He paused for a breath, then looked at her with quiet frustration. "So what are you so afraid of, Hera?"


    Every word struck her like lightning.


    He had unknowingly voiced every excuse she’d been repeating to herself, each reason she had used to justify why she couldn’t ept him. And now, hearing those excusesid bare and effortlessly dismantled left her speechless.


    "I-I..." Hera tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat. She genuinely couldn’te up with anything to say, and truthfully, she didn’t even fully understand herself why she was so adamant about not giving Alexandre a chance.


    Then, as if grasping for solid ground, she remembered something.


    "This decision isn’t mine to make alone," she said, her voice quieter now. "Like I told you before, I already have six lovers. Their opinions matter just as much as mine. Even if I wanted to take you in as a lover, if they don’t approve... I’d still choose to follow their judgment. They’ve been with me through everything, through the worst and the best. And while it hasn’t been that long since we met, I’ve already made up my mind about them..."


    Before she could finish, Alexandre cut in.


    "Then, as long as I can earn their approval, you’ll let me in, right?" His eyes locked onto hers. "Alright. I understand."


    Hera was stunned.


    Just like that, the decision had slipped out of her hands, and she hadn’t even meant for it to happen. It felt like she’d identally shot herself in the foot. And yet... the look of determination on Alexandre’s face made it impossible for her to take it back.


    She felt conflicted. Vexed.


    There were still so many unknowns ahead, and she knew things were only going to get more dangerous. What happened earlier had already proven that much. And now, with Alexandre trying to step into her tightly woven harem, she couldn’t help but wonder:


    How would this affect the delicate bnce she and her lovers had built together? Would one more heart in the equation strengthen them, or tear something apart?


    Would Alexandre be the missing piece that bound them all together, unshakable until death? Or would his presence disrupt the delicate bnce they had fought so hard to maintain, throwing their once-harmonious life into chaos?


    Maybe <i>this</i> was what Hera had feared all along.


    Right now, she and her six lovers had found an uneasy yet growing harmony. They had learned to coexist, slowly epting one another. It hadn’t been easy, especially when Leo entered the picture. The five male leads had struggled, but eventually, Leo won their approval. It took time, effort, andpromise.


    But Alexandre?


    What would happen if he stepped through that same door? Would they give him a chance? Or would they see him as a threat, an outsider, an invader of their sacred bond?


    The thought made Hera restless, her anxiety spiking as if the seat beneath her had caught fire. She couldn’t rx. Couldn’t breathe easily. And yet, in the silence that followed her hesitation, Alexandre seemed to take it as quiet agreement, a silent green light.


    He now believed Hera had conceded. That she was ready to let him try.


    In his mind, it was time to infiltrate her love nest, whether by earning their favor, blending in, or, if needed, forcing their acknowledgment. Because while Alexandre was charming, warm, and easy to get along with in front of Hera, beneath that affable exterior was a man every bit as dangerous and relentless as the rest.


    He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and he was no vegetarian.


    If the others tried to tear him down, he would bite back.


    And so, the battle between these seven predatory men had quietly begun, and its oue would ultimately determine how they would coexist in the future.


    Following their conversation, Hera maintained aposed fa?ade, but beneath it, a subtle nervousness lingered. Time passed, and soon, two days had gone by. Her discharge paperwork was finalized by Dr. Zigheart, and in that same span, the investigation had taken a sharp and decisive turn.


    Sasha had sessfully uncovered a mountain of evidence, revealing exactly who had hired the assassins. He presented detailed transfer records, transaction dates, and even damning audio and video clips, some from dashcams, CCTV footage, and even satellite feeds. But perhaps the most shocking revtion was tied to the tampering of Hera’s car.


    It turned out that the saboteur was a member of the National Race Team, operating under Danny Coleman’s jurisdiction. This discovery left Danny deeply humiliated; he had unknowingly harbored a snake in his own team, someone willing to risk Hera’s life for a mere $1 million.


    Unbeknownst to the culprit, Hera had set up a livestream camera inside her car well before the race. While he subtly sabotaged the vehicle during the chaos of pre-race preparations, thinking no one would notice, some eagle-eyed viewers tuning into the early stream did. They noticed his strange behavior and, after reviewing the footage multiple times, sent the clip directly to Danny Coleman’s email.


    That one oversight, one hidden camera that wasn’t well hidden, and a few sharp-eyedizens were all it took to expose him.


    As for the culprit, although she had tried to cover her tracks by making multiple transfers and even opening a Swiss bank ount, hoping that once the moneynded there, it would vanish into obscurity and be nearly impossible to trace, she underestimated her opponent.


    Normally, such tactics would work, but Sasha was no ordinary hacker. Having previously breached the Swiss banking system, he was a seasoned hustler with the skills and experience to break through even the most secure firewalls.


    Within just a day, Sasha sessfully traced the transaction back to Mindy Pinault. To make matters worse for her, this wasn’t the first time she had targeted women who got close to Alexandre. Her Swiss bank ount had a suspicious pattern of simr transactions, and her activity on the dark web showed a chilling history. The assassination request she made this time was more than enough to warrant capital punishment.


    When this information surfaced, her family panicked. The potential fallout of her actions was catastrophic, not just for her but for the entire Pinault family. Knowing that the scandal could ruin their reputation and bring the whole family down, they scrambled to clean up her mess before it was toote.


    But with the Arnault family now backing Hera, the Pinaults could no longer cover up the mess Mindy had created. The hole she tore open was toorge to conceal, and like vultures sensing weakness, their rivals began to circle. One by one, Mindy’s past crimes and cruel deeds surfaced online, dragging the entire Pinault family into the center of a storm of controversy.