Running into Amelia here surprised Damien. "I didn't expect to see you in this neighborhood, Miss Johnson. Do you live around here?"

"My friend lives here," Amelia answered with a light smile. "I was just heading to the supermarket."

"I'm going there myself," Damien replied.

"What a coincidence. Shall we go together, then?" It was mostly a polite gesture-after all, she barely knew him, and shopping together might feel a bit awkward.

"Sure," Damien said calmly, though there was a faint warmth in his eyes.

Amelia found Damien surprisingly approachable-not at all like the cold, distant man rumors made him out to be.

Earlier that day, she had looked him up online out of curiosity. Among the business articles, she stumbled upon a few gossip pieces-including speculation that Damien might prefer men. No wonder he didn't make a move last night, she thought. Maybe he really isn't interested in women.

But then again, a man like Damien-at the top of the social ladder-could have anyone he wanted. Even if he did like women, she doubted he'd take notice of someone like her.

After picking up some snacks, they walked back toward the villas.

When Damien continued alongside her, Amelia tilted her head slightly. "Which villa is yours, Mr. Taylor?"

"Right next to your friend's," he replied.

"You knew my friend lives in Number Sixteen?" Amelia looked surprised.

"There are only two villas on this lane. It wasn't hard to guess," Damien said mildly.

Amelia nodded, not thinking too much of it.

As soon as she entered Rowan's villa, Damien made a quick call. "Check if Villa Fifteen at Rosemont Heights is still on the market."

Two minutes later, his assistant called back. "Master Taylor, it's still available."

"I'll take it. Bring me the keys within ten minutes."

The keys arrived quickly-but it wasn't his assistant who delivered them. It was Liam Taylor, his younger brother.

"You already have a place here. Why buy another?" Liam grinned teasingly. "Don't tell me you're planning to keep someone here?"

Damien shot him a sidelong glance. "What gave it away?"

"Wait-seriously?!" Liam's eyes went wide.

Damien didn't answer. He simply unlocked the door to the fully furnished villa.

Liam followed eagerly. "Bro, you have to tell me! The whole family's waiting for good news!"

Damien didn't look at him. "Replace all the furniture. I want it styled like the old house."

"Who is she?!" Liam's face lit up with gossip.

"Start now," was all Damien said.

"Is she pretty? Nice figure?" Liam was practically bouncing with curiosity. So many society girls had tried to get close to Damien, with no success. He couldn't wait to meet the one who'd actually caught his brother's eye.

Damien's expression didn't change. "If you're not doing it, leave."

"No perks, no work," Liam bargained with a sly smile.

Damien raised a brow. "What do you want?"

"That Black Feather sports car of yours." Liam's eyes gleamed.

Damien gave him a look that clearly said, Don't push it.

"Come on, bro, you don't even race. That car's wasted on you. Give it to me-I'll make it shine." Liam turned on the puppy-dog eyes.

"Take any of the others. Not that one." Damien didn't care much for cars, but the Black Feather was different.

*****

Next door, at Villa Sixteen-

Amelia tore open a bag of chips and flopped onto the sofa, flipping through channels. "You know Master Taylor, right?"

Rowan, mid-sip of milk, shot her a puzzled look. "Of course. Why?"

"He lives next door. Did you know that?"

Rowan shook his head. "No way. That place has been empty for ages."

"It's his. He just doesn't stay there often."

Rowan frowned. "And how exactly do you know that?"

"I ran into him at the gate. We even went grocery shopping together."

Rowan leaned over and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. "Are you feeling okay? It's the middle of the day-you sound like you're hallucinating."

"You might not believe it, but yesterday we-"

Just then, the doorbell chimed crisply through the house.

"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.