Thomas'' cousin, Dominic Taylor, hade to hang out with a few of his friends.


    Dominic was the same age as Bet, just a few months younger. He was a smooth talker and always greeted Bet with a cheerful "Ben."


    "Ben, is this your girlfriend?" Dominic asked, subtly sizing up Yvonne.


    Yvonne offered Dominic a polite smile but didn''t say anything.


    Bet exchanged a few pleasantries with Dominic and then paid him no further mind.


    Dominic was sharp enough to take the hint. He politely asked if they wanted to join his group, and after Bet declined, he tactfully excused himself.


    Dominic returned to his tent, where his usual gang was waiting.


    "Where''d you go? A few beauties over here were waiting for you," one of Dominic''s childhood friends said, draping an arm around his shoulders.


    Dominic, busy texting on his phone, impatiently shrugged him off.


    "Don''t bother me, can''t you see I''m texting?"


    "Who are you texting? Flirting with some girl? There are so many pretty girls here tonight, and you''re not even looking. What''s so interesting on your phone?" his


    friend pressed.


    "Get lost. I''m texting my cousin. Stop bugging me," Dominic said, giving his friend a light kick before looking back at his phone.


    He sent two quick messages to Thomas.


    Dominic: The summit''s buzzing tonight. All the young heirs are here, but you''re missing. Kind of a buzzkill.


    Dominic: Ben''s here too, believe it or not. Brought a gorgeous girl with him. Must be his new me. She''s a real stunner.


    After a long pause, Thomas replied with a single word: Hmm.


    Dominic typed again: When that policewoman died, Ben almost followed her to the grave. We all thought he''d never move on,


    Jook dehim how just a fe Bu


    few year fater, he''s already with someone new, the old love long forgotten. Time really does heal everything, huh.


    Thomas: Hmm.


    Dominic: Can''t you type more than one word?


    Thomas: Mm-hmm.


    Dominic: ...Literally two words.


    Dominic: Just saw Eden and


    Ynda are here too, it seems. Ynda, Bet''s ex and Eden''s current girlfriend. The legitimate son and the legitimate one, the ex-boyfriend and the ex-girlfriend. This is going to be interesting.


    This message went unanswered for a long time.


    Dominic knew Thomas had seen it; he just didn''t want to reply.


    Dominic: Fine, I won''t bother you anymore.


    This time, Thomas replied, but he couldn''t even be bothered to type a word, sending only a ''bye'' sticker.


    Dominic slipped his phone into his jacket pocket and turned back to his friend.


    His friend said, "Ms. Bishop just came by, wants us to go hang out."


    Dominic scoffed, "No way. Who wants to hang with them? They''re not even that good-looking, and they y way too hard."


    "Alright, fine. I brought a few girls myself. A popr starlet, some young models, and


    a couple of fresh faces, new to the scene."


    The friend slung his arm around Dominic''s shoulder, and the two of them left the tent to party with the girls.


    Next to their tent was the one belonging to the James family.


    Caroline was


    as introverted and disliked socializing, so she wasn''t keen on this kind of event. But Mr. James Sr., knowing that the scions of all the major families would be there and that both Caroline and Letitia were stiff single, hadn''t given upon the idea of saving the James family through a strategic marriage.