The night passed without incident.


    Aurora, sitting on the sofa, had drifted off several times, jerking awake with each small noise.


    As dawn broke, she heard the sound of a keycard in the lock.


    Instantly, the drowsiness vanished, and she shot upright, her eyes fixed on the door.


    The door swung open, and Simone''s voice,ced with a rehearsed panic, drifted in. "Sellers, I couldn''t reach Aurora all night. I was so worried something had happened to her. I had no choice but to bother you."


    Sellers Burton''s deep voice followed. "My sources tracked herst known location to this hotel."


    Simone and Sellers entered the suite together.


    They both stopped short when they saw Aurora sitting alone on the sofa, fully and impably dressed.


    Sellers was surprised to find her still here.


    Simone was shocked to see her on the living room sofa.


    Shouldn''t she be asleep in the master bedroom''s king-sized bed? Why was she sitting out here?


    Seeing that Aurora was unharmed, Sellers visibly rxed.


    He opened his mouth to speak, but at that exact moment, a flood of reporters burst through the open door.


    "Ms. Williams! We have a reliable source stating that you and Leonard Lerman, the head of the Lerman family, spent a passionate night together. Is this true?"


    "Ms. Williams, does this mean we''ll be hearing wedding bells for you and Mr. Lerman soon?"


    Aurora stared at the sudden intrusion of journalists, a mixture of shock and fury rising within her.


    "Please refrain from making baseless usations and spreading nder, or I will hold you legally responsible. Furthermore, this is a private room. I must ask you to leave!"


    Though she had countless suitors, Aurora had always fiercely protected her reputation, never getting


    entangled in any romantic scandals. The most anyone


    could report was a


    shared dinner or an appearance at a charity g.


    Now, with this horde of reporters storming her room, her usually unshakableposure began to crack.


    Sellers frowned, his voice a low growl. "There''s no Leonard here. Get out."


    It was obvious these reporters had been tipped off to be here so early.


    The journalists ignored him, their cameras shing relentlessly at Aurora. But as they snapped away, a sense of confusion rippled through them.


    Wasn''t this supposed to be the scene of a passionate tryst?


    Why was Aurora here alone?


    Where was Leonard?


    The room was pristine, showing no signs of a wild night. And Aurora herself, far from being disheveled, didn''t have a single hair out of ce. It was clear nothing had happened.


    The reporters exchanged bewildered nces.


    So, Leonard really wasn''t here? Was their tip wrong?


    Simone''s eyes also flickered with confusion. Leonard had been drugged. How could


    nothing have happened between him and Aurora?


    She hadn''t drugged Aurora because,


    given their strained rtionship, offering her a drink would have immediately raised suspicion. But drugging Feonard shouve been enough. With them locked in the same room, and knowing how infatuated he was with Aurora, he surely wouldn''t have been able to resist.


    Simone couldn''t fathom how Aurora could be sitting here,pletely untouched.


    Just then, a reporter with sharp hearing suddenly eximed, "There''s a noise from the bathroom! Maybe Leonard''s in there taking a shower!"


    Aurora''s eyes glinted. Her first


    instinct was to stop them, but she swallowed the words before they could escape. If she tried to intervene now, it would be as good as a confession a tacit admisst?n that she and Leonard had spent the night together.