"If we''re making up for lost birthdays, then we should make up for the gifts too," Leonard said, looking directly at Aurora. "Is that a problem?"


    Leonard was twenty-nine. Did that mean she had toe up with twenty-nine gifts? Even though she had given him presents for the past few years, it would seem strange to skip over the earlier years. One gift was nothing to her, but making up for all of them... A wave of anxiety washed over Aurora. Choosing a suitable gift for Leonard each year was already a stressful ordeal. As the head of the Lerman family, any present had to be both worthy of his status and practical. In previous years, she had given him watches, lighters, ties, cologne, and wallets —all of which he had used. But now, to start from scratch... The mere thought of it triggered her indecisiveness.


    "Leonard," she began, her expression strained, "perhaps I could give you one, more meaningful gift instead..."


    Before she could finish, Leonard cut her off. "I''ve found Violet."


    Aurora froze. Although Israel had announced his engagement, it was only a temporary measure to quell the scandal. He was just waiting for the storm to pass before dealing with Violet. But to do that, they had to find her first. No one wanted violence if it could be avoided; getting Violet to cooperate publicly was the ideal solution. If she refused, however, other methods would be necessary. The Williams family couldn''t be directly involved, but Leonard, with his ruthless reputation, was the perfect person for the job.


    Aurora had grown tired of cleaning up Israel''s messes, but as members of the same family, their fates were intertwined. If she let the situation fester, her own reputation would suffer. After a few seconds of silence, she said, "If unwrapping gifts makes you happy, Leonard, then I will prepare them."


    Just then, Ste and Joshua returned, freshly showered and changed. The conversation between Leonard and Aurora immediately ceased A momentter a waiter brought over the menus. Ste nced at it briefly before ordering four dishes.


    After Aurora ced her order, she noticed that Joshua hadn''t even looked at the menu and was instead admiring the view. "Joshua, aren''t you ordering?" she asked. "Is there nothing to your liking?"


    Leonard sneered. "Ste, don''t you pride yourself on treating your friends well? Or do you only order for yourself and let your bodyguard starve? Is all that kindness just a show for everyone else?"


    Joshua turned his head. "Mr. Lerman, do you really think Star can eat four dishes by herself? Obviously, she already ordered for me."


    Before Leonard


    could retort, Joshua


    continued smoothly, "And you can spare me the lecture about respect, 1 e dont like ordering, and Star happens to know what like. We''re together every day, and sometimes we''re too busy to fuss over menus. It would be exhausting to have that same conversation every single meal."


    He paused, his gaze sweeping over Leonard and Aurora with pointed meaning "On the other hand, Mr. Lerman and Ms. Williams have known each other for so long. Don''t tell me you still don''t know what the other likes to eat and have to ask every single time?"