Rose knew she could ace her law interview.
She also knew preparing for it would be exhausting long hours, relentless reading, and an entirely different struggle from anything she had faced before.
Coding had always come naturally to her. She was gifted effortlessly so. Her fingers would glide across the keyboard, lines upon lines of code spilling onto the screen as if her mind spoke directly to the machine. Logic, patterns, creation coding felt like breathing.
Law was different.
Law demanded patience. Memory. History. It required her to read every detail, absorb every precedent, understand not just what the law was, but why it existed.
So she studied as though her life depended on it.
Six to eight hours a day, without fail.
Her usual trips to Demetrius's bakery became rare. The warmth of fresh bread and quiet conversations were replaced by silence and turning pages. She confined herself to her small room, her tiny desk buried beneath stacks of books. She read until her eyes burned, sweeping through pages with a determination that left no room for distraction.
One afternoon, she slipped into Mr. Martin's study, scanning the shelves for anything useful—any book that looked like it might contain questions, cases, or guidance. She pulled volumes down one by one, skimming their spines, stacking them carefully in her arms.
What she didn't know was that Mr. Martin had already prepared for this.
Hidden among the shelves were the very books she needed—law manuals, interview guides, reference texts, all purchased quietly and placed there deliberately. He had never handed them to her himself. Never spoke the words aloud. But this was how he showed his care: subtly, silently, always from a distance.
Rose noticed.
She always did.
And she always wondered why his affection had to be so restrained.why love, when it came to her, was never spoken openly. But she never asked. Some questions, she had learned, were better left unvoiced.
As she stepped out of the study with a book tucked under her arm, Sally Liu's voice sliced through the air, sharp with mockery.
"You think you can get into law school?" Sally said with a laugh. "Well, good luck with that."
Rose didn't slow her steps.
She didn't turn around.
She didn't respond.
Sally's words were nothing more than noise and Rose had no time left for noise.
Grandpa Philip went over to Rhaegon Hale's residence.
Rhaegon Hale owned countless properties,so many they could not be counted or numbered. Thousands scattered across cities and countries. Yet despite his vast holdings, he barely lived in any of them.
Although Grandpa Philip resided in the main family estate where Rhaegon and his brothers were raised, Rhaegon maintained a separate residence of his own,a vast private mansion built solely for himself, a symbol of wealth, power, and absolute independence.
Ironically, it was almost always empty
Even there, he was rarely present.
His life was a constant cycle of important meetings, endless business travels, high-profile conferences, and, more often than not, dates with different women.
When he wasn't facing the press, he was attending one gala after another or spotted on yet another date. Women were always around him, elegant and smiling, drawn by his influence ,his status,his charisma, and the untouchable aura that followed him everywhere.his name linked to headlines and whispers alike.
Yet despite the endless company, Rhaegon never spoke of any woman in particular.
He showed no interest in marriage. Not once did he hint at settling down.
The reason Sally became betrothed to Rhaegon was never about romance.
It was business.
Years earlier, during the darkest crisis the Hale Corporation had ever faced. After the sudden deaths of Emilio and Lisa—the Liu's family stepped forward. They became one of the strongest investors, providing the financial backbone that allowed the Hale Corporation to survive when collapse seemed inevitable.
Rhaegon rose from that chaos stronger than ever. Under his leadership, the Hale Corporation grew into the empire it is today.
Out of gratitude and obligation. Grandpa Phillip decided to seal the alliance through marriage. Rhaegon would be betrothed to one of the Liu's family's daughters.
When he first asked for the eldest daughter, he was told she was adopted.
That alone did not trouble him. To Grandpa Phillip, blood was secondary to loyalty and legacy.
But Naomi had other plans.
With her sharp tongue and subtle manipulation, she shifted the narrative, insisting that the rightful choice—the one who truly represented the Liu's family was Sally.
And so, quietly and decisively, the engagement was redirected.
Grandpa Philip didn't need a key to enter Rhaegon's mansion. From their childhood, he had taught his grandsons that keys must always be kept in secret spots—a habit they all followed faithfully. No outsider would ever dare to enter uninvited.
So when Grandpa Philip arrived, he immediately knew where the key was hidden. With practiced ease, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The mansion was cold, almost lifeless, as if no one truly resided there. There was no warmth, no sense of home—just emptiness. If Rhaegon had counted the number of times he had actually been in his own home over the past months, it would not have reached four.
Grandpa Philip inhaled sharply, a mix of anger and disbelief, and strode further in. He perched on a counter, surveying the artifacts adorning the walls. Each piece was carefully selected, an expression of Rhaegon's refined, expensive taste. These were not ordinary decorations; every artifact was auctioned at staggering prices.
His eyes landed on one particular piece an artifact Lisa had adored when she was alive. Grandpa Philip knew its rarity, its value: over sixty million pounds. And yet, Rhaegon had spared no expense to acquire it.
Despite his youth, Rhaegon always carried himself with maturity, a calm that belied his age. He never rushed into matters of the heart, never spoke impulsively about women—even though they constantly surrounded him. Grandpa Philip could not understand it. Why would a man, already betrothed and endlessly pursued by women, refuse to settle down? And yet, even in this endless luxury and temptation, Rhaegon remained untouchable.