Mary saw the look on Briony''s face and knew there would be no exceptions for her.


    "Briony, thank you... for everything these past few months."


    "Carey will be in touch with you about the contract termination," Briony said as she walked to the door, her tone brisk. "Take care of yourself."


    With that, she opened the door.


    "Briony " Mary''s voice trembled behind her.


    Briony turned.


    Mary pressed a shaking hand to her mouth, her eyes red and brimming with pain. "I''m sorry."


    Briony frowned, about to reply, when footsteps sounded behind her.


    An uneasy premonition shed through her mind. She spun around, but before she could react, a rough hand mped over her mouth and nose. A sharp, chemical smell filled her senses, and in the next instant, her world went ck.


    ...


    ir waited in the hotel lobby for nearly an hour, but Briony never came down.


    Sensing something was wrong, ir dialed a number. "Ms. Kensington hasn''te down yet."


    "I''ll check upstairs immediately."


    ir rushed up to look for her.


    But Briony was nowhere to be found.


    ...


    When Briony came to, she was lying in a strange room.


    It was spacious, decorated in a sleek, modern style with hints of old-world charm a far cry from the hotel''s decor.


    She threw off the covers and stepped out of bed. Just as she reached the door, it swung open.


    Ferdinand entered, calm andposed.


    Briony instinctively took several steps back. "Ferdinand, what are you doing?"


    "Bryn, I think the reason you don''t like me is that we haven''t spent enough time together."


    Briony''s eyes narrowed. "Did you have Mary lure me to the hotel?"


    "I did." Ferdinand smiled, the picture of effortless charm. "She and I made a little wager."


    "What do you mean?"


    "If you decided to give her another chance, I''d call this off. But if you insisted on letting her go, then I''d stick to the original n-and take you with me."


    Briony was stunned.


    "You''ve changed, Bryn."


    He stepped forward, reaching out as if to touch her face. Briony jerked away.


    His hand froze awkwardly in midair


    before he forced a smile. "You used to be so kind-e —even when your own


    world was falling apart, you''d help a stranger. But now you''re ruthless. You''re not leaving Mary any room to turn back. So when she betrays you,


    you have no one to me but yourself."


    Briony let out a bitterugh. "I''m ruthless? Haven''t I done enough for Mary? Ferdinand, you used her feelings for you, pushed her to the edge and now you want to shove all the me on me?"


    "Mary knows how I feel about you. But she''s not jealous-she told me herself, she thinks of you as a sister."


    Briony almostughed at the absurdity of it all. Mary, teaming up with Ferdinand to kidnap her, and still calling her ''sister.''


    "She calls me her sister because she


    wants my protection," Briony said coldly. "But I''m not her sister. The moment she gambled her entire career for so-called love, I became nothing more than her boss. Every decision I make is for Starlight Entertainment. That''s the only thing that matters."


    Ferdinand watched her, his gaze bright with a twisted kind of excitement.


    Her rity, her coldness-it thrilled him.


    "We''re more alike than you think, Bryn," he said, grabbing her wrist and yanking


    her close, ignoring her attempts to break free.


    With his other hand, he gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him.


    "This is what makes us perfect for each other."


    Briony struggled, but Ferdinand''s grip was iron.


    The harder she fought, the tighter he held her. Pain red in her wrist and jaw.


    Her breath came fast and shallow. For the first time, she saw the violence lurking behind his gentle facade.


    Fear flooded her, icy and swift.


    Briony clenched her teeth, forcing herself to stay calm.