"The government used to say fireworks were bad for the environment, and now they''re allowing them again. The rules change every other day. Guess it has its pros and cons. So, want to go check it out?"
The weather had warmed up, and the evening breeze by the river was pleasant. It wouldn''t be a bad idea to get Amelia out for some fresh air.
Deep down, L still hoped that Amelia and Vince would end up together. L had a pretty good idea of what Amelia was hesitant about.
Thetter wanted marriage to happen naturally-because of love, not pressure. But she hadn''t felt that love from Vince. Marriage was never her life goal or purpose-being happy was.
However, she had no idea where Vince stood in all of this. Maybe she should make time to ask him.
That night, the two of them arrived at the riverside early. The firework technicians were busy setting up, but the sandy shore was dominated by children, theirughter filling the air as they dug into the sand with tiny shovels, pretending to search for crabs.
Amelia leaned in close to L''s ear and whispered, "There are no crabs here."
"They don''t know that. Sometimes, what you believe matters more than what''s real."
Amelia cocked her brow. "I had no idea you were so in touch with your inner child." L nudged her gently, and just as she was about to take a step forward, she abruptly stopped in her tracks.
L followed her gaze and spotted Vince with his date. She was dressed lightly and looked chilled. Vince noticed and immediately took off his jacket, handing it over to her.
The woman wrapped herself in the oversized jacket and tilted her head up toward him, eyes sparkling under the soft glow of the streetlights. Amelia, without saying a word, turned and walked in the opposite direction, pulling L along with her.
The fireworks began soon after-brilliant, dazzling, but fleeting. The bursts of colorsted only a moment but lingered in the memories of those who had watched them.
On the way back, L could tell Amelia was unusually quiet. L let out an exaggerated yawn. "I''m exhausted. Wake me up when we get there."
Amelia spent the night at Vermilion Estate, ying with Nova until 10:00 pm before finally heading to bed. The next morning, she was sprawled out on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through her phone until she suddenly sat up. "Did the
Moores buy these media ounts?"
"Hm?" L looked up from adjusting her camera.
She took Amelia''s phone and scrolled through the posts-one after another, all about Kieran and Faith working together, calling them a perfect match. Some had even gone as far as to im that the president of Morgan Group had moved on to a new love interest, creating a power couple between two elite families.
Amelia frowned. "Kieran hates these kinds of baseless rumors, and these people still have the nerve to spread it? Clearly, someone''s paying for these headlines."
And, unfortunately, a lot of people were buying into it. L''s personal ount was flooded with mentions and direct messages. Without even reading them, she tapped a button and deleted all of them.
...
Kieran returned three dayster. The two spent the next couple of days at home, and neither of them brought up the online rumors. There was no need to-after all, they both knew the truth.
Still, L suspected Kieran had done something about it because the rumors had started dying down. She finalized the hiking trip ns and sent out the details to the group.
Noah was away for apetition, and Ruby had gone to support him, so this time it would just be Amelia, Jamie, and L on the girls'' side. The guysing were Kieran, Michael, Teddy, and Matthew.
But when they arrived at the meeting spot, Amelia nudged L and tilted her chin toward the man walking next to Jamie. "That''s the guy who studied abroad, right?"
"I think so?"
Before the two could say anything else, Vince arrived. He got out of the car, walked to the other side, and opened the door-helping the same woman from the restaurant step out.
Kieran noticed the slight shift in L''s mood. He reached out, gently ruffling her hair. "What''s wrong?"