A graceful woman with a black designer off-shoulder evening dress approached the bar. She planted herself on a seat beside a person who was silently observing her the moment she entered the party.

That person noticed how the woman mingled with her family;

saw her sipped at the glass of wine that the woman in a white dress offered her for the toast;

felt her cold presence from beginning to the end of the kiss;

saw her whispered to her husband and turned away to distanced herself.

A smirk crept on the observer's face while drinking a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

'Interesting.' The person thought.

The woman separated herself from the hideous world she's in. A bitter smile adorned her lips as if she now understood the reality of that world.

"Young madam, anything you prefer?" The bartender inquired after recognizing her.

The woman looked ahead and crinkled her brows at the question. Natalia glanced sideways and came to a conclusion.

"Whatever he's having." She simply pointed at the person beside her without sparing a glance.

"Taste it first." A baritone voice came out from the stranger. The man stood beside her and handed down his drink on the counter.

Natalia's senses rose up at the sexy soothing sound that crossed her ears. She shook her head and just stared at the glass contemplating. Her full lips pouted for a quick moment.

She, nonetheless, accepted the offer. She took hold of the transparent chalice, gave it a swirl, sniffed and earned a sip.

The man amusingly observed how the woman arched her chin up and got a full view of her perfect neck.

The lady satisfied her unquenchable thirst as she took sip after sips until she emptied the glass. The woman realized what she had done and smiled helplessly at herself.

Before she can utter an apology and take a glance at the man beside her, the stranger took hold of the new wine glass that the bartender served the woman and left*.

* * * * * * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, the cutting of the cake." The master of ceremonies announced. The married couple made their way at the center of the hall. Some of the audience smiled thoughtfully as if remembering their own experience of the tradition.

Natalia looked around to marked the server that will supposedly tripped and accidentally pushed her forward to land on the five-tier cake.

'Ah. There you are.'

She positioned herself on the left side of Devon where her bestfriend was used to be. On her peripheral vision, Natalia saw Ariel not far from her husband's right side. His family was on the right side too, while hers was on the left part.

Three. Two. One.

The server fall on Natalia's back but another one also tripped and incidentally pushed Ariel on the spot.

The whole scene happened in a slow motion course on Natalia's eyes.

She saw how Ariel screamed and how Devon left her side to support her bestfriend while she silently closed her eyes bracing for the impact.

Reality stinks.

The room was quiet after the fiasco. Devon saved Ariel from the fall leaving his wife of the same fate and giving the spectators some pondering as to why he instinctively helped the other woman.

Natalia opened her eyes and miraculously felt safe. One sturdy hand rested on her stomach and another one supported her upper left arm.

"Careful." A low soothing voice echoed in her ears. It sounded familiar she thought.

Natalia looked at the person who produces such reassuring tone. Standing beside her was a six-feet-tall man with a breathtaking visage paired with honey-colored eyes.

His aloof demeanor far exceeded her husband's. The man emits authority that no one can overpowered. He was simply astonishing and she regarded him as the most outstanding facade she had ever seen.

Natalia was grateful but at the same time scared of what the man can do on any given situation.

"Thank you very much." She muttered weakly as she tried to compose herself. Her knees became weak as her nose landed the smell of his minty aftershave. And her stomach felt they were full of butterflies.

Weird.

She broke away from the man's support and glanced at the leeches. Devon looked at her with guilty eyes. She hanged down her sight and kept her silence. No one saw how a small smile crept to her face.

In addition, Daniel and Jake's face were red enough showing that they will not forget and forgive this moment. Their silent deadly glares penetrated the bones of the Yushkova family.

The emcee was put on an awkward situation. They all saw what happened and couldn't continue with the cake tradition not wanting to offend the Zimmers anymore and their lovely young madam.

The host changed the atmosphere when he invited the crowd to eat the first course meal. The servers then efficiently handed down the plates on each table.

Natalia then reassured her family that she's actually fine and exited the hall discreetly with a graceful escape.

Unaware, the stranger knew of her departure and unconsciously walked the same steps she left behind.

* * * * * * *

"Mister Gates?" A woman called for the man's attention.

"Mister Alexander Gates?" The woman repeated when the man didn't reply. She abruptly blocked his path when she noticed the important man leaving the hall.

"Yes, madam...?" His assistant, Sergei, answered instead. He stepped forward preventing the middle-aged woman to have a physical contact with his boss. One of Alexander's personal guards stepped in, too.

"It's Victoria Yushkova. This is my husband Euro." The man just looked at her lazily.

Victoria was still in awe of his presence. No one dared to approach him at the party earlier because of his indifferent presence. Having that kind of aura makes him more attractive to any woman of any age.

Standing tall with a Stuart Hughes' three-piece black suit, Alexander waited patiently for his assistant to deal with the random people.

"Mr. Gates is a bit tired. Excuse us." The assistant told them flatly. He's great at doing his job of filtering important people from those who aren't.

Right now, his boss was chasing a very important individual.

Reluctantly, the Yushkova couple let go of the matter for they do not want to offend a big personality like the Gates. Alexander is the heir of the biggest hotel and restaurant chain in the world --- the Zion Group of Companies.

Victoria invited him with the connection that her maternal grandmother was acquainted with the Gates. Fortunately, the man attended the celebration. His brief presence is enough to set a big path for their Yushkova empire.

"Sir, this way." Sergei told his boss. He led Alexander to a secluded roof terrace and leave quickly.

Meanwhile, the woman at the terrace was very engrossed in her thoughts as she looked at the night sky. A lonesome tear escapes her left eye as her sweet faint laugh illuminates her surroundings.

The man observing from the dark corner made sure that the woman is safe and then took his leave.

"Sergei, make Simon and Zeb watch over her. Also...give me all the details of the Yushkovas and the Zimmers." He ordered.

"On it." His assistant simply replied.

* * * * * * *