Chapter 6: Caught in the Spotlight

Either that bystander got it wrong, or the beads he’s wearing now aren’t the ones I gave him.

I sat in the venue, angrily eating ten strawberry cupcakes as I thought.

The strawberry frosting was too sweet, but I kept shoving cupcakes in my mouth, hoping sugar would drown out the panic.

After eating, I randomly grabbed an employee with a badge and asked:

"Is there a Natalie Summers in your company?"

The bystander’s expression turned odd.

"Never seen her."

He tossed out three words and hurried off.

I grabbed another person and asked the same question: "Have you seen Natalie Summers?"

Bystander B hesitated, then shook his head: "No, never."

I asked five people in a row—none had seen her.

That’s strange.

Natalie Summers is the heroine—the future Mrs. Stanton.

She should have met Derek and fallen in love with him three years ago.

How could no one know her?

I pondered, biting into my eleventh cupcake.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed.

The host took the stage, beaming at everyone:

"Tonight, Mr. Stanton is in a great mood and wants to play a game with everyone."

"Everyone, please close your eyes."

"I’ll count to fifteen, then you can open them. Alright?"

The lights were low; I had no idea what was going on.

But all the girls around me closed their eyes. I hesitated, then closed mine too.

The next second, I felt a familiar, powerful presence stop beside me.

A large hand gripped my wrist tightly.

My heart hammered as heavy footsteps stopped beside me. The crowd’s laughter faded, replaced by the roar of blood in my ears. A flash of memory: three years ago, his trembling grip at the airport, begging me not to go.

"Mia."

Derek spoke each word slowly, his breath hot against my ear, his voice rough:

"Is it really you? Did you come back?"

My heart jolted. My body recognized him before my brain did.

I instinctively tried to run.

"I’m not—" I failed to break free.

The next moment, Derek’s arms wrapped around my waist, locking me in place.

A clean, piney scent enveloped me.

His chin rested on my shoulder, warm.

"Mia."

The lights were dim.

His voice was low, trembling ever so slightly: "Don’t move. Let me hold you for a while."

I froze, my mind buzzing, panic rising.

I hurriedly tried to push him away:

"No... Derek, behave yourself. Your girlfriend is watching."

Though I had no idea where his supposed girlfriend, Natalie Summers, had gone.

The next second, I felt a hot, moist sensation where our skin touched.

He pulled open my collar and kissed my neck.

Then, like a vampire, he gave a gentle bite.

I gasped—half afraid, half furious. Was this obsession, or something closer to heartbreak?

"Mia." The humility in his voice vanished completely.

"Now, no one in Stanton Group dares mention ‘girlfriend’ in front of me. Because everyone knows—I only have one wife, and she’s missing."

His fingers trailed downward, his voice dangerously low: "You brought her up—are you trying to get yourself in trouble tonight?"

I shivered, not sure if I should be flattered or terrified. Maybe both. The ballroom felt a thousand degrees too hot.