I was getting up from Andre’s lap, my face slightly flushed. He was leaning by the window, looking at me with a half-smile, lingering on my swollen lips. Heat rose behind my ears. My phone rang, and I hurried to the window to answer.

“Antolin,” I said, my breath hurried. “What’s the matter?”

On the other end, Antolin’s voice was urgent. “Miss Frida, Mr. Clint said to have you meet him at the usual place within thirty minutes, or he will end his engagement to Miss Rachel.”

I couldn’t help but lower my head and touch his photo softly. The room was too quiet; Andre must have heard. He placed his glass on the bedside table, making a sound. Antolin, hearing the noise on the line, immediately asked, “Miss Frida, is someone else with you at this late hour?”

In the past, I always did my best to please Clint, always obedient and at his beck and call. And I was polite to his personal assistant, Antolin, never acting casually. But now, that was no longer the case.

“Antolin,” I said slowly, “this is my personal matter. It has nothing to do with you.” I paused, taking a breath. “Also, Clint and I have called off our engagement. We have no further relationship. Who he marries is none of my business.” Antolin seemed surprised.

“Miss Frida, please don’t act out of spite. You might regret it later.”

“Tomorrow is the engagement banquet with Miss Rachel. Tonight is your last chance to turn things around.”

“I don’t need that chance,” my tone was calm and indifferent. “By the way, did you give Clint the things I entrusted to you last time?”

Antolin fell silent for a moment. The package had been taken by Rachel a few days ago. And because of Rachel’s status, Antolin hadn’t stopped her.

I reminded him again, “Antolin, I’m only saying this once. Please deliver it to Clint personally.”

When Antolin spoke again, his voice was incredibly polite. “Miss Frida, it would be better if you gave these to Mr. Clint yourself.”

“I told you, Antolin,” I said firmly, “I’ve already broken up with him. I won’t see him again.” I paused, exhaling deeply. “Antolin, once you give the items to him, I’ll delete your contact, and please don’t contact me again.”

After hanging up, I walked back to the bed, holding my phone. Andre took it from my hand and casually tossed it onto the side table. He wrapped his arms around my waist, his warm breath brushing my face and neck. His long fingers gently traced the soft flesh at my waist, sending a tickling sensation through me. I instinctively tried to pull away, but he held me tighter.

“Frida, do you know that leaving in the middle of a conversation to take a call that doesn’t even matter is very rude?”

I had been staying by Andre’s side these past few days. He even said we should soon hold our wedding and become a real couple. We should start getting used to the intimacy between husband and wife. So, every night before sleep, we would hug, kiss, and say goodnight. Staying here, I had been living comfortably, and it was far from what I had imagined. Andre was nothing like the violent, ruthless man the rumors had made him out to be. On the contrary, he was very kind to me and everyone around him. Our relationship had been growing stronger.

I also managed to get in touch with my younger siblings who were studying abroad. They were safe and unaffected by any of this. As long as I successfully married Andre, he had promised that my siblings would be free to live their lives without being controlled by Draven and my stepmother. I couldn’t wait for that day. Andre treated me well, so, of course, I had adjusted my mindset and sincerely considered him my husband.

Thinking about that, I raised my hand and wrapped it around his neck, leaning up to kiss him softly. “Andre, is this a good enough compensation?”

“Just a kiss, Frida?”

I fought my shyness and kissed his face again. Then I kissed his chin, his Adam’s apple. When I kissed his Adam’s apple, Andre’s body stiffened for a moment, and his throat moved violently.

“Good Frida, that’s still not enough.”

With those words, he took the lead, cupping my chin and kissing me deeply. And this kiss was unlike any other we’d shared before. It was heavy, deep, as if he wanted to consume me entirely. And I could clearly feel all his reactions. But I didn’t have time to think about that. I was completely lost in the kiss, my legs growing weak. Meanwhile, those people back in New York had long been forgotten in my mind. I was entirely focused on the man in front of me.

I don’t know how much time passed, but finally, Andre let me go, his voice husky. “It’s getting late. Let’s go to sleep.” “Frida, goodnight.”

I stood up and roughly straightened my disheveled clothes. I tidied my hair, said goodnight, and turned to leave. My room was next door to Andre’s, and once I lay down, just knowing my future husband was only a wall away made me feel at peace. I closed my eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

A long time passed after the call ended, but finally, Antolin went to report to Clint. After hearing the report, Clint’s expression remained unchanged, but his fingers gripped his wine glass tightly, almost to the point of crushing it. Antolin couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

“Perhaps Miss Frida is just throwing a tantrum,” he suggested.

“A tantrum?” Clint gave a half-smile, his expression unreadable.

Antolin lowered his head, trying to breathe more quietly. The next moment, Clint kicked the coffee table over. The wine glass shattered, and the room was filled with broken glass and debris. Everyone else in the room looked over in shock. The room fell completely silent; the tension was so thick you could hear a pin drop.

Clint said twice, “So, she’s really grown bold, huh? Daring to play such games with me. Fine, we’ll see how long she can keep up this attitude.”

Clint’s cold gaze shifted toward Antolin. “Miss Rachel happened to see it that day and took it with her. I didn’t stop her because...”

Clint looked at him with a deep, cold gaze. “Antolin, you really are something.”

Antolin almost dropped to his knees. “Mr. Clint, I know I was wrong. I won’t do it again.”

Someone quickly tried to smooth things over. “Why get angry with an assistant? Besides, Rachel getting rid of Frida’s things saves you the trouble of seeing them and getting upset.”

“That’s right. If you kept them, Frida would have found a way to use them to stick to you.”

“Honestly, even if you didn’t keep them, she’d still try to get close. After all, she’s been with you for so long, everyone knows she can’t live without you.”

“Right now, she’s just playing hard to get, trying to get Clint’s attention.”

No one felt there was anything wrong with this line of thinking. In fact, they all felt this was exactly what Frida would do. After all, such things had happened many times over the past five years.

Clint glanced at Antolin, his expression still cold. “Get out.” He hated it when people around him acted on their own. Antolin was becoming more and more unbearable.

Antolin didn’t dare say anything else and quickly left the room. Seeing his bad mood, everyone else slowly dispersed. Clint leaned back on the couch, the alcohol hitting him, and closed his eyes.

Right, his friends were right. Frida loved him so much, cared about him so much, and couldn’t live without him. There was no way she would let him get engaged to Rachel. Even if she was being stubborn today, she would definitely show up at the engagement party tomorrow, trying to ruin it in every way she could. Her situation at the Brown family was so bad, and he was the only one who could save her. As long as Frida wasn’t stupid, she wouldn’t let go of her lifeline. By tomorrow, she would definitely show up.

Thinking this, Clint finally felt a little less frustrated. As long as she came, he might give her a chance, considering the five years of their relationship.