Love Across the Light Years -The Devil CEO Indulges My Lies.-Chapter 25: Sour grapes will never turn sweet for you.

Silence filled the room.

Adelyn’s eyes scanned through the papers once again. Although the terms and conditions mentioned in it were the same as those she signed in the Deal Memo, the difference was stark.

The stakes were clear.

No banner.

No resources.

No backing.

All of it only increased the level of difficulty for her.

But difficulties like these doesn’t scare her —they just simply come like the challenges she wants to overcome.

Overcome not to prove anything to anyone, but to satisfy herself.

The same spark of confidence lit in her eyes, and she raised her gaze back to Freya.

"Sister Freya, I —"

Before she could speak further, an uninvited knock sounded at the door, visibly making Freya frown.

She exchanged a gaze with Amelia, and before Amelia could even take a step toward the door, the person outside pushed it open to invite himself in shamelessly.

"Freya Finn, long time no see!"

Freya’s brows furrowed deeper. She didn’t rise from her seat to greet him, nor did she make any effort to appear polite.

"Evening, Manager Thatcher. May I know what brings you here?"

Corrin stared at her with a smug smile curving the corner of his lips.

"What do you think could bring me here?"

"Time is too valuable. I don’t think either of us has enough to play the guessing games," Freya said flatly, her intent not to entertain him clear in both her face and her tone.

Corrin looked at her and smirked. "Really?"

His gaze darted toward Adelyn.

"Oh yes, I heard you finally managed to sign an artiste under you. But how successful that will be ... that’s something we both know, don’t we?"

His words carried a taunt — one meant not only to discourage Freya, but also to warn her new artiste.

However, Adelyn didn’t react.

She didn’t even turn to glance at him.

Amelia, however, was immediately offended —especially because it was Corrin Thatcher.

Her fingers curled into fists, and she stepped forward, blocking Adelyn from his line of sight.

"Aren’t we too unfortunate, Freya?" she taunted back, staring right at Thatcher’s face. "We are learning about our future from someone whose future is built on feeding on other’s. A man who carries nothing but the legacy full of stealing with his name —stealing not just the share of money from his artistes, but also the talents of his peers."

Corrin’s expression hardened immediately. His brows drew tight as he glared at her.

"Say that again?"

"Why?" Amelia tilted her head, unfazed at his threat. Didn’t I speak clearly enough the first time, Manager Thatcher?"

"You —"

He pointed, almost losing his temper. But when he caught himself, he scoffed and dismissed her.

"I won’t argue with you because I know sour grapes will never turn sweet for you."

"Even if they don’t," Amelia gritted out, her fingers clenching into fists, "I won’t think of stealing yours like you stole Freya’s artistes."

Corrin felt his patience thinning. However, he couldn’t bring himself to argue further.

He had taken advantage of Freya’s misfortune back then and taken away all the talents she groomed under her expertise.

But was he wrong?

He didn’t believe so. After all, everyone sought growth. And her misfortune had simply been his opportunity.

"Amelia, that’s enough," Freya intervened, knowing that if she didn’t, things would escalate somewhere dangerous. She didn’t care about herself, but Amelia ... she didn’t want her to get implicated in any wrong way.

Amelia didn’t say another word. But she didn’t step away either. She stood like a shield in front of Adelyn, as if trying to hide her from Thatcher.

She wouldn’t let him to steal their flicker of hope.

Thatcher, however, had a mission. He wasn’t there just to taunt —he wanted to see whether Freya had found someone worthy of becoming his new opportunity.

He shifted on his feet to steal a glance, but just as he did, Amelia moved and blocked his line of sight again.

He stared at her, frowning, but she only offered him a forced smile —as though telling him he wouldn’t succeed under her watch.

But Corrin was on another level when it came to shamelessness.

He stepped forward and pushed Amelia aside.

The movement was abrupt. Unnecessary. Deliberate.

Amelia staggered half a step —more from shock than force.

"You —" she snapped, but before she could continue, Freya spoke.

Her tone was no longer polite, but rather burning with intensity.

Her people were her bottom line. And Amelia was certainly included in that.

"What kind of behavior is this, Thatcher?" she asked, standing up with both hands pressed against her desk. "If you have forgotten, this is my office."

Adelyn was quietly taken aback. Freya’s outburst like that surprised her slightly. Her brows lifted as she watched her closely with interest.

She might not have fully understood her character before, but this reaction made her realize something important about her.

Her lips curved up in knowing —and she didn’t bother to hide it.

Corrin flinched for a second. But recovering quickly, he cleared his throat.

"Don’t get me wrong, Freya. I am just here out of goodwill. After all, I can’t let you dupe someone."

As he said that, his gaze returned to Adelyn.

Freya watched him, her gaze sharp enough to pierce one’s bones.

"I heard people in the company saying you found a newbie —someone for whom you nearly fought the company to death for. That alone was enough to tell me how deserving she must be."

"You can leave now, Corrin," Freya said calmly.

But her eyes were anything but calm. She was on the verge of losing her patience —not because Corrin was a threat to her, but because he had crossed a line she could not tolerate.

Corrin, however, was too shameless to care. Ignoring her words, he stepped forward and faced Adelyn.

"You must be the excellent talent Manager Finn discovered this time," he said, extending his hand for a handshake. "Hello, I am Corrin Thatcher. I am sure you must have heard about me."

He sounded ... far too confident.

And for some other reasons, Adelyn didn’t like it.

She looked at his extended hand, but even after a long moment, she made no move to acknowledge it.

"Hello," he said again. "Don’t tell me you got a hearing impairment."

That could be one possibility, he thought of. After all, no talented person in their right mind would agree to sign under Freya Finn —not after knowing her previous scandals.

"A hearing impairment?" Adelyn repeated slowly, finally turning to look at him. "Is that how you usually mistake someone’s deliberate silence for incapacity?"