"Who's there?" Rowan got up to open the door.

Damien stood outside. "Is Miss Johnson here?"

The moment Rowan saw him, he froze, jaw dropping. "You're... Damien... Damien..."

"Mr. Taylor, is there something you need?" Amelia walked over and pulled Rowan aside.

Damien handed her a gift box. "This is a dress I picked for you. Try it on. If it doesn't suit you, we can go to the store and choose another."

Only after Damien left did Rowan finally regain his voice. "Who was that just now?"

"Damien Taylor," Amelia said as she opened the box.

Rowan swallowed. "That was Master Taylor? I thought I was hallucinating."

Amelia gave him a look. "Yeah. I told you he's your next-door neighbor."

Rowan narrowed his eyes at her. "And how exactly did you two meet? Start talking."

Amelia lifted the dress from the box. "It's a long story. I'll tell you another time."

Rowan walked over to get a closer look, then suddenly sucked in a breath. "No way. This dress..."

Amelia frowned. "How does he have this gown?"

Rowan's expression turned meaningful. "This is Joey's legendary masterpiece. Go put it on. No one could wear it better."

Amelia raised a brow. "Why do you look like that?"

Rowan shrugged, trying to look innocent. "I'm just saying... Master Taylor might be into you."

Amelia laughed and tossed a pillow at him. "Yeah right. You're such a gossip."

Five minutes later, Amelia stepped out wearing the crimson off-shoulder evening gown.

Rowan's eyes widened. "Amelia, if you'd dressed like this before, Ethan would've fallen for you on the spot. You've been hiding that figure for years!"

Amelia used to wear mostly casual clothes or whatever Sabrina bought for her. "Men are shallow. I don't want his love anyway."

"Come on, you were practically obsessed with him before. Now you expect me to believe you don't care?" Rowan still didn't buy it.

Amelia didn't want to argue. She checked the mirror. "What should I do with my hair? Should I put on makeup?"

Standing behind her, Rowan waved her off. "Leave it down. And no makeup. You look gorgeous as is."

Amelia blinked at him. "You sure?"

Rowan wasn't joking. "Absolutely. You've got everything you need-just have some confidence. You're the brightest thing in this city."

Ever since returning to the Johnson family, Amelia had lost all her confidence and become a people-pleaser.

When she was two, her parents divorced. Her mother vanished, and her father Richard immediately brought Grace and one-year-old Sabrina into the home.

That same year, Amelia disappeared. In truth, Grace had abandoned her in a remote area, intending to get rid of her.

Amelia was lucky-she was found by a kind couple who raised her.

At eighteen, Sabrina was in a car accident and needed a rare blood type. Amelia happened to be in the same hospital with the same rare type and donated blood to save her.

That was how they discovered the two girls were biological sisters, and Amelia was brought back to the family.

Amelia and Ethan had a prearranged marriage agreement. Before her return, everyone assumed Ethan and Sabrina would end up together.

After Amelia came back, Sabrina grew resentful and constantly set her up, humiliating her in front of both families.

Grace and Sabrina kept hinting to others that Amelia was just some country bumpkin. They were masters at manipulating people.

They made Amelia believe her role was simply to look pretty and become Ethan's decorative housewife. She almost abandoned her own career because of it.

Her mentor had warned her not to trust people so easily, but she'd been too naive and kind-hearted to see the truth.

Looking back now, she realized she had ruined every good chance she ever had.

*****

At half past five, Amelia received a message from Damien. She grabbed her coat and stepped out.

A sleek black Rolls-Royce was parked outside, and Damien stepped out of the backseat.

From a distance, he looked like some divine figure come to life.

The image of last night's dream resurfaced in Amelia's mind, and her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.

Just then, the guy in the driver's seat fumbled for his phone, attempting a sneaky picture.

But in a flash, Damien plucked the device right from Liam's grasp. "Trying to get a new phone the hard way?"

"Hey! The, uh, the city lights looked cool from here," Liam stammered with an awkward laugh. "Thought I'd grab a shot."

Damien fixed him with a silencing glare before tossing the phone back.

Liam quickly opened a group chat named "The Investigation Committee," a private thread that included only him and his two grandparents.

Dorothy: [Well? Any intel? Where's the photo proof?]

Liam: [Busted by Damien. But seriously, she's a stunner. Way out of our bro's league, if you ask me. No need to panic.]

Dorothy: [So... no photo? You're useless!]

Raymond: [Everyone, be patient. We'll meet her soon enough.]

Dorothy: [Oh, I'm the impatient one? Remind me, whose idea was this chat?]

Raymond: [...Not now. I'm on the green.]

*****

The venue was a glitzy five-star hotel.

As Amelia stepped out of the car, Liam sidled up to Damien, his face alight with gossip. "Seriously, man, where'd you find her? She's drop-dead gorgeous."

"Don't be crass," Damien replied coolly, Amelia's coat draped over his arm, still holding her residual warmth.

Liam shot him a knowing grin. "Big night tonight, huh? You know... perfect opportunity to-"

"A gentleman doesn't elaborate on such thoughts," Damien cut him off, his voice icy.

"I wasn't finished!" Liam protested.

Damien gave him a sidelong glance. "You didn't need to be. I know exactly what you were implying."

"Just trying to help! She seems a bit... indifferent toward you, that's all," Liam said with a sheepish chuckle.

