It was a French kiss.

My eyes widened, and I shoved Crystal away from me. Although she stumbled from the impact, Crystal didn't seem annoyed. Instead, she licked her lips, seemingly savoring the kiss. Her provocative action made me flush.

She was too brave!

"Crystal, you're too..."

Shameless.

If our genders were swapped, I could've slapped her for that kiss. Yet, she was a woman. I couldn't bring myself to lay a hand on her, so I turned and left.

After dealing with the scapegoated boy, I began fretting over Felicia yet again. How was she doing on the cruise? I tried to call her. No one picked up. Just then, I remembered the custom of getting phones taken away when boarding cruises. This was to prevent people from filming the filthy activities taking place on board. If it got out, their reputation would suffer.

What should I do now?

It was too late to head to Pollack City. The cruise would have already left the dock.

I sighed. It was Felicia's first performance, but I couldn't be there for her, nor witness it firsthand. It left me in low spirits.

Thankfully, the party would only last for a day and a night. It would be over tomorrow, and I would see her then. This time around, we were going to go all the way, no matter what happened.

I couldn't stand it anymore. Since I couldn't support her at her performance, I would surprise her when she got back.

My plan was to take her to the Pelagos Estate in my V8 Koenigsegg. We would spend a few days in our own little world.

To ensure this plan would be executed smoothly, I got people to clean the mansion. Then, I bought some fresh flowers before getting the florists to put up a massive flower arrangement in the mansion. They would roll out the red carpets and stock delicacies in the refrigerator.

Then, I went to the jewelry store and bought her a six-million-dollar necklace. Everything was in order. The palace awaited the arrival of its queen.

Yet, while I prepared for our getaway excitedly, I had no idea about the horrible day Felicia had had.

I only heard about it from Travis afterward. According to him, she had been viciously bullied on the cruise.

Everything stemmed from the band that bullied her.

Initially, the people who would make it into the band had been fixed. Although Hailey was dissatisfied with one of them, nothing could be done about it due to the lack of a suitable replacement. Coincidentally, Hailey ran into Felicia and brought her into the company to replace her.

Initially, the members got along swimmingly. After learning about this, they stewed in injustice for their friend. However, they couldn't change anything. Instead, they could only watch as their best friend was kicked out of the band and eventually out of the company entirely.

In order to avenge her, they began bullying Felicia. It began with simple verbal insults. However, Felicia was a brave girl. Their mocking did nothing to her. She was set on practicing dancing every day.

Thus, they leveled up their bullying and did all sorts of things behind her back.