She stared at his name for a moment, her finger hovering over the callback icon, then slowly lowered her hand.
There was no need. 1
Their collaboration would continue as planned. Anything more would feel forced.
After a marriage built on forged papers and hollow vows, she had long since learned how to separate emotion from interest.
Nick was an exceptional man, someone she genuinely admired. But his private life-who he met, what he did- wasn’t her concern.
She turned off her phone and lay back on the bed. Moonlight filtered through the gauzy curtains, casting pale shapes across the room.
She closed her eyes. Sleep came quietly.
When morning came, she wheeled her suitcase through the hotel lobby, her steps light. There was still so much waiting for her back home.
Just before she left, a hotel staff member approached, holding a velvet-wrapped box.
“Miss Roswell,” the woman said, “Mr. Hunt left this for you. He had to leave early and didn’t want to disturb you, so he asked me to deliver it on his behalf.”
Khloe looked down. The box was small, black sandalwood, its surface carved with intricate old-style patterns. It was heavy and finely made.
Inside, nestled against black velvet, lay a ring-an imperial-green emerald, oval-cut, polished to a clear, icy sheen. The gem was framed with a thin circle of diamonds, understated yet impossibly striking.
Michael, standing beside her, let out a low whistle. “That’s… incredible. The color alone could take your breath away.”
Khloe said nothing. She wasn’t an expert in jewelry, but even she knew emeralds of this shade and clarity was rare -extraordinarily rare-and worth a small fortune.
Even for an arranged engagement, the gift was far too valuable.
“I can’t accept this,” she said. “It’s too much.”
She looked at Michael, intending to hand it back, but he stopped her.
“Nick clearly meant for you to have it,” Michael said. “If you plan to refuse, it’s better to do it in person.”
He was right. Khloe nodded and placed the box carefully in her bag.
At four that afternoon, Oscar’s private jet touched down at Goldmont City International Airport.
At the same time, Trey arrived at the same terminal, accompanied by his assistant. He was there to see off a client a crucial one. The company had suffered heavy losses recently, and until this deal was secured, he couldn’t afford a single misstep.
It would’ve been easier if Khloe were here. She always handled clients with impossible speed and precision.
After the meeting, as he walked back toward the car, he found himself checking his phone again.
He’d been doing that all day-again and again.
He still hadn’t gotten a reply to last night’s message. The calls he made that morning had gone straight to voicemail.
Was Khloe really going to ignore him completely this time? They’d had arguments before, but never for this long
Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t anger. It wasn’t distance born from a fight-it was indifference.
Near the VIP exit, a cluster of reporters waited, cameras poised. His car was parked in the same section.
He asked his assistant to find out what was going on. A moment later, his assistant came back with an answer.
“They’re waiting for Miss Morrison, the Morrison family heiress. Word is she just came back from a charity gala in Celosia. Usually, it’s the family patriarch who attends, so everyone’s saying there might be a change in succession. The business world’s buzzing-sounds like the Morrison family’s leadership might shift soon.”
The assistant spoke quickly and thoroughly.
The Morrison family was one of the key investors Trey had been trying-and failing-to win over for years. No matter how many proposals he’d sent, not one had ever been acknowledged.
Working with the Morrison Group was clearly out of the Fox Group’s league. But if there were changes within the company-especially a shift in leadership-then maybe, just maybe, there would be a chance.
Trey stopped walking. He pulled out his phone and looked up the latest information. There was nothing about the Morrison heiress. Not a single photo, not even a trace online. She was said to be mysterious-never once had she appeared publicly in the country.
He suddenly remembered an old class group chat. He scrolled back through it for a long time, but the image that had once been sent there had expired.
Meanwhile, under the escort of her bodyguards, Khloe entered the underground parking lot through the VIP passage. She and Michael left in separate vans.
Michael had already arranged for the reporters outside the terminal to be cleared out, so when Khloe’s car exited the garage, the area beyond was completely empty.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.