Celine gasped, widening her eyes in shock. "What? What are you talking about?"

Tapping her fingers together, Hailey admitted, "We kissed."

Only then did Celine feel relieved; she had thought Hailey and Declan had had sex.

"Hailey, do you really like Declan?" Celine asked.

Declan's handsome, indifferent face flashed through Hailey's mind, making her heart race. It was an uncontrollable feeling—a feeling of liking someone. Hailey nodded shyly. "Yes."

Celine wanted to say something but thought better of it. The feeling of liking someone was private; everyone else was an outsider.

Half an hour later, Celine and Hailey arrived at the Lambert residence. Celine was still unaware of Hailey's true identity. Hailey had informed her family beforehand to prevent them from revealing it.

"Welcome, Ms. Young and Ms. Tate," Linda greeted warmly.

Celine and Hailey returned the greeting with smiles.

Just then, James descended the stairs. "Celine, you're here." Celine turned to him and nodded. "Yep. I heard you wanted to talk to me."

"Let's go to the study," James suggested.

"Okay," Celine replied.

Suddenly, a deep voice rang out, "Hold on."

Celine turned to find Adam standing by the door. He had also dropped by.

Blinking in surprise, Hailey asked, "Mr. Alvarez, why are you here? Are you looking for Celine?"

Adam merely stared at Celine. He had come looking for her because she hadn't been replying to his texts.

Looking at Adam, James said, "Adam, you can deal with that later. I asked to speak with Celine first. Come, Celine. Let's go upstairs."

With that, Celine and James went upstairs, leaving Adam waiting in the living room. Hailey approached him. "Why are you looking for Celine?"

Pursing his lips, Adam asked, "Did you know Celine and Perry are dating?"

Hailey smiled. "Isn't it normal for Celine to date someone else? You and Carly are getting married soon, anyway. What now? You want Celine to stay single forever after your divorce?"

Adam was speechless.

Meanwhile, Celine entered the study while James went to take a call. It was Celine's first time in James's study. She looked around before sitting down.

Once the call ended, James rushed to the study. He had many questions for Celine. He wanted to know how she treated the birthmark on Hailey's face and how she'd spotted his mistakes while sleeping in his class. James always thought Celine was full of mysteries. As soon as he entered, he froze.

Celine was sitting in his office chair, reading his academic notes. Hearing his footsteps, she looked up. "What's the matter, James Lambert?"

Hearing her use his full name made James weak in the knees. His eyes widened in shock. He stuttered, "A-Are you Dr. C?"