Effie and her grandmother let go of their mops at almost the exact same moment.


    When Mitchell spotted them, he froze for a split second before reaching out a hand to Suzan. "Here, let me help you up."


    Suzan looked at him cautiously, unsure of his intentions. Still, under Mitchell''s steady gaze, she reached out her hand.


    Mitchell gripped her firmly and pulled her up from the floor in one swift motion. "You okay? Can you walk?"


    She had been pretending to be hurt, but the moment she heard Mitchell''s voice, her heart started racing uncontrobly, and her mind went nk.


    Everyone always thought she schemed her way into Mitchell''s life because of his status. But they were all wrong-it wasn''t like that at all.


    She had fallen for Mitchell the very first time they met, even though she knew he was Effie''s boyfriend. That didn''t stop her. She dove in headfirst, learned from Vera''s calcted moves, and slowly but surely, won Mitchell over.


    "I''m fine," she mumbled.


    "Good. Then let''s get out of here," Mitchell said, guiding her away.


    Suzan was stunned. By the time she realized what was happening, Mitchell had practically lifted her off her feet-her toes barely grazed the ground.


    She nced up at him, confused. "Mitchell, why? Why aren''t you letting me settle things with Effie?"


    Mitchell''s gaze darkened slightly. "Do you know who brought Effie and the others here tonight?"


    Suzan shook her head, but then a thought struck her. Her expression changed in an instant.


    She looked at Mitchell. "Wait... was it Lyman?"


    "That''s right," Mitchell replied. "I saw Lyman outside the private room just now-he was on the phone. He''ll be heading over to Effie and the others any minute."


    "Mypany''s already in shambles because of Lyman. You''re not nning on making things even worse, are you?"


    Suzan pressed her lips together and shook her head.


    She was going to marry Mitchell someday, which meant everything that belonged to him would be hers. Thest thing she wanted was more trouble for hispany.


    Effie watched as Mitchell and Suzan disappeared down the hallway, her eyes darkening. She muttered under her breath, "Seriously, what''s wrong with those two? Are they out of their minds, or just cursed?"


    "Effie, are you alright?" her grandmother asked, clearly worried that Effie hadn''t moved on.


    She was concerned that seeing her ex and the other woman together-even if Effie acted indifferent-would stir up painful emotions.


    Effie shrugged it off. "I''m fine. Just ran into a couple of lunatics, that''s all."


    Seeing Effie so unfazed, her


    Other finally rxed. "Come


    on, let''s go. Lyman must''ve been waiting forever in the private room."


    They were just about to head back when Lyman came walking toward them down the hallway.


    Relief washed over Lyman when he saw they were both safe. "You two were gone so long, I started to worry something had happened."


    Effie teased him, "If you''re that worried, maybe you should just stay glued to my side. That way, you''ll always know where I am."


    Lyman grinned. "Or I could just shrink you down and keep you in my pocket."


    "Deal," Effie said, and they bothughed.


    Effie''s grandmother watched their easy banter and finally let out a breath she didn''t know she was holding.


    Suddenly, Effie''s phone buzzed-a new message had juste through.