Mia saw how red her eyes were and said guiltily, "Evie, please don’t be upset, okay? I swear, I won’t go to her for lessons anymore. I’ll go get a refund tomorrow."

Eve Vaughn quickly wiped away her tears. "No, no, no, you should keep taking lessons. If she’s a good teacher and can help you pass your audition, then you have to keep going. You don’t have to quit on my account out of some misplaced sense of loyalty."

Mia said awkwardly, "Actually, it’s not entirely for you. The main reason is, when I was doing stretches and learning the fundamentals today, I realized I’m probably just not cut out for martial arts. Plus, I’m two years older than you. My growth plates closed up ages ago, so I can’t even stretch properly. So I figured I’d just stop torturing myself. I guess I just wasn’t meant to be in that movie."

Eve Vaughn asked suspiciously, "Really? It’s not because of me?"

Mia raised her hand as if taking an oath. "It’s really not because of you! If I were quitting her class for your sake, I could just get a refund and go learn somewhere else. But the truth is, I just don’t want to do it anymore. These old bones of mine can’t take the training!"

Eve Vaughn rolled her eyes, speechless. "And here I thought you loved me so much you were willing to risk your own career just to stand up for me."

With that, she broke into a smile through her tears, and Mia laughed along with her.

But as her best friend, Mia knew Eve’s smile was only on the surface, just to put her at ease.

"Evie, why don’t you skip the dorm tonight and come over to my place?" Mia said, taking her arm. "My mom and Mr. Kendall took Bobby to Cerulia for a few days on vacation. And Eric’s Crimson Spring Resort just reopened, so he’s been staying over there and not coming home. You should come stay with me so you’re not all alone with your thoughts."

Eve Vaughn shook her head and forced a smile. "Don’t worry about me. She’s just an ex-girlfriend. I’m not that fragile."

Mia looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure? Please don’t bottle everything up."

"Hey, I’m really fine, don’t worry!"

To put Mia at ease, and perhaps to convince herself, Eve said, "All she did was make a few catty remarks to get under my skin. That just proves nothing happened between Mason and her. If they really had gotten back together, she’d be flaunting it, right? Why would she resort to being so passive-aggressive and snide?"

Mia gave her a thumbs-up. "That’s the right way to think! I can tell you’ve really fallen for Mason. Since that’s the case, you’ve got to bring out that fighting spirit and protect your love! But there is one thing I have to remind you about..."

"What is it?" Eve asked, waiting curiously for her to finish.

Mia said with a serious expression, "Remember before, after you were betrayed by Julian Lawson? I did a reading for you with my tarot cards. It said you’re incompatible with the Lawson family! I just don’t know if things with Mason will end well."

Eve herself felt incredibly lost. ’Right now, I’m like a kite, drifting helplessly in the wind. The only thing tethering me is the thin string in Mason’s hand.’

’If he lets go, or if a storm hits and that string snaps... we’ll be finished!’

In the end, Eve returned to her school.

Back in their dorm room, Aria brought up the topic of treating them to dinner again.

Her romance with Todd Hayes had been heating up lately, and they wanted to be stuck to each other’s side every day.

Aria said with a beaming smile, "Evie, I absolutely have to treat you and your boyfriend to a meal to thank you both properly. If you hadn’t turned Todd down, I never would have gotten my chance with him."

But Eve told her, "Don’t think of yourself as Todd’s second choice! You need to tell yourself that he chose you because he has good taste. He’s the lucky one!"

Aria grinned foolishly. "But I feel like I’m the lucky one for getting to be with him."

At this, she added a reminder, "So, you should ask your boyfriend in the next day or two when he’s free. No matter how busy he is, he should at least have time for one meal, right?"

Eve could only say, "Uh... okay, fine. I’ll ask him when I get a chance."

But for the past two days, Mason had seemed very busy and hadn’t contacted her.

Meanwhile, Eve kept finding her mind drifting back to what Joanna Sullivan had said.

She couldn’t help but feel frustrated. She would pull out her phone and open his chat window, only to put it away again.

’So, does Mason really just see me as Joanna Sullivan’s replacement?’

’If not, why won’t he take me out in public? Why won’t he acknowledge our relationship to everyone?’

’If I really am just a pawn for Mason to use to provoke his first love, that’s just too pathetic.’

A chill ran down Eve’s spine at the thought.

Finally, that evening, Eve worked up the courage to call him.

"You finally decided to call me first, little one, hmm?"

The man’s voice trailed off, laced with pleasure and a hint of smugness.

’It was as if he’d deliberately not contacted me for the past two days, just waiting for me to be the one to give in and call him.’

’Eve mentally cursed herself for caving, but since she’d already made the call, she had to see it through.’

"Mr. Lawson, are... are you free tonight? Or do you have plans?"

She asked timidly.

Mason hesitated for a moment before replying, "Tonight’s business dinner is pretty important. I can’t get out of it. What’s wrong? Do you need something?"

Eve sighed. She suddenly felt that, to Mason, she was little more than a decorative touch—something that didn’t affect his daily life in the slightest, whether she was there or not.

’When he’s busy, he doesn’t think of me. He only seeks me out for a bit of fun when he has free time.’

"Evie? Why did you go quiet?" A trace of concern entered Mason’s voice. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"

Eve said sullenly, "I’m not with you just so you can solve my problems. Though I know I’ve already caused you plenty of trouble."

Mason frowned. ’For the first time, I have no idea what this girl is thinking.’

Just then, his secretary came over to remind him that he was on a tight schedule and needed to get to his meeting.

With no time to think it over, Mason simply told her to be good and hung up.

Eve stared at the now-dark screen, a bitter feeling welling up inside her.

At midnight, Aria was still huddled under her covers, chatting endlessly on the phone with Todd Hayes.

Eve was overcome with envy. ’A love like that is so nice,’ she thought. ’Being able to spend time just talking without a care in the world. Even if it’s just about trivial, unimportant things, at least it’s a form of companionship. It gives you a real sense of security.’

’But ever since I got together with Mason, I only get a tiny sliver of his time.’

Just then, her phone rang.

Eve’s eyes lit up when she saw the caller ID.

He was all she’d been thinking about, and now, unexpectedly, he was calling her.

A sweet feeling blossomed in Eve’s chest. She grabbed her phone, hurried out onto the balcony, and answered in a hushed voice.

The man’s displeased voice came through the phone. "Still awake at this hour?"

Eve retorted, "If I were asleep, I wouldn’t be able to answer your call, would I, Mr. Lawson? If you want me to be asleep, why are you calling me in the middle of the night?"

The girl’s sharp tongue made Mason chuckle.

His low chuckle had a magnetic, bewitching quality. "Alright, in that case, I won’t disturb Evie’s rest. Tonight’s dinner party ran a little late, and I just wanted to hear your voice. It seems I was being reckless."

"You’re awful!"

She said the two words with a pout, and fearing he might hang up, she quickly added, "I can’t sleep tonight. I’m... not tired yet."

Mason asked calmly, "Why can’t you sleep?"

"Because..." Eve bit her lip, her voice laced with a hint of pleading. "My roommate just got a boyfriend, and she wants to treat me to dinner to celebrate. But... she’s also really curious about my boyfriend. Could you... come with me?"

After she spoke, she unconsciously held her breath, waiting in anticipation for Mason’s answer.