Coaxing and sending off Vivienne, Damien re-entered the hall—only to find Aveline on the stage, yet again. He gritted his teeth.
Ezra spoke onstage, "We at NexGuard appreciate your trust in us, Ms. Laurent. Would you like to tell us what made you choose Vantex?"
Aveline responded, "Various factors." She paused and flashed a polite smile before listing, "The technology, definitely. The object of the demo hit full marks." Her voice was soft yet firm.
Neither arrogant nor submissive. She looked professional, yet carried her femininity effortlessly, making her presence more radiant.
But it only irritated Damien further. He had married her because she stayed away from business and the limelight. But now, there she was standing before hundreds of people like she belonged there.
Wasn't she the one who avoided attention?
Wasn't she the one who claimed to love her space more than socialising?
Well, Damien never realised she may prefer her space, but she never feared the spotlight.
His frown deepened as he searched for Alaric across the hall.
There he was, standing effortlessly, merely nodding to the businessmen of Velmora while they flattered him mostly because he was a Lancaster.
While Alaric partied hard in his early twenties, Damien worked his ass off to get where he was. The only reason he ever bothered to keep up with Alaric was because of the Lancaster name.
But why the hell was Alaric letting her steal the limelight?
The idea of NexGuard asking a guest to arrange flowers in a vase? Hilarious. They could've just shoved a bunch in a jar for the test case. Why make a show of it?
His frown further deepened.
Why did this woman always end up helping others if it was her duty?
It wasn't the first time he caught her doing it, offering help to people who didn't deserve a second glance.
Before he could approach Alaric, his secretary stepped up. "Director Ashford, Mrs. Ashford is the first client of NexGuard. Should we book VANTEX Sentinel?"
Damien didn't feel the need to support NexGuard to impress the Lancasters. "No."
His secretary added, "Mike Wilson left the hall as soon as you departed."
That made Damien pause.
Mike Wilson was someone Henry Laurent trusted. A man deeply connected to the Laurent Industry's powerful internal network.
What if Mike followed him out of the hall?
He turned, ready to scold his secretary, but it wouldn't solve anything. Something raw and strange clawed at him. He won't be at ease until he finds out where Mike Wilson was.
He gritted his teeth and resumed his path toward Alaric.
The irritation crawled deeper under his skin when Alaric didn't even look his way right away. Everyone around Alaric gave him their attention while Alaric took his time turning.
Still, "Congratulations, man," Damien offered, as if thrilled for his friend.
They shook hands. Damien smoothly pulled him aside. "Well, I need another favor. Viv was here. She lost her diamond ring. I thought I'd check the security footage to see if she had it when she arrived." He used her name, in case Alaric had sent her an invite.
Alaric was glad to be pulled away from the crowd. But at Damien's words, his lips curled lazily.
"You guys are losing..." He scoffed as he lazily took a sip of his bourbon. He slowly enjoyed the aftertaste of his sip, watching Damien bury his irritation. Then he completed his words, "...rings."
Damien: "..."
He felt it to the bones that Alaric meant something else. He meant more than just jewelry.
Alaric caught Giselle's eyes. He patted Damien's shoulder, "I know it wasn't a ring." He smirked. They weren't losing rings but the game of deceit.
"Go to the security department." And he walked off without waiting.
Damien had expected Alaric to catch the lie. Thus, he hadn't even bothered to come up with a believable and creative lie. Still, he smoothly exited the hall, heading for the security department to check the footage.
Meanwhile, Giselle watched her brother carefully. "Tell me honestly," she asked, "who's trapping whom?"
Alaric guessed immediately. She must have noticed Aveline catching him off guard on the stage. If that was why she pulled him aside, he turned his heel.
"Damien's planning something," Giselle said. "In a week." Her tone was deadly serious.
She was returning from the restroom when she caught the couple in a dark corner.
Alaric paused. His expression hardened thinking of the worst. He turned back to his sister to know more.
Giselle added, "Get her out before it's too late."
Alaric realized Giselle had no idea what Damien's plan was. But a week? That was too short to figure out both Damien's plan and get Aveline out.
How was he going to help her?
How should he protect her?
Giselle had an idea of his difficult situation. Aveline had no reason to believe them, even if they told her outright.
She added what she heard, "He is sending Vivienne Sinclair to his vacation house." Troubling Vivienne might take Damien's attention away from Aveline.
She glanced across the room at Aveline, who was smiling, poised, and radiant while speaking to business elites. "Or sabotage his plan."
She wondered if Alaric could protect Aveline or if Aveline would become a star who would burn the brightest, only to vanish too soon.
Alaric was yet to understand what Aveline meant by her words, now he was caught with a timeline to either find out Damien's plan or get her out of Damien's clutches first.
He chugged his bourbon and walked out of the event for silence.
He needed to think.
Think of a move.
Whether to escape or to counter.
What is the best move to play it right?
The moment he entered his dimly lit office, his steps slowed. A sleek lady's handbag sat on his coffee table. His head whipped towards the glass wall.
There she was.
Aveline Laurent.
Arms crossed, poised like a queen, she was standing by the glass wall. Her gaze was on the chaos outside, watching Damien's secretary run around, clearly searching the parking lot.
She was so unpredictable. He was growing more and more curious about her.
She didn't turn. But her soft and steady voice floated to him. "I figured this would be the one place he wouldn't check."
Alaric's lips twitched. She might have entered the room to escape Damien's secretary, but she stayed for a reason.
She stayed for him.
And she was purposefully revealing to him that she escaped Damien's secretary.
"You broke into my office?" His voice was deep and slow. Clearly not offended.
She turned, her hazel eyes meeting his green ones. "I walked in. The door wasn't locked." She did enter to escape Damien's secretary from following her. Luckily, it turned out to be Alaric's office, the exact place she wanted to go.
Silence filled the room. Neither of them broke their gaze on each other as though one was trying to read the other.
Then she stepped forward, close to the coffee table.
"I came to tell you something. But if you're not ready to hear it…" Her tone dropped, challenging him to ignore her.
Alaric stepped in fully now, the door closing shut behind him.
He was waiting for this time. To know what she meant by 'You'll have a lot more to thank me for.'
He poured two glasses of bourbon under her observant eyes.
"Try me."