She arrived at the classroom looking unhappy, and Aria grabbed her arm excitedly. "Evie, I have great news for you! Todd Hayes accepted my confession!"

Eve Vaughn said, "Well, congratulations."

Aria asked, baffled, "What’s wrong? You look like you just got your heart broken. It can’t be, right? I finally get a boyfriend, and you’ve broken up with yours again?"

"Of course not."

Eve Vaughn quickly made an excuse. "It’s just those bizarre relatives of mine. They’re driving me crazy. It has nothing to do with a breakup."

Aria, completely absorbed in the sweetness of her new romance, linked arms with her. "Evie, you should bring your boyfriend and I’ll bring Todd. The four of us can grab dinner together sometime. What do you think?"

Eve Vaughn’s heart sank. She said awkwardly, "My... my boyfriend... he’s been away on business lately. He probably won’t have time."

"No problem, there’s no rush," Aria said with a smile. "We can just set something up whenever he’s free."

Looking at Aria’s carefree expression, Eve Vaughn couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.

’It was the same when she was with Julian Lawson. Because of his status, she never dared to make their relationship widely known, always keeping it under wraps. But at the time, Julian had wanted to make things public. She was the one who had been scared—scared of causing him trouble, scared of displeasing Mrs. Lawson.’

’And so, they had hidden their relationship, from their early romance in high school all the way through university.’

’And now, after getting together with Mason Lawson, she still had to keep things a secret.’

’Isn’t a normal relationship supposed to be out in the open, for everyone to see?’

After her classes ended for the day, Eve Vaughn was in a foul mood and asked Mia Kendall to go out for hot pot.

In the bustling, steamy hot pot restaurant, Mia Kendall poured her a glass of cola. "Here you go. Drink some ’happy water,’ and everything will feel better!"

Eve Vaughn took a sip. Countless tiny bubbles burst in her mouth, just like the chaotic turmoil in her heart.

’She had thought she and Mason Lawson were in a relationship, but now... she wasn’t even sure what to call whatever it was they were doing.’

"Mia, you were right. You and your big mouth! He really doesn’t want to make our relationship public. To be honest, I used to be afraid of people finding out I was with Mason Lawson, too. I was worried they’d look down on me. Because I know that, apart from my age, there’s no way I’m good enough for him!"

As she said this, Eve Vaughn’s voice caught in her throat, and her eyes began to redden. "But I never thought... I never thought *he* would be the one who didn’t want to go public."

Mia Kendall tapped the table with her index finger. "See? I told you something was off about him! A guy like that is the center of attention wherever he goes. The only reason he wouldn’t want to go public is to give himself an escape route!"

"An escape route? What kind of escape route?"

Eve Vaughn’s heart pounded with anxiety as she listened.

Mia Kendall said indignantly, "So that nobody knows he’s taken, of course. That way, if you two break up, he can move on to the next one without a care in the world, and no one will ever know about his last relationship. Take Eric Kendall, for example! He has so many women, sometimes dating two or three at the same time. He won’t go public either! Why? Because each of those women thinks she’s the only one. If he made it public, wouldn’t they all start tearing each other’s hair out?"

Eve Vaughn quickly shook her head. "I don’t think Mason Lawson is a player like Eric Kendall, is he? Maybe he has his own reasons he can’t talk about. I mean, I didn’t want to go public before either, right? I was really just testing him today. Even if he’d agreed to take me to that sort of event, I wouldn’t have actually gone."

Mia Kendall put some more food on her plate. "So what are you going to do? Just stay with him in this vague, undefined relationship?"

"What else can I do?" Eve Vaughn said dejectedly. "Right now, my tuition, my living expenses, my mother’s medical bills, the mortgage on my family’s villa... Mason Lawson is paying for all of it. I have to accept however he treats me. At least for now, he’s still pretty good to me. And more importantly, I can learn a lot from being with him."

Mia Kendall sighed and looked at her with pity. "I hate that I’m not powerful enough to pull you out of this misery. But that might change soon! I’m auditioning for the second female lead in a major franchise drama—the second female lead, you hear me! They seemed pretty happy with my looks, but the character needs to have some dance training. If I pass the audition, I might actually get famous and make some real money! When that happens, I’ll pay back Mason Lawson for you. From then on, I’ve got you covered!"

Eve Vaughn couldn’t help but laugh, but she still had to bring her friend back down to earth. "But if I remember correctly, you’ve never taken a dance class in your life. Do you really think this audition will be that easy?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"That’s why I signed up for a dance class!" Mia Kendall said. "Apparently, the teacher there is really famous in the dance world. I put fifty thousand on my credit card to pay for it! It’s only ten classes, but they’re supposed to be super intensive!"

"Fifty thousand?"

Eve Vaughn asked in shock, "What kind of dance class is that expensive? Five thousand per class? Mia Kendall, have you lost your mind?"

But Mia Kendall was resolute. "Hey, don’t kill my confidence! If it’s expensive, there has to be a good reason. Besides, if I get the part, I could make fifty thousand for just one episode. Oh, by the way, my first class is tomorrow. Come with me and check it out!"

Eve Vaughn glanced at her schedule for the next day. "I can go with you in the afternoon. I have classes in the morning."

Mia Kendall nodded. "It’s in the afternoon. The teacher has a really tight schedule. She only has a two-hour slot to teach me."

’Eve Vaughn was also curious. Just what kind of teacher was this, that Mia Kendall was making her out to be some kind of goddess?’

’Doing the math, that was two hours per class, which came out to twenty-five hundred an hour.’

’That was some easy money! A lot more profitable than being a doctor!’

...

「The next day.」

Eve Vaughn followed the address Mia Kendall had sent her and went to the dance studio.

After searching for what felt like ages, she finally found the studio Mia was in.

Mia Kendall was in the middle of a painful leg stretch, grimacing. When she saw Eve walk in, she immediately started rubbing her aching leg and complained, "Evie, I think my old bones just aren’t cut out for dancing!"

"You’ve only just started," Eve Vaughn consoled her. "By the way, where’s the instructor? You paid all that money, and she’s not even here?"

Mia Kendall said in a hushed, mysterious tone, "A TV crew was just here interviewing her. See? She must be really famous! And wow, she is gorgeous! Seriously, so beautiful."

After saying this, she looked at Eve Vaughn thoughtfully. "You know, her eyes actually look a lot like yours."

Just then, the sound of high heels echoed from outside the door.

Mia Kendall and Eve Vaughn both turned to look.

"The instructor’s here! That’s my dance instructor."

Mia Kendall introduced them with a wide smile. "Teacher, this is my friend. She’s just here to keep me company."

But Eve Vaughn and Joanna Sullivan were completely frozen, staring at each other.

Mia Kendall looked from one to the other in confusion. "You two... know each other?"

It was Joanna Sullivan who broke the silence. "Yes, I suppose we do. You’re... Evie, is it?"

’She remembered that’s what he’d called this girl at Mason Lawson’s villa.’

But Eve Vaughn didn’t like strangers using her nickname. "My name is Eve Vaughn," she said.

Joanna Sullivan smiled. "Miss Vaughn, what a coincidence. If you don’t mind, could I speak with you outside for a moment?"

Eve Vaughn looked at the smile that didn’t reach Joanna’s eyes and heard the far-from-friendly tone in her voice. She replied coldly, "I’m sorry, but it’s not a matter of my convenience. My friend paid an exorbitant fee for this class. Don’t you think it would be inappropriate for you to waste her lesson time by chatting with me?"