Wren Wynter followed Ho-ran Park, leading the way inside.

Wren’s beauty instantly captured the attention of most of the men in the room, making her impossible to ignore.

They walked over to Julian Hawthorne. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Wren nervously presented her gift to Julian Hawthorne.

"Happy birthday, Professor."

Julian Hawthorne gave a haughty "hmph," took the gift from Wren’s hand, and placed it beside him.

There were already three other gifts there.

It was obvious who they were from.

Julian Hawthorne had always especially cherished the gifts from these few students of his.

He couldn’t even bear to throw them away, even if they were broken.

The moment Kaden Xavier walked in with Nathaniel Quinn and Seraphina Sutton, he saw the smile on Wren’s face and was momentarily lost in a daze.

It had been a long time since Kaden had seen her smile at him like that.

During the first year of their marriage, they had gone back to the old family home for the New Year. Even though she had a cold, she had snuck out with the younger family members to play in the snow and have a snowball fight. When he found out, she had flashed this exact same smile and started acting cute.

"Kaden, I was wrong. I promise, I won’t do it again."

"Don’t be mad, okay?"

"Besides, I’m a doctor. I know what I’m doing."

"Kaden, how about I give you a kiss? Then you won’t be mad anymore, right?"

When she acted cute, it was impossible to resist. No matter how angry he was, his temper would instantly vanish.

He wasn’t one to dwell on the past, but it seemed he remembered everything about Wren with perfect clarity.

"Cole, Wren won’t say anything to Elder Hawthorne, will she?" Nathaniel Quinn asked, clenching his fists worriedly.

He had come here with a mission.

The Quinn Group was facing capital withdrawal from major platforms and shareholders and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Uncharacteristically, Kaden Xavier had chosen to stand by and do nothing. Because of that incident with Grandma Xavier, Nathaniel felt too embarrassed to ask for help.

As it happened, every year on his birthday, Julian Hawthorne would select one company to partner with.

If he could secure this project, the Quinn Family’s current crisis would be resolved.

"She won’t. Wren isn’t that kind of person," Kaden said, his voice firm as his eyes darkened.

"Why not? The reason my family is in this mess is definitely because that man is deliberately targeting us to please Wren."

The moment Nathaniel thought about what Finn Wynter had said to him at the hospital, he seethed with anger.

He was always the one using his power to crush others; it was never supposed to be the other way around.

Kaden’s face hardened. He shot Nathaniel a cold glance from the corner of his eye, his voice tinged with a hint of fury.

"Nathaniel Quinn, Wren has never said a single bad word about you, but this isn’t the first time you’ve spoken ill of her in front of me. If there’s a next time, we don’t need to be brothers anymore."

"I was just kidding..."

Kaden’s expression was grim, no longer as indifferent as usual. "You weren’t kidding. You were treating a life like it was worthless! Nathaniel Quinn, this is the last time!"

Before, he hadn’t cared, but he never realized how much Wren cared, or how much those words hurt her.

From now on, he wouldn’t allow anyone to speak ill of Wren again.

Kaden’s icy words and cold gaze frightened Nathaniel into silence.

Seeing that things were going south, Seraphina Sutton, who was standing to the side, quickly interjected, "Kaden, Nathaniel was just trying to stand up for me. Who knew Dr. Wynter’s aunt would be so fragile? Besides, she’s fine now, isn’t she?"

Seraphina’s flippant tone made Kaden’s expression darken further.

He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, a look of impatience in his eyes. His tone grew heavy. "Seraphina, I’m looking after you for Asher Lynch’s sake. Don’t push your luck. Wren is my bottom line."

If it weren’t for the matter with the child, which made him feel somewhat guilty toward Seraphina, he would never have let her walk all over Wren.

"I know, Kaden. I’m sorry." Seraphina looked mortified. Swallowing her jealousy, she said to Nathaniel, "Nathaniel, hurry up and apologize to Kaden."

Although Nathaniel was reluctant, he didn’t want to create a rift between himself and Kaden over Wren, so he apologized in a small voice, "I’m sorry."

"The person you should be apologizing to was never me. It’s Wren."

Kaden left them with that single sentence and walked straight into the crowd.

Seraphina’s expression slowly froze.

’Wren and Kaden are already divorced, so why is he still so concerned about her?’

"Nathaniel, don’t be mad at Kaden. He just doesn’t want you to make a mistake. What if Wren decides to press charges and you get sent to jail? There would be no one left to support your family."

Nathaniel nodded, blaming Wren for everything.

"I know. Seraphina, you’re the only one who understands me. I don’t know what kind of love potion that woman gave Cole, but he’s still protecting her even after everything."

Seraphina’s expression dimmed as she listened to Nathaniel, but her tone remained unchanged.

"Kaden must have his reasons. Don’t take it to heart. You still have me, don’t you?"

"Yeah, I hope Cole snaps out of it soon." Watching Kaden approach Wren again, Nathaniel immediately added, "He hasn’t just been fed a love potion; he’s been cursed."

「Elsewhere.」

"Wren." Kaden walked to her side, his voice lower than usual.

Wren didn’t even spare him a glance.

Kaden didn’t say anything either, just stood there quietly.

Wren swirled the champagne in her glass, lost in her own world.

Kaden said, "I want to talk to you about Nathaniel Quinn."

Wren finally turned her head, her expression as calm as still water. "Talk about what?"

"I know he went too far this time, but he’s my brother, after all. Can you forgive him this once, for my sake?"

A faint, ironic smile touched the corners of Wren’s lips. "Kaden Xavier, forgiving him is impossible. But as for Nathaniel Quinn’s case, the police will deal with him. Do I look like I have the energy to go after him personally?"

Her voice was soft, but each word was like a needle, piercing Kaden’s heart.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"What does that have to do with you?" she paused, a subtle hint of mockery in her tone. "Considering the Quinn Family’s current situation, instead of figuring out how to explain his attempted murder to the police, he comes running here. How utterly clueless."

Kaden was rendered speechless by her words.

He was keenly aware that he no longer had any right to interfere in Wren’s life. Even though they hadn’t officially filed the divorce papers, their separation was a foregone conclusion.

Just then, the atmosphere in the banquet hall suddenly grew animated.

Both of them turned their heads at the same time and saw, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Nathaniel Quinn clutching a thick folder, walking toward Julian Hawthorne with a look of nervous anticipation.

The surrounding guests were whispering among themselves.

"It’s that time of year again, when he picks a company to partner with. I wonder which one will be so lucky."

"Exactly. I heard this year Elder Hawthorne is choosing a company to collaborate with on a medical team project, which will include several of his students."

"For real? Everyone knows Elder Hawthorne’s students are the best of the best. They’re all heavyweights in the industry."

"No kidding. Everyone knows how much money a company could make in the future if they got a medical team like that."

"But the competition is fierce this time. Look, not only is the Yates Family here, but several other major families are too. A small company like ours doesn’t stand a chance."

The murmurs rose and fell as everyone watched Julian Hawthorne’s reaction intently.

By tradition, Julian Hawthorne always announced a major collaborative project with a chosen company at his birthday banquet.

This project would invariably bring enormous commercial benefits and industry influence.

This year, the rumor was that the project involved a medical team led by Julian Hawthorne himself, along with several of his students. Whichever company managed to secure it would be set to soar.