Yvonne hesitated. "Will we be intruding?"


    "Not at all! The more, the merrier. Any friend of Mr. Thompson''s is a friend of ours," Marlon said with a weing smile.


    "Move us to the Room upstairs," Bet said, turning to the restaurant manager.


    The Room was the restaurant''srgest private dining space,vishly decorated and spacious enough for over fifty guests,plete with a karaoke setup.


    The group made their way to the room and began to settle in.


    As the instructors, Winston and April took seats at the head of the table. Bet sat beside April, with Yvonne on his other side.


    The other ssmates found their seats around therge table.


    Waiters began bringing in dishes, a parade of the restaurant''s signature specialties that soon filled the table.


    Since she had to eat, Yvonne removed her mask.


    Even without makeup, her face was instantly recognizable from the screen, and the others looked at her with mild surprise.


    It wasn''t unheard of for wealthy heirs like Bet to keep a celebrity mistress.


    But Bet had a reputation for being fiercely loyal. When he was with the first Yvonne, he had beenpletely devoted. Later, with Ynda, there had been no whispers of scandal either.


    Now, he had a young starlet by his side. Though he called her a friend, the nature of their friendship seemed obvious.


    Bet and Yvonne didn''t interact much, barely exchanging a few words, but the asional nce that passed between them held an unspoken intimacy and a soft, lingering affection.


    For most of the meal, Bet chatted with the instructors and his old friends, while Yvonne, unable to join the conversation, listened quietly.


    Marlon was now the deputy captain of the Municipal Bureau''s detective squad, a rising star. His work was so demanding that he barely had time for his wife and kids. His wife was his high school sweetheart and they finally married after a decade together.


    Joyce worked as a guard in a


    women''s prison, spending her days with female inmates, many of whom, she found, were not evil but


    victims of their own tragic Foircumstances.


    Byron was an officer at a local precinct, and Crystal was a narcotics detective.


    Though Yvonne couldn''t speak with


    them, seeing their familiar faces and listening to them talk so


    passionately made her feel as she had been transported back to her days at the academy.


    Perhaps noticing her silence, the person next to her struck up a conversation.


    But a prison guard and a movie star had little inmon.


    Yvonne was careful not to talk too much about the past, afraid she''d slip up.


    When Joyce offered her a ss of red wine, Yvonne hesitated. It would be rude to refuse, but she was a total lightweight.


    Just as she was wavering, Bet reached over, took the ss, and downed it with a warm smile.


    "She can''t hold her liquor. I''ll drink for her."


    "It''s fine if the youngdy doesn''t drink. In that case, we''ll drink!"


    Obligingly, Bet raised his ss again.


    At that moment, everyone at the table understood that the rtionship between Bet and the young starlet was anything but simple.


    Seeing this, April couldn''t help but frown slightly.


    The union between the Thompson and Walker families had seemed like a sure thing. She couldn''t believe Bet had suddenly thrown it all away for some unknown actress.


    For years, April had advised Bet to cherish Ynda, but her words had clearly fallen on deaf ears.