<h4>Chapter 62 - Teasing</h4>
"Then should I be sympathetic towards you? Mnie asked, still grinning, "Its not as if she stole your first kiss and you felt vited. You made quite a statement with the way you pushed her away."
Adam shook his head, his lips quirking slightly. "Uh-uh. I like my personal space and do not like to share it."
Mnie: ".." He liked space? Well, considering the fact that he was always invading her space, one would have thought he did not even know the concept of personal space. She was going to taunt him about that, when he continued,"Also, that person would be you. The one who stole my first kiss. "
Mnie nearly stumbled at his words, her eyes snapping up to meet his in disbelief. "What do you mean, I stole your first kiss?" she demanded as her brows furrowed, "Are you saying that... yesterday was the first time you''ve ever kissed anyone?"
She found that hard to believed. No. It was impossible to believe. After all, this man was a known womaniser. Unless he had some weird rule of not kissing when sleeping with someone... like in those dramas...
Adam tilted his head slightly as he gave her an unreadable expression, "I didn''t say that." Since she didn''t remember her much younger and chubbier self, he was not going to remind her. He continued to simply dance with her as he looked at her with his enigmatic eyes.
His deliberate choice of words made her narrow her eyes. What exactly was he trying to imply? For a brief moment, she considered pressing him further, demanding a clearer answer. But then she shook her head, dismissing the thought. There was no use getting tangled in his nonsense, so she stubbornly kept her mouth shut, thinking things through.
Adam studied her for a moment before asking in a probing voice, "Are you not bothered by the new rumors that will start circting about you and me? About us being cheaters?"
"No," she said with a casual shrug. "I don''t really care what they say. These people don''t matter to me."
Adam arched a brow, "They might not matter to you personally, but they could be crucial to reviving LuxeArt. If your reputation takes a hit, so will your chances of bringing it back to its former glory."
"If they refuse to do business with me because of a few rumors about my messy personal life, then they''re not the kind of people I want to help make profits, anyway."
Adamughed then. "This is very interesting. Melon, you really do surprise me at every turn."
Mnie gave him a wry look," Thanks. I do try hard. So, what do you think is the reason for your ex fiance being here? Just to spread the rumors? That would be quite anti climatic actually."
Adamughed then and shook his head," True. But I am sure they must have some ns."
Even though he said that in a way that it sounded light, Mnie could not help but send him another look. "You sound as if you know what it is..."
Adam let out a quiet sigh, a bitter smile ghosting his lips. "Hmm. You''d be foolish to ignore the rumors, Mnie. You know, there was this guy back in my school- Top of his ss, the kind of student Ivy League schools send invitations to before he even applies. Smart, ambitious... the kind of kid teachers usually brag about. But he had a problem—his friends. Not the best crowd, a little reckless, made a few bad choices. Some of them were caught smoking on school grounds."
He paused, his fingers idly tracing patterns on her back, unaware of what they were doing, "Funny thing is, no one ever caught him doing anything. Not once. But suddenly, he wasn''t the promising student anymore—he was the spoiled one, the bad influence, the one teachers whispered about in the lounge."
"They couldn''t prove a thing, yet somehow, it didn''t matter. When the time came for university applications, those same teachers—who once praised his potential—refused to write him rmendation letters. Said they weren''t sure about his character."
Mnie listened in silence, watching him carefully. He spoke like he was recounting someone else''s story, but she wasn''t fooled. She had a feeling that Adam might just be the person. Hadn''t he been affected by the rumors as well? About how he was so inhuman and emotionless that he did not evene back for grandmother''s funeral? But who knew the truth?
However, she didn''t call him out on the story. There was no need for it. They more distance they kept in their perso liefe, the better. Instead, she tilted her head, and murmured, "Sounds unfair."
Adam let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, well... life rarely is fair. So, all I am saying is... don''t ignore the rumors. If tomorrow someone calls you a cheater, you will know where the rumors emerged from."
Mnie nodded, realizing what he meant. People''s memories were shortlived but when it came to scandals, everyone was good at dredging up the past.
Before she could think more about this,though, Sir Collins returned with the young woman who was now much moreposed as she was introduced to the crowd.
Mnie raised a brow and turned to Adam, "I think we should step down. Lets see what grandfather wants now."
As Mnie and Adam stepped off the dance floor, Robert Collins stepped in their path easily.
"I wanted to formally introduce you both," Robert said smoothly as if the earlier scene had not even taken ce. "This is my niece, Niana. She has only recently returned from studying abroad."
The girl smiled at Mnie, carefully avoiding looking at Adam as she said," It is nice to meet you, Miss Mnie. And thank you for earlier. You saved me some embarrassment. I was just hugging my..."
Mnie cut in then. Surprises as she was by the woman''s thanks, she was already anticipating her next words. She wanted to im a rtionship with Adam again. She sighed. This was going to be so boring.