Chapter 132

He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. The audience erupted in applause (clap, clap) as Melanie quickly withdrew her hand. Most saw only the kiss, but he had also briefly licked her hand before instantly releasing it. The area felt strangely warm and ticklish, like a cat's tongue, making her heart skip a beat.

Melanie's cheeks flushed, but she concealed Frank's actions from the audience, smiling shyly and lowering her head as if embarrassed by the praise. Only Lily, watching from a distance, narrowed her eyes and smirked. Lily couldn't see what Frank had done, but Melanie's reaction clearly wasn't solely due to the compliments. Melanie, known for taking undeserved credit, was not usually bashful about praise. Something more was clearly going on.

Back onstage, the host continued to compliment the pair: "Mr. Moreau and Ms. Thayer seem very like-minded, a pleasure to witness. This year's event aims to showcase our local perfumers' skills on the world stage. We believe this industry will flourish, producing more talented perfumers. You, present today, will be the forerunners of this brighter future."

"It's done. Let's go!" Lily softly elbowed Jenny.

"Don't you think something strange is going on between Mr. Moreau and Ms. Thayer?" Jenny tilted her head, still watching Frank and Melanie. Lily turned toward the stage. Frank and Melanie stood apart, avoiding eye contact and acting as if nothing was amiss. Even Jenny noticed. "What's strange?" Lily asked.

"They're acting like strangers," Jenny indicated them with her chin. "Didn't we see them on the flight? They were together, but now they're acting like strangers and exchanging forced compliments. Tsk…" Jenny smacked her lips. "A famous perfumer acting like this… Or maybe he's not even famous. Who knows where he got those medals? People are so shameless these days!"

Jenny stood, ready to leave. "Let's go. We need to rest; we have sightseeing tomorrow." Lily glanced back at the pair. Jenny's reminder—that they'd seen Frank, the foreigner, sitting next to Melanie on the flight—made things interesting. Not only did Melanie come without Nathaniel, but these two pretended to be strangers despite their earlier familiarity. The whole thing seemed like a publicity stunt to boost Melanie's popularity. Lily started for the exit, still feeling uneasy. She glanced back at the nearly deserted stage.

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