L froze briefly, confirming it was indeed Terry sitting alone.


    Seeing his awkward gaze, L instinctively sensed something was off, though she wasn''t sure what.


    Despite that, she approached him.


    "Your injury hasn''t healed yet. How did you manage toe out?"


    It had only been a week since his surgery, and his wound hadn''t fully healed. Drinking alone like this seemed reckless.


    Terry forced a strained smile. "I''ve been cooped up in the hospital for so long. It was boring, so I decided to kill some time."


    "Drinking alone to kill time?" L frowned. "Terry, what happened?"


    Her question seemed to hit a raw nerve. To her shock, Terry''s eyes started welling up.


    She was stunned. He was nearly on the verge of tears-over what? She hadn''t even brought up anything upsetting.


    "I''m sorry, L. I''m so sorry," he choked out, his voice breaking.


    Confused, L was about to speak when someone suddenly shoved her. Her body collided with the edge of a table, sending a sharp pain through her. "What''s wrong with you?" Terry snapped, raising his voice in reproach. "Terry, are you protecting her?" Yelena''s voice was full of disbelief.


    Terry Ignored her and limped over to support L. "Are you okay?"


    "Terry, get this straight. I''m your girlfriend here."


    Terry looked up at her, his eyes filled with reluctance and sadness. "You were, but since yesterday, you''re not anymore."


    He couldn''t describe the emotions he was feeling.


    Though Terry genuinely liked Yelena, the harsh world he inhabited was driven by profit and pragmatism.


    But with Yelena, things had been different. She hadn''t known his identity at first. And when they started dating, she revealed her feelings for him without caring about his background.


    He couldn''t believe it at first when his employees at Jones Group told him about Yelena''s attempt to seduce Kieran.


    But the truth had proven otherwise. Everything was a lie.


    "You don''t believe me, do you? I told you, it''s because this woman dislikes me that she got Mr. Morgan to frame me."


    She pointed at L, her face contorted with malice.


    Not only had she failed to win over Kieran, but now Terry was slipping away, too.


    Terry''s face twisted with disappointment. "You''re still lying to me, even now."


    L frowned in confusion, unsure how Kieran had entered this conversation. "Terry, what does she mean by Mr. Morgan framing her?"


    "I''m sorry, L," Terry apologized. "This is my fault. Go ahead and find your friends. I''ll exin once


    everything is resolved. velet


    He noticed L''s curiosity, so he added, "L, please don''t ask about this for now.


    I''ll tell you everything when I can."


    L gave him a brief nod before turning to leave.


    "You can''t leave!" Yelena immediately stepped forward to block her.


    Terry intervened, "Let''s talk outside. Don''t make a scene here."


    "You''re protecting her, and now you''re ming me for making a scene?"


    Terry warned sharply, "You''ve angered Mr. Morgan. The fact that


    he hasn''t caused a scene already shows he''s giving you a huge amount of face. If you don''t want end badly, don''t provoke L!"


    this P


    L turned to leave, ncing back onest time. By then, Terry and Yelena had already disappeared from view.


    Returning to the private room, she found Kieran being dragged into a card game by Landon. They had already yed two rounds.


    The moment Kieran saw her, he sensed something was off.


    What happened outside?


    He put down his cards, clearly about to get off the game, but Landon stopped him.


    "No, no, no! The pocket money you just gave me is already back in your hands! I need to get it back!"


    The group burst intoughter.


    "Mr. West, you should stop ying. If this continues, the West family might need


    to change theirst name!" someone joked.


    "Is that all you got? Kieran has been winning for a while, but it''s still his own money!"


    Landon groaned. "Kieran, why is your luck always so good? This isn''t fair! And you guys, shut up! Don''t jinx my fortune!"


    L


    1ched as Kieran casually


    flipped


    "If


    cards over on the table. my luck is too good, I''ll you."


    switch out another yer ablet


    "L," he said, gently beckoning her. "How about giving it a try?"


    L looked up, her gaze filled with bewilderment.


    But when her eyes met Kieran''s, the restlessness inside her began to settle, soothed by the calm in his gaze.


    Though she didn''t yet understand what Terry had mentioned about Kieran, she had a sense of what had transpired.


    Kieran had probably kept it from her to spare her the awkwardness.