anastasia went straight to Claire's place. Claire had just returned from a business trip and opened the door with a face mask on. Seeing Anastasia, she froze. "What's going on?" Anastasia sighed. "I might need to crash at your place for a few days." "What's the story here? You've got a billion-dollar villa and you'd rather stay in my shoebox apartment?" It wasn't really a shoebox-it was comfortable enough. But compared to a billion-dollar villa, it did feel like the slums. "Juliana slept with Sebastian. Just thinking about that villa makes me sick." Anastasia bent to change into slippers. Even bringing it up again made her chest tighten with anger and disgust. Claire's face darkened instantly. "He took Juliana into your marital home? Seriously?! What, was he looking for a thrill or something? That's beyond disgusting! Forget you-just hearing it makes me want to puke! That b*stard, what the hell is he trying to pull?" Anastasia whispered, "I never thought... after more than 20 years as childhood sweethearts, he'd do this to me." Claire burst out angrily, "If I'd known back in Meldiva, when I saw them, I should've pushed Juliana into the ocean and fed her to the sharks!" A few days ago, Claire had flown to Meldiva for work. As a gossip reporter, she had been tailing a celebrity, but instead of scandal photos, she had stumbled across Sebastian and Juliana vacationing by the sea. Anastasia curled up on the couch, her legs drawn tight to her chest. "And you're just going to let them off the hook like this? If you ask me, you should blow this whole thing wide open! Let everyone see exactly how Sebastian betrayed you! Otherwise, he'll keep putting on that deep, devoted act in public. "People who don't know the truth will think you're the ungrateful one. At the very least, you should ruin them both socially!" Claire was fiercely loyal, never tolerating injustice. Anastasia lowered her eyes. "The Kairos family did take care of me for years. Our dads were lifelong friends. And the marriage was arranged while my father was still alive. I don't want to make it ugly. 3/4 2:00 pm D 4/4 2:01 pm DDD. The Rose Who Chose His Rival Over Him