Boss #2 was complaining to Laurence Finch: "The young people today are so impetuous, not giving what you pay for..."
The seat beside him was empty. The actress who had been groped to the point of humiliation had run out, crying. But Aiden Parker, who had just seen Kylie Finch standing outside the door, believed that Boss #2 was talking about Kylie.
Back then, Kylie had pursued Aiden with everything in her. If it hadn't been for Khloe, he would have never doubted that Kylie was his one true love.
Once, Matthew Parker had asked Aiden to accompany him on a business trip. He had been drinking with a client, until late in the night. When he had drunkenly made it back to his hotel, Kylie had been squatting right in front of his room.
When Kylie had discovered that he was too drunk, she'd run out to buy sobering drugs and had almost been hit by a car. When she'd made it back, she'd ignored her own injuries to care for him.
It had been because of that night, that he'd impulsively agreed to be Kylie's boyfriend. He could still clearly remember the stunned look on Kylie's face when he had promised this.
And for the rest of the day, her smiling face had been filled with happiness. He was 100% sure that Kylie had been deeply in love with him. So, when he had announced that he was going to marry Khloe, Aiden had mentally prepared to be unrelentingly pursued by a jealous Kylie.
But, unexpectedly, Kylie hadn't shown a hint of reluctance.
Even though Kylie was titled "a hot girl" by the public, Aiden knew that she was actually quite conservative, and would never sleep with a man before marriage. But now, she was serving a client, immediately after they had broken up?
"Aiden, honey? What are you thinking about?" Khloe noticed that he was distracted and shook his arm. "I'm a little tired. Let's go back."
"Fine." Aiden stood up to say goodbye to Laurence Finch. "Father-in-law, I'm bringing Khloe back."
"Be careful along the way," Laurence said and turned back to discuss some investment business further with the bosses.
Aiden wrapped his arm around Khloe's waist but searched for Kylie the whole way back.
"Aiden, honey, who are you looking for?"
"Nobody. Are two movies shooting today."
"Yep. I don't know how my elder sister managed to win the lead in the other movie." Khloe gently leaned against Aiden's arm. "Anyway, we should go congratulate her. I think people must surround her."
Aiden remained silent because he noticed Kylie at the end of the hallway. She seemed drunk, and he started to worry about whether she would get home safely.
***
Kylie had thrown up the contents of her stomach in the ladies' room. When she emerged, a lot of people had left. Her eyesight was still hazy, and she didn't know who to call with the phone that she was holding in her hand.
But at that moment, her phone suddenly rang. The person's voice sounded a little depressed. "Kylie, are you still in the hotel?"
"Yes." Her tongue was thick and sluggish. The voice on the other end was quiet for a moment, then spoke: "Don't move. I'll be there soon."
"Sure." She didn't know why Aiden would come to her, but she had been filled with happiness when he'd called. She had loved that man for so many years and would have died for him.
Kylie hung up and smiled, looking at her phone. She began to play games to kill time.
About twenty minutes later, she saw car lights beaming from afar. Kylie lifted her head when she saw a black Audi driving towards her. An expensive car in an isolated mountain zone was definitely Aiden's. But she didn't immediately stand up.
The car stopped beside her, and the window opened a crack. "Master Parker Jr. asked me to pick you up." It was completely dark inside the car, and she couldn't make out the driver. But his accent told her he wasn't a native.
Kylie smiled a little. "Where is he?"
"Master Parker Jr. said there were too many reporters, and that it's not convenient for him to show up. So, he'll wait at the front fork." Kylie thought that made sense. Aiden was a smart man who wouldn't let himself get into trouble. So, she stood up shakily and got in the car.
"He sends a car, but isn't afraid of Khloe's jealousy?" Kylie asked.
The driver was silent for a while, but eventually said, with embarrassment: "Miss Finch was in the shower when Master Parker slipped out."
Kylie was still in a daze, leaning against the car window in near-sleep. She didn't think any more about it and didn't at all notice the driver's evil smile in the rearview mirror.
The minute Kylie left, a man walked out of the hotel. A cigarette dangled from his mouth, as Nate Bass squinted at the disappearing Audi. His demoniacal smile was a little scary at night.
He tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground and began to dial a number. Then, he spoke into his phone: "A black Audi, license plate 32589, stop it."
"Is someone doing drugs there?" The person on the other end sounded confused.
"If sex is a drug..." Nate said.
"What woman would be so fearless as to dump you. Let me avenge you!"
"Kylie Finch!"
"Who?" The voice on the other end was startled and sounded concerned. "Lord Nate, I was just kidding...But, are you interested in Lord Ethan's woman?"
"If you let that car flee away, you can beg forgiveness from Lord Ethan yourself!" Nate directly hung up the phone before the other person could respond.
It was drizzling on the mountain road, outside the black Audi. The coldness was approaching, and Kylie was almost clear-minded. She looked outside. "Where is Aiden Parker?"
"Right in front. We're almost there."
Indeed, the car stopped five minutes later, at a corner. The driver got out first. Kylie looked around. It was completely dark, with no Aiden insight.
"Where is he...?" Kylie hadn't finished her sentence when her door opened. A tall, bulky man brought the cold air in with him. A moist wind tightly covered her mouth before she could recognize whether this man was Aiden or not.
Right at that moment, it suddenly dawned on Kylie what the driver had informed her: that Aiden had slipped out while Khloe was in the shower. It only took Khloe half an hour, at most, to take a shower, so to go back and forth from the hotel to where they were staying would take over an hour. How could Aiden slip out?!
Kylie tried to calm herself down and carefully examined the man who was now sitting in front of her. Even though he was a mere shape in the dark, this man was fatter than Aiden.
She whimpered, wanting to say something. The man moved his big palm towards her neck, and seized her trachea, with little force.
"Look, if you're here for money, then you've found the wrong person. Aiden Parker is the one you want. I'm just an unknown actress with no money at all." Kylie pretended to be calm.