“He must have just gotten back–I didn’t hear anything about it either.”

    Cole cast a fleeting nce, then turned away, leading Alessia down the stairs by the hand.

    Alessia frowned but didn’t bother to linger. The guy was irrelevant–hardly worth even a moment of her attention.

    “So, you’re Miss Tate?” The man tried to slick back his thinning hair, clearly thinking he looked charming, though the lecherous gleam in his eyes ruined any chance of

    that.

    “Yes.” Ileana was as proud and haughty as ever, openly disying her disgust. It was obvious she couldn’t stand the sight of this greasy, pig–faced man.

    She pulled a tissue from her purse and held it to her nose, as if his very breath. threatened to pollute the air around her.

    “Order whatever you want–I’ll cover the whole thing,” he dered grandly.

    A thick gold chain hung from his neck, and every inch of him screamed nouveau

    riche.

    The more he spoke, the more speechless Ileana became, and the less she could

    tolerate him.

    She couldn’t stay any longer. Grabbing her bag, she stood up to leave.

    “You’d better think twice, Miss Tate. If I’m not happy, the Tate family is finished,” he sneered, not even bothering to move as she rose. He barely managed to lift his eyelids, his bloated face almost swallowing his eyes.

    Ileana clenched her jaw and, seething with anger, sat back down.

    Scott had warned her if she dared to offend this fat bastard, he’d cut off her credit cards and throw her out of the house.

    Her cards were already on a spending limit. Living in luxury was easy, but giving it up was hell. She was already suffering; if the bst /bcard was canceled, she wouldn’t even be able to buy her precious things anymore.

    “Go ahead and order.” Seeing bher /bsit, the man looked even more pleased with himself.

    He tossed the menu at her.

    09.30

    Ileana bristled at his attitude but swallowed her pride. Just as she reached for the menu, she suddenly shot to her feet.

    Her abrupt movement startled everyone nearby.

    “What are you doing?!”

    Before he finished his sentence, Ileana had already bolted, leaving her bag behind.

    “Get back here!” The man could hardly believe his prize was slipping away. He heaved himself up and gave chase.

    But his massive gut and lumbering steps left him out of breath within moments.

    “You–just you wait!” he shouted after her, but Ileana didn’t even look back. She just kept running, leaving him to stew in his humiliation asughter rippled through the

    restaurant.

    Face burning with embarrassment, he stormed out.

    Watching the scene unfold, Alessia arched an eyebrow. Who knew dinner coulde with such entertainment? Not a bad night, after all.

    “Let’s go.”

    Cole finished paying and walked over, taking Alessia’s hand as naturally as ever.

    She nodded, falling in step beside him. And as fate would have it, just as they turned a corner, they ran straight iinto /ithe main yers of tonight’s little drama.

    At that moment, Ileana was clutching Fortune’s arm, refusing to let him leave.

    “Fortune, why haven’t you answered my calls? Why haven’t you reached out to me? Do you have any idea how miserable I’ve been waiting for you?”

    People on the sidewalk began to stare and whisper, but Ileana didn’t care at all.

    Fortune clearly hadn’t expected to run into her. The smile on his lips froze mid–expression.

    “You know her?” one of his friends asked, eyeing the scene,

    “No,” Fortune replied coolly. “Miss, you must have me confused with someone else.” He tried to pull his arm free, but Ileana’s grip was iron–tight.

    “That’s impossible! I’d recognize you even if you were turned to ashes! Why did youe back alone without telling me? Is there some other woman after you?”

    There was a wild, desperate edge to Ileana’s voice—paired with her current look,

    i213 /i

    09:39

    she resembled a woman on the verge of a breakdown.