Mason Lawson returned home to find the master bedroom completely empty.

’She must have gone back to school.’

He took out his phone, opened her WeChat, and hesitated for a moment.

Thinking of what Eric Kendall and Jonah Spencer had said earlier, Mason Lawson’s gaze grew deeper, becoming unreadable.

In the end, he didn’t send anything and put the phone directly into a drawer.

He knew what Eve Vaughn wanted, but he didn’t like to make promises about things he wasn’t sure of.

And so, Mason Lawson fought back the urge to go find her. He smoked a cigarette, then went to wash up.

Early the next morning, he had his assistant reschedule his morning appointments and personally drove to Joanna Sullivan’s dance studio.

Joanna was clearly surprised by Mason Lawson’s sudden visit, but her surprise quickly turned into delight.

"Mason? Are you here to see me?"

The corners of her eyes crinkled with a smile, and she complained coquettishly, "I invited you to the ribbon-cutting for the studio’s grand opening, but you didn’t come. And now you show up uninvited."

Mason Lawson’s expression was cold and grim as he asked, "Did you meet with Eve Vaughn?"

Joanna froze for a second but didn’t deny it. "Yes, we met a few days ago. So, did she run to you and complain? Did she paint me as some horrible person? Or say that I bullied her?"

Mason’s tone grew even heavier. "Then tell me, what did you say to her?"

Joanna smiled. "Does it matter? The truth is, Eve Vaughn isn’t that important to you. Girls like her are a dime a dozen if you want them. The only reason you took an interest in her is because she looks so much like me."

Mason stared out the window, his gaze dark and deep. His thin lips were pressed into a hard, cold line, and he said nothing.

Joanna’s eyes reddened as she choked back tears. "Mason, why won’t you admit you still have feelings for me? I’ve asked around. Everyone says you’re single, and no one knows about any other woman in your life. Isn’t that proof enough? You’ve been waiting for me, haven’t you?"

Mason suddenly let out a soft, scornful laugh and looked at her. "You think too highly of yourself. What we had is long over. I only came here today to warn you: stop feeding Eve Vaughn nonsense and trying to confuse her."

Joanna clutched at her aching heart, unable to believe that Mason could have truly forgotten the love between them.

She was too upset to speak, feeling tears welling up.

Mason’s cold gaze swept over her face. Unwilling to say more, he added indifferently, "And you should refund the tuition for Eve Vaughn’s friend. You, Joanna Sullivan, aren’t hurting for thirty or fifty thousand. Why stoop so low and act so cruel?"

Joanna stared at him in disbelief, her voice trembling. "Now you’re not only helping Eve Vaughn, but you’re getting involved in her friend’s business too? Mason, what do you take me for?"

"My ex-girlfriend. An old friend."

Mason answered her question without hesitation, his words firm and cruel.

The light in Joanna’s eyes dimmed as if she’d lost focus. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

...

That evening, Eve Vaughn received a call from Mia Kendall.

"Evie, come on out! I’m treating you to dinner!"

Mia’s voice sounded exceptionally joyful.

Baffled, Eve asked, "What’s with the sudden dinner invitation? Did you nail your audition?"

"Not that!" Mia said excitedly. "I got my money back! All fifty thousand! They even refunded me for the class I already took."

Eve was slightly surprised. "How did you get them to agree? Did you go see Lawyer Spencer again?"

Mia said, "No, I didn’t go see Jonah Spencer again. I was planning on finding a cheaper lawyer to help me sue them. But I hadn’t even found one yet when the dance studio suddenly contacted me and said they were going to refund my tuition. I’m puzzled too! Did they have a sudden attack of conscience or something?"

Eve Vaughn found it strange. Based on their previous attitude, it didn’t seem like the dance studio would give in so easily.

Still, she said to Mia, "It’s good you got the money back. But be more careful from now on. Regardless of whether it’s Joanna Sullivan or not, dropping tens of thousands on a class like that is just too rash."

"I know, I know."

Mia was overjoyed and urged, "Hurry up and come out. Whatever you want to eat tonight, it’s my treat!"

Eve agreed, then slung a mini bag over her shoulder, put her phone and keys inside, and went out to have dinner with Mia.

The refund was so far beyond their expectations that the two girls were still talking about it during dinner.

"Something’s not right. Someone must have talked to them," Eve said, putting down her chopsticks. "I don’t think they would have been so cooperative if someone wasn’t pulling strings behind the scenes."

Mia asked uncertainly, "Could it have been Jonah Spencer? He said he wouldn’t help us, but maybe he still negotiated with them for Mason Lawson and Eric Kendall’s sake. They must know Jonah is a famous lawyer, and they’d never win a lawsuit against him, so they caved."

"That makes sense."

Eve nodded in agreement. "If that’s the case, shouldn’t we thank him?"

Mia didn’t have Jonah Spencer’s WeChat, so she used Eve’s to give him a voice call.

The call connected quickly.

Mia said gratefully, "Lawyer Spencer, I don’t know how to thank you. If it weren’t for you, they definitely wouldn’t have refunded me so easily."

Jonah seemed surprised and paused for a moment before saying, "Then you’re probably thanking the wrong person. If I’m not mistaken, it was probably Mason who went to negotiate with Joanna Sullivan for you."

Mia was completely stunned. "Mason Lawson helped me? Why? How did he know?"

Jonah said, "I saw him the other day and mentioned your situation. As for why he helped, it’s likely because you’re Eve Vaughn’s good friend. He did it for her."

Mia felt a pang of shame, realizing she had said quite a few bad things about Mason Lawson in the past.

She thanked Jonah, hung up, and handed the phone back to Eve.

Eve had overheard most of the conversation with Jonah.

She was annoyed—or to be more precise, her mind was a complete mess.

Mia said thoughtfully, "I’m suddenly realizing you’re really important to Mason Lawson. He actually helped me for your sake. Was I wrong about him before?"

Eve remained silent.

Mia looked at her, confused. "What’s wrong? Mason helped me on your account, which means you have a lot of sway with him! Why do you look so miserable? Are you unhappy? Don’t tell me you’re jealous of me?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Eve looked at her helplessly. "I’m thinking about how much more I owe Mason Lawson now! So many favors, on top of all the money. Oh god, how am I ever going to pay him back!"

As she finished, Eve ruffled her hair in frustration.

Mia burst out laughing. "Worst comes to worst, you can always pay him back with your body!"

"Mia Kendall!"

Eve looked at her sternly. "That’s not what you were saying before today! You’re the one who said he was robbing the cradle, that he was just keeping me as a backup plan, and that he was cut from the same cloth as Eric Kendall. You said all of that!"

Mia stuck her tongue out and explained awkwardly, "I... I just didn’t know him back then, did I? But I see it now. He really has feelings for you. If it weren’t for you, who the hell am I to him? Why would he possibly help me get my money back?"

Eve snorted and retorted, "Look at you, all you can see is the money now! If he really has feelings for me, why is he keeping me a secret? Besides, Joanna Sullivan and I look so much alike. Even I can’t believe that his reasons for keeping me around are that simple."

"Then why don’t you just ask him and find out?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Mia said while munching away happily, "The biggest taboo in a relationship is ’you don’t ask, so I don’t tell.’ If something’s on your mind, just be open and ask him! It’s better than driving yourself crazy with assumptions."

Eve pouted and rolled her eyes at her. "Mia, I swear, you’ve argued both sides of this completely by yourself! At first, when I wasn’t assuming anything, you said Mason must be hiding something because he wouldn’t go public with our relationship. Now you’re telling me I’m the one who’s overthinking things! How can you always be right?"

Mia gave an awkward laugh. "I... I was just looking out for you. Look at you, you’ve been so distracted lately because of all this."

After dinner, the two of them went back to their respective schools.

The November weather was getting colder. Eve Vaughn clutched her white wool coat tighter, walking step by step with her head down, seriously pondering what Mia had said during dinner.

She hadn’t expected that Mason Lawson would personally go to the dance studio to find Joanna Sullivan for her sake.

Just then, a pair of expensive black leather shoes appeared in her line of sight.

Eve stopped and looked up, only to find it was Mason Lawson.

The man was dressed in a dark gray overcoat, his tall frame blocking the yellow light from the lamppost at the campus gate behind him.

In the dim night, his dark eyes held an inscrutable gleam.

Seeing the tip of her nose was red from the cold, he took her hand and led her toward his car.