Sophia booked a combo room with a card room and an additional small booth.

A row of people who excitedly hugged the microphone, screaming, then ran over to play cards. Isabelle, who wasn't at all interested, sat on her own and watched the TV.

Sophia's luck must've been good. Every now and then, her excited screams could be heard.

James sat opposite Sophia. Perhaps it was because he hadn't played in such a long while, he wasn't in the right condition tonight; he lost every round. In the end, he let someone else spectating behind him take his place.

James brought a bottle of beer to his mouth, lifted his head, and drank half the bottle. Then he saw Isabelle, who was sitting on her own on the sofa and hugging a pillow, immersed in the television. He strode over and sat next to her.

Isabelle was watching an old movie which starred Helen as the leading female. At the time, Helen was still quite young, and though her acting skills weren't as refined as they were now, there were hints of those beloved skills that everyone supported her for.

James stared at the screen with raised brows, and felt his mood thwarted.

Of all people, Helen's calm voice was coincidentally heard from the television. "Let's break up..."

Suddenly, James tightly grasped his beer bottle, bending its top until it exploded and splashed all over his hands. Completely unaware, he stared at the television screen with riveting emotions, then raised the remains and downed them. He casually put what was left of the bottle on the coffee table, got up, and then walked out of the room.

When James came out of the restroom, the door to room 1005 opened, and Helen, who wore a skin-tight mini-dress, stepped out. The two of them exchanged looks for no more than one second, before they looked away as though they hadn't seen each other at all. The two of them looked straight ahead of them, brushing past the other with arrogance and calmness.

James heard the "Ta ta ta" of heels behind him fade away. His footsteps suddenly stopped, and he stood on the spot for a while. He pulled out his phone, made a call, and waited a while. The door of room 1005 behind him opened. A man in an ashy silver suit popped out, "Young master, over here."

James followed the guy in the ashy silver suit into room 1005 with no emotions on his face.

The private room was filled with debauchery and corruption. There sat quite a few men and women. Two women were in a maid outfits and were sitting around a middle-aged man with a large stomach, who was singing. That middle-aged man was clearly off-tune, but he sang into the microphone with an expression as though he was deeply engrossed in the song.

"You are my little apple, I can't love you enough..."

Ever since James was little, he mingled in business circles. Mrs. Williams started to take him to various types of events from a young age, for him to better get to know more people. Though when he grew up it all became a little fake, James knew how to conduct himself.

He wouldn't say that he knew the hundred percent of the rich people, but at least ninety for sure. There was a total of five men in this private room, and he knew all of them. Two of the five were self-proclaimed actors. After being unconscious for eight months, James didn't recognize them.

On seeing him enter, the man who was singing stopped and put down his microphone to greet the manager of the Royal Palace.

Even though James hadn't been here for several months, the manager didn't dare to neglect him in the slightest, politely lining up all the pretty girls in the shop in front for him to choose.

James laid down nonchalantly on the sofa, glancing a few times over several girls. Yet, in the end, he had no intention of saying a word, as though he was waiting for something.

The manager stood to one side with a smile but didn't dare press him.

The man sitting next to James, who was hugging a cute woman, moved closer to his side and pointed twice. He gave his opinion. "This one, and this one, aren't bad..."

"Oh really?" asked James nonchalantly.

Before his voice dropped, the door opened. It was Helen, who had just came back from the restroom after finding an excuse to avoid drinking. The moment she pushed the door open, she gritted her teeth tightly, and complained deep down inside on how she wouldn't be here to entertain at all if it didn't pay so well.

Then she suddenly saw James sitting in the center of the sofa. A flash of hostility flashed across her eyes, and before she could speak, James suddenly raised his hand, waved it around, and landed it on her, "Then this one."

The entire private room instantly froze. The man sitting next to James swiftly explained, "Young master, you've got it wrong. Miss Helen is our business partner, not one of the girls."

Manager promptly said, "That's right, Young master. Miss Helen is our guest."

In the face of every one's comments around him, James had no intention of changing his mind. He still chose Helen. The words from his mouth seemed as though they were directed at the manager but were in fact meant for Helen to hear. "Name a price. How much will it be to go out for supper?"

Helen, who was originally a little bewildered, completely understood what was happening in that very moment. Her brows didn't move, she calmly stood her place and stared back at James.

"Ermm... that's..." The manager didn't dare offend James or Helen, so he only said these two words. He glanced over at both parties, then smiled with a troubled look and said, "Young master, take a look at these pretty girls I brought. They're new. Which do you like? You can also take them out for supper."

"To go out for supper with this girl, five thousand. What? Won't this price cover this girl?" James effectively disregarded the manager's words. On his own accord, he looked back at Helen, and after a while, he asked, "Could it be that you want five million?"

James purposefully emphasized the words "Five million". A hint of temptation clearly appeared in Helen's eyes.

James curved his lips into a smile, as his eyes fell on the manager, yet his words were for Helen to hear. "You won't agree to five million? Then fifty million? Five hundred million..."

The manager carefully said, "Mr. Williams, this isn't something I can decide."

When he finished speaking, the manager glanced over at Helen, who was standing to one side.

This time, James absolutely didn't give Helen any time to react at all, by directly adding, "Unless you don't want money, you want something else? If it's not face..."

Before James could finish, Helen suddenly shot a bright smile and said, "It's just supper, right? I'll go."

In the entertainment circle, Helen practically never ate alone with a man. No matter how high the price, one couldn't take her out. At most, she would attend an event like this one tonight under the pretense they were business partners. And so, when she said those words, everyone in the room stared blankly for a moment.

Helen always did things her way. In the face of everybody's doubts, she didn't have the slightest intention of explaining herself. Instead, she hastily walked out of the private room first, stood outside, and waited for James.

James got up and threw at the manager, "Put the bill for this room under my name". Then he bid everyone farewell and walked out without even a look at Helen, who waited at the door outside. He took big strides towards the exit.

The two of them didn't