A genuine smile finally appeared on Aurora''s face. "Thank you, Sellers. I''ll leave it to you, then."


    ***


    After Aurora left, Ste sat on the sofa in a daze for a long time.


    She remembered something Joshua had once told her. Topete for the position of family head, the Gardners had to be married. So, the fact that he had an ex-wife was most likely true.


    It was his past. Ste had no reason or right to be concerned about it.


    However...


    Ste had to admit, there was a reason the Williams family favored Aurora so much. She was intelligent and knew exactly where to strike.


    The word "ex" had caused her too much pain. She didn''t want to get entangled with anyone''s ex ever again.


    Whether it was because she was reminded of her past terrible experiences or for some other indefinable reason, Ste felt agitated.


    Just then, the phone on the coffee table vibrated lightly.


    L had sent a picture of a tabby cat.


    Ste replied with an emoji.


    L quickly sent another message. [In a bad mood?]


    Ste was surprised by L''s perceptiveness.


    She was a little taken aback. [How did you know?]


    L replied: [You always send emojis when you''re in a bad mood.]


    Ste stared at the message, stunned. She scrolled through her chat history with L. Sure enough, on the day Byron had tried to assassinate her, she''d been in a foul mood. When L sent a message, she had simply replied with an emoji to brush it off. The girl really was observant.


    L sent another message. [Did something unpleasant happen again?]


    Although Ste had a good impression of L and was willing to chat about hobbies and offerfort when needed, she rarely brought up her own affairs.


    She replied: [No, just some work stuff.]


    Sensing her reluctance to borate, the other end fell silent.


    ***


    Time flew by, and soon it was the weekend.


    Joshua asked Ste out before dinner.


    "The food at the party will all be Western-style dishes, which you might not be used to," he told her. "Let''s have dinner before we go."


    Ste couldn''t find a reason to refuse.


    However, seeing Joshua again inexplicably made her think of his ex. She had never heard him mention this person. She had no idea what kind of woman his ex was, or what kind of past they shared.


    As if sensing something, Joshua''s deep, quiet eyes settled on her.


    "Star, is something on your mind today?"


    Ste snapped back to the present, averting her gaze and lowering her eyes.


    "No."


    Joshua''s dark eyes narrowed slightly, a shadow flitting through them. But he didn''t press her, instead changing the subject.


    After dinner, the two of them arrived at the party.


    Before entering, Ste had assumed it was just an ordinary party. It was only upon arrival that she realized most of the attendees were


    foreigners, and of high status of


    that Ste spotted the heads of several prominent foreign families at the event.


    Joshua''s voice came from beside her. "Over the years, the Williams family has put down deep roots in this city. Their power, connections, and influence are far greater than you can imagine. They didn''t move against you before because they didn''t see you as a major threat. Even when you got Israel''s shares, they just thought you''d used some unorthodox methods. They let you grow because they still held all the control. They believe that whenever they want, they can take back everything you''ve gained.


    "But things are different now. Your partnerships with the Quinn family and with me have put them on high alert. Their next move will be to cut off your channels of cooperation and your connections. They won''t let you continue to expand unchecked."


    Ste suddenly understood why Joshua had brought her to this party. "Joshua, are you trying to help me build an externalwork?"