Fooled by Sweetness

3

A Maybach with its hazard lights flashing was parked at the entrance of the residential complex as the rain began to let up.

My hair was damp and dripping, tucked behind my ears. I had also stepped in a puddle of mud thanks to the rain.

I had never appeared before Aiden Asher in such a sorry state.

After I got in the car, he tossed me a towel, his tone placid.

"The seats are genuine leather. Don't ruin them."

I used the towel to dry my soaking hair.

I dried it carefully, afraid of flinging water drops inside his car.

The street scene receded into the distance. It was late, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the road.

Aiden Asher's profile looked exceptionally handsome in the dim light of the car, his jawline distinct and sharp.

After a long silence, I hesitated before speaking. "Just drop me off at the cheapest hotel nearby."

Aiden Asher kept one hand on the steering wheel. "The only hotels around here are five-star international ones."

I clutched the hem of my shirt. "Then... just drop me off at that intersection."

The light turned red, and the car came to a stop.

Aiden Asher turned to meet my gaze, his deep, dark eyes holding a calm I hadn't seen in three years.

"Zia Rhodes, did you really think I could eat ten pounds of oysters all by myself?"

'I'd forgotten about that.'

He still had the ten pounds of oysters I'd bought for Chase Linden.

We lapsed into silence.

Aiden Asher is three years older than me. We started dating in college.

He came from a good family and was a hard worker, so he quickly rose to a senior executive position.

When we broke up, I had just graduated from college.

My mother was diagnosed with a rare disease that required a fortune in medical fees.

Then my dad was framed in a scandal that ruined his career.

My dad was an outstanding and kind-hearted lawyer. He and a few partners had built the well-respected "Yan Jun" law firm from the ground up.

Thanks to their exceptional expertise, the firm quickly found its footing.

They even opened branches across the country.

Until one day, an intimate photo of my dad and his female secretary was leaked, and everything came crashing down.

The once-revered senior partner of a top-tier law firm was suddenly a pariah, scorned by everyone as a heartless man who'd abandoned his wife.

Conveniently, the security cameras were broken that day, and the secretary from the photo vanished without a trace.

When a man is down, everyone gives him a kick.

But after reviewing all the available security footage, I spotted a man with a camera in a stairwell. He was wearing a Linden Group uniform.

'What kind of coincidence was that?'

My dad left the firm, entrusting the rights to its prestigious name to me.

Right around that time, my mom's illness was diagnosed.

I had fallen from the clouds straight into the mire.

Back then, Aiden Asher was studying abroad.

Faced with an impossible situation, I chose to break up with Aiden Asher.

'I knew that for someone like Aiden Asher, a major life decision like marriage wasn't his to make.'

'I was just the daughter of a disgraced lawyer, now forced to haggle over the price of groceries.'

'Aiden Asher and I were already worlds apart.'

Soft music played in the car, and my tense nerves gradually began to unwind.

The Maybach sped through the rain, the shifting, ambiguous play of light and shadow mirroring my own complicated heart.

The emotions I had suppressed for so long finally shattered the moment I saw Aiden Asher.

'Three years had passed, but I was still in love with Aiden Asher.'