Owen Sinclair was also a little embarrassed. He felt Adrian Preston’s words were too harsh.

"Adrian, she’s a girl. How can you talk to her like that?"

he said, lowering his voice.

"Did I say something wrong?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Adrian Preston spoke flatly, raising an eyebrow at Mia Kane.

A fire of anger was smoldering inside Mia too. ’So we’re not close. Fine. Who cares about having anything to do with him anyway?’

"That’s right, I’m just an outsider. You two can take your time and chat. This is my office. Please get out."

Hearing this, Adrian turned and left for Owen Sinclair’s office.

"I know you’ve always been cold to women, but you usually have some tact. What did Mia do to provoke you?"

Adrian pressed his lips together, not saying a word, his fists tightening silently.

’She said... they’d break up sooner or later, that it was just for fun.’

’Does she see me as a tool for revenge? Just something to pass the time?’

"Let’s talk business. I don’t want to talk about anything else."

Owen Sinclair heard this and knew he couldn’t press the issue.

After they finished discussing the order, Adrian was about to leave when Owen called out to him.

"Hey, give me some advice. I still really like Mia, and I don’t want to give up. What do you think I should do to pursue her?"

Adrian was already in a bad mood, and hearing this, his expression turned even colder.

"We were in the same major, we’re at the same company now, we have things in common, and we see each other every day. If I’m not successful, it’ll be pretty awkward later on..."

To Adrian’s ears, this all translated to:

’Same major, same company, things in common, seeing each other every day.’

’He really is the perfect candidate.’

’If Mia had to choose, she would probably pick a good man like him, right? They’re so compatible.’

"I’m not good at this sort of thing, you’ll have to figure it out yourself. But be careful. She hasn’t broken up with her boyfriend yet. Even if it’s just for fun, she’s still with someone right now. There are moral boundaries, you know?"

"Of course, I know that. I’d never pursue her during this time, what kind of person would that make me? I’m just getting ready. Once they break up, I’ll start making my move."

Adrian: "..."

"I’m leaving. Good luck with your... efforts."

Adrian left with a dark expression. If he listened any longer, he felt like he would die from anger.

After he left, Owen Sinclair came over to comfort Mia.

"He’s not usually like this. I don’t know what’s gotten into him today. It’s like he’s spitting bullets."

"Who cares about him? I couldn’t care less."

Mia said without looking up.

’I so don’t care! That jerk!’

...

That evening at dinner, the atmosphere in the dining room was a bit heavy.

Shannon Preston wasn’t there, so it was just the two of them.

Adrian rarely spoke during meals, a firm believer in the old saying about not talking while eating, but this time, anyone could tell something was off. The two of them had clearly had a fight.

Tonight, Adrian didn’t stay in her room either. After all, Shannon wasn’t around, so who were they putting on an act for?

The two remained at a standoff for several days, not saying a single word to each other even when they met.

After a meeting with a client, Mia was about to head back, but as soon as she got in her car, she was hit by an unbearable abdominal pain.

It wasn’t the kind of pain from needing the bathroom, but a cramping, twisting pain in her abdomen that made it hard to breathe.

She couldn’t drive. She struggled out of the car and quickly hailed a taxi.

The driver saw her pale face and how she struggled to speak and was so frightened that he ran red lights all the way to the hospital.

The final diagnosis was appendicitis, and she needed immediate surgery to have it removed.

"Has your family arrived? You should call your family right away."

"Can I sign the consent form myself...?"

"You can, but you’re going under anesthesia, so it’s better to have family here. Why don’t you give them a call now? We need a few minutes to prepare the documents anyway."

Hearing this, Mia didn’t want to worry her parents in the middle of the night. After thinking it over, the only person she could call was Adrian.

She decided to ignore their recent standoff. Her health was more important. ’I should just call him.’

Usually, Adrian answered her calls right away, but this time, it rang for a long time before someone finally picked up.

"Adrian, I’m at..."

"Mia, it’s me."

She never expected Shannon Preston to be the one to answer. For a moment, it was as if she couldn’t even feel the pain anymore. She just froze.

"Where’s your brother?"

"My brother is in the shower, he can’t come to the phone. He won’t be coming back tonight, so don’t bother him."

With that, she heartlessly hung up the phone.

Mia didn’t even have a chance to say the rest of what she wanted to say.

"How is it? Has your family arrived? The paperwork is ready."

The nurse came out.

"I’m sorry, my family can’t make it. I’ll be fine on my own."

"In that case, you need to be aware that the surgery has risks. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with these terms, you can just sign."

With a heavy heart, Mia signed her name.

Because of the pain, her signature was crooked and messy.

As the anesthesia was injected into her body, she began to feel groggy.

In that moment, her mind seemed to go blank, leaving only a single thought.

’What are those two doing?’

...

「In the hotel room.」

Shannon had been sulking for several days and hadn’t come home. She had been hanging out at bars, getting close with a few delinquents.

Adrian, having reached his limit, went to the bar to drag her away.

Unexpectedly, the delinquents dared to get physical with him, so he taught them a lesson, getting patches of alcohol stains on his clothes in the process.

He wanted to take Shannon home, but she threw a tantrum and refused to go no matter what. Left with no choice, he had to take her to the hotel where she was staying.

His clothes were completely unwearable, so he had Theo Thorne buy him a new set, which he was changing into now.

He came out of the shower, looked at Shannon on the sofa, and then subconsciously picked up his phone to check it.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Stop throwing a fit. Come home with me. My patience is limited."

"I’ll go back when you get a divorce."

"Have I spoiled you so much that you dare to defy me like this? This is my business; it’s not for you to interfere. You don’t have to come home, I can arrange a new place for you. But if you go to that kind of place again and associate with shady people, don’t blame me for being harsh."

Adrian was genuinely angry now, and there was no room for negotiation.

Shannon blinked her big, innocent eyes at him as huge tears started to well up.

Seeing her look at him so pitifully, Adrian almost couldn’t withstand it. The softest part of his heart caved in.

’This was his little sister.’

’Growing up, she got whatever she wanted. He had never been harsh with her.’

The last time she had been this willful was four years ago, when she had insisted on dating Chase Lockwood, which had made him furious.

’But thankfully, nothing serious happened between them, so there was still room to salvage the situation.’

"Brother... don’t you want Shannon anymore?"

she asked, her voice choked with sobs, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Of course I do. You’ll always be my little sister."

"Brother, you can get married, but you can’t marry Mia Kane. Please, choose someone else, okay?"

"Why? Why can’t it be Mia?"

"Anyway, it just can’t be her!" Shannon grew agitated. "Brother, I’m begging you, just pick someone else, please? I don’t like her. She’s not good enough for you. I... I looked into her past. She was a homewrecker who destroyed the happiness between Vivi and Chase. She... she was also kidnapped, and I heard she was violated... that she was covered in marks. How can someone like that be worthy of you?"