"Indifferent?" Damien's eyebrow arched sharply.

Liam immediately backtracked. "Slip of the tongue! She's totally playing hard to get. Classic move. I've seen it a million times."

Damien's eyes frosted over. "Seen it with whom, exactly?"

"No one! I'm a ghost! I've seen nothing!" Liam clapped a hand over his mouth, his survival instincts kicking into high gear.

Just outside the banquet hall doors, Amelia realized her invitation wasn't in her clutch-she'd left it in her coat pocket.

"Amelia?" a voice laced with disbelief called out. It was Chloe Hughes.

Chloe was close to Sabrina, which was exactly why she was never friendly toward her.

"Can I help you, Miss Hughes?" Amelia responded, her expression neutral.

Chloe, who had never made an effort to be pleasant, crossed her arms and smirked. "It is you. I hope you know you can't just waltz in without an invitation."

'What is this country bumpkin doing here?' Chloe thought. 'Trying to crash a high-society event? Not on my watch.'

Amelia didn't bother arguing and turned to go retrieve her invite.

"What's wrong? Got caught and now you're running away?" Chloe grabbed her arm and hissed at a nearby staff member, "Watch this one. Don't let her slip in later."

Amelia wrenched her arm free, fixing Chloe with an icy stare. "I have an invitation. I left it downstairs."

"Sure you did. Stop lying," Chloe snapped dismissively.

Just then, Sabrina arrived on Ethan's arm.

"Chloe? What's keeping you out here?" Sabrina asked, feigning confusion.

"Perfect timing," Chloe said, gesturing at Amelia with contempt. "Look who's trying to sneak in without an invite. How embarrassing."

It took Sabrina a moment to place the elegantly dressed woman. "Amelia? You're here?"

Even though she knew Amelia was invited, the transformation was startling. Sabrina hated to admit it, but her sister looked breathtaking.

Ethan's breath hitched for a second at the sight of Amelia, but he quickly masked it with a familiar scowl. Sure, she'd cleaned up well on the outside, but underneath, she was still the same unsophisticated girl.

"Amelia," Ethan said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Remember what your father said. Don't cause a scene. You should leave." After all, she was still technically his fiancée, an embarrassment he had to manage.

As Amelia opened her mouth to retort, a tall, imposing figure stepped into view, instantly shifting the dynamic of the entire corridor.

Damien approached Amelia and extended a hand. "I believe this is yours." In it was her forgotten invitation.

"Thank you," Amelia said, accepting it, a flicker of surprise crossing her features. She hadn't expected him to be so observant.

He didn't linger. Seemingly aware she wouldn't want their connection made public, he simply turned and disappeared into the main hall without another word.

"Wait... was that Master Taylor?" Chloe stammered, staring after him, utterly dumbfounded.

"It certainly was," Sabrina replied, her voice tight. Even someone of her status had only seen the elusive billionaire in person once before.

Ethan looked equally shocked. "Indeed. He rarely makes appearances at these kinds of events."

Judging by Amelia's clueless reaction, she clearly didn't know him. Emboldened, Chloe snatched the invitation back from Amelia's hand. "This has to be a fake. I'm impressed-you came prepared to crash, didn't you?"

Amelia didn't bother with anger. She merely shot Chloe a cool, dismissive glance and walked past her into the banquet hall without a word.

Flustered, Chloe whirled to a nearby staff member. "She's crashing! Aren't you going to stop her?"

The staff member remained impassive. "The invitation was vouched for by Master Taylor himself. We have no grounds to refuse entry." Interfere?, he thought, That's a quick way to get fired.

"Let it go, let's just go in," Sabrina said, maintaining a calm exterior despite the fury simmering inside. Her plan to humiliate Amelia had backfired spectacularly, all because Damien had inexplicably stepped in. No matter. Sabrina was convinced Amelia's ignorance would lead to a blunder sooner or later.

"Ethan," Sabrina said softly, tugging his sleeve, "with so many important people here tonight... you know how Amelia was raised in the countryside. I'm worried she'll do something foolish again. Perhaps you could persuade her to leave?"

Ethan nodded; the thought had already occurred to him. Amelia was a liability. Any misstep would reflect poorly on both the Johnson and Collins families.

Meanwhile, Amelia had found a quiet corner and was contentedly enjoying a slice of tiramisu when a familiar, condescending voice interrupted her.

"Amelia," Ethan said, now standing over her. "Come on. I'll have my driver take you home."

She looked up at him, unfazed. "Why? The evening has just begun."

He spoke as if to a child. "If it's dessert you want, I'll have some sent to the house. You can enjoy it there. Alright?"

Amelia simply stared at him, her silence more powerful than any retort.

Ethan's frown deepened. "What? Cat got your tongue?" He used to find her tolerable, but over the past five years, his opinion had only soured. Compared to Sabrina's polished grace, Amelia was an unrefined embarrassment. How were they even sisters?

Amelia blinked her large, innocent-looking eyes. "Shouldn't you be with Sabrina? I'm not in your way here."

"Enough," Ethan's tone turned sharp. "Stop eating and leave. Now. Or I'll call your father."

"I get hypoglycemic. I need to keep my blood sugar up," she stated flatly. The fact that after five years he didn't know this basic detail about her was, frankly, pathetic.

Just then, a deep, magnetic voice cut through the tension from behind her.

"Would you do me the honor of being my companion for the evening?"