Chapter 286

Ethan Roscente's gaze turned icy in an instant.

His knuckles whitened as he glimpsed the message on Sophia Lowell's phone screen. The glass in his hand emitted a faint creak under his tightening grip.

"Junior, I'm at your three o'clock."

Sophia turned toward the voice. There, partially obscured by decorative foliage, Sebastian Valdemar sat by the floor-to-ceiling windows in a booth that should have been clearly visible.

She raised her hand to wave when sudden warmth pressed against her thigh.

"Try responding. I dare you." Ethan's breath ghosted over her ear, laced with quiet menace.

Sophia froze.

Was he insane? The restaurant swarmed with food bloggers livestreaming. She clamped down on his wandering hand, voice trembling. "We're in public!"

Ethan chuckled darkly, tracing idle circles at her waistline. "Do I look like I care?"

Her teeth ground together. Just when she thought he'd changed, he always doubled down on being insufferable. Right now, she fantasized about stabbing his hand with her butter knife.

The lunch dragged on like torture.

In the lounge, Ethan and Dominic Valrose conversed effortlessly while Sophia fidgeted, downing glass after glass until her bladder protested.

"Let me accompany you." Lydia Merovingian eagerly linked arms with her.

At a corridor junction, Lydia suddenly steered them toward a secluded area. "There's an amazing entertainment zone—"

Sophia yanked free. "I'm exhausted."

Undeterred, Lydia pointed ahead. "But it's really—"

"Junior?" A mellifluous baritone interrupted.

Sebastian stood where light and shadow met, his white shirt gilded by sunlight. His gaze lingered briefly on Lydia before softening at Sophia. "What a coincidence."

"Senior!" Sophia sprang up like a pardoned convict.

Lydia's expression darkened, nails biting into her palms. This interloper had just derailed everything.