Suddenly, Anastasia spotted a familiar face – Garthan Quill. He was wearing a simple white button-down with black chinos, still looking as polished and approachable as ever, having a quiet conversation with some classmates.

When Anastasia glanced over, Garthan happened to look her way at the same time. Their eyes met briefly. Anastasia gave him a friendly but casual smile before looking away. She missed the way Garthan’s gaze lingered on her with obvious interest. His eyes stayed on her for several beats until she turned away, then he slowly looked down at his drink, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

Ailee Hales had clocked Anastasia the second she walked in. Especially seeing how Garthan kept checking out Anastasia made Ailee’s blood boil. Years later and Anastasia was still stealing all the attention. Anastasia was chatting with a group of girls, wearing that simple dress but somehow looking more stunning than everyone else who’d spent hours getting ready. Her natural, no-makeup face was still absolutely gorgeous, and when she smiled, she was even more magnetic.

Martin was doing his usual host thing, making sure everyone felt welcome and got settled. Once everyone had found their seats, Ailee looked at Anastasia with this fake sweet smile. “Anastasia, how come you came solo? Where’s your man?”

Anastasia shot Ailee a knowing look, totally aware she was stirring up drama. “It’s a class reunion, right? Nobody brought their partners.”

Ailee was caught off guard for a second, then kept pushing. “True, but didn’t I hear you and Jasper split up? You guys were together forever, right? That really sucks.”

Anastasia was fighting the urge to roll her eyes. All that setup just for this weak-ass dig?

Tamia couldn’t stay quiet. “What sucks about it? Ana deserves so much better. Speaking of relationships, Ailee, word is you’re seeing someone new. How come you didn’t bring him so we could all meet the guy?”

Tamia immediately flipped the script. She knew Anastasia wanted to keep her marriage on the down-low. The whole thing had happened so fast, and with so many variables, staying quiet seemed like the smart play.

Before Ailee could answer, her sidekick Hayley Howard laughed mockingly. “What do you think Ailee’s boyfriend is, some circus act? The guy’s a senior VP at Rhodes Global with serious family money. Way out of some people’s league.”

Anastasia was genuinely surprised. No way – he actually worked at Rhodes Global? If he was senior management there, that was definitely legit. At Rhodes Global, that meant serious money, which explained why Ailee was being so extra.

Anastasia kept her voice neutral. “Wow, Rhodes Global executive? That’s actually really impressive.”

Seeing Anastasia’s reaction, Ailee thought she’d hit a nerve and got even more smug. “Yeah, he just got promoted to head up the whole marketing division.”

Tamia was internally screaming: Was Ailee really this fucking clueless? She was literally bragging to the CEO’s wife.

When nobody responded, Hayley got even more obnoxious. “Ailee’s boyfriend is gonna hook her up with a job there too. Unlike some people who can’t even get hired anywhere after getting dumped.”

So they all thought Anastasia was unemployed. They were probably gossiping in their group chat while Anastasia minded her own business.

Garthan stepped in calmly. “Hayley, we’re all friends here. Maybe dial back the attitude a bit.”

Hayley’s face immediately twisted. That bitch Anastasia was still working her magic on guys – now even Garthan was white-knighting for her.

The whole room got super uncomfortable. Martin jumped in to defuse the tension. “Okay, okay, let’s not kill the vibe here! Everyone grab a drink and chill out.”

Right then, the private room door swung open again. Several servers walked in. One server was carrying an expensive bottle of wine and said respectfully, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a 1982 Château Margaux, please enjoy.”

Another server stepped forward. “This is our Maine lobster, please enjoy.”

“And here’s our truffle Wellington…”

The servers set down their elaborate platters on the table and filed out in an orderly fashion. The private room went dead silent, everyone looking shocked.

What the…

Everyone turned to look at Martin. Martin quickly shook his head. “No way, I didn’t order any of this.”

This was a college reunion – most of their classmates were regular working people. How could they afford dishes this expensive?

Everyone then looked at Garthan, since he was from the wealthy Quill family, so it was possible he’d ordered it. But Garthan shook his head too. “I was planning to order something, but I hadn’t called the server yet. This all just showed up.”

Martin was totally confused. How was this possible? Did the servers bring the wrong food? Was this meant for the room next door?

With that thought, Martin quickly called over a server to ask. The server smiled and replied, “Sir, these dishes are definitely for this room. Our CEO’s assistant specifically ordered them, and he’s already taken care of your bill.”

As soon as the server finished speaking, the room erupted. Ailee had the biggest reaction, saying in shock, “You said the CEO’s assistant? As in Rhodes Global’s CEO?”

The server nodded. “Yes, our company’s CEO.”

Ailee got super excited. “It had to be the CEO’s idea then…”

Hayley chimed in with amazement. “Ailee, the CEO must know you’re here, so he ordered this! Makes sense since you’re dating one of his executives.”

That would explain everything.

Just then Anastasia’s phone buzzed. She looked down – it was a text from Cassian: “How’s it going, Mrs. Rhodes? I’m entertaining clients in the room next door.”

Anastasia was surprised by the coincidence. She texted back tentatively, “Did you order those dishes?”

Cassian immediately confirmed: “Yeah, had Philips order them and cover the tab. Have fun, and if you want to hit a club after, I can arrange something.”

Seeing this, Anastasia felt warmth spread through her chest. He’d been taking care of things behind the scenes.

“No need. After dinner, I’ll just go home and wait for you,” Anastasia replied. Honestly, she couldn’t wait to see him right now.

“Want me to pick you up and we can go home together?” Cassian asked.

Actually, Cassian wanted Anastasia’s classmates to know they were married.

“We’ll see how it goes. Aren’t you in the middle of business? Focus on that first,” Anastasia responded.

“Okay.” Cassian was happy she hadn’t said no.

Tamia was watching this exchange and didn’t say anything to explain. How delusional was Ailee? Actually thinking the CEO ordered food for her?

Ridiculous! But Tamia kept quiet. When everyone found out the truth, Ailee was going to get seriously humiliated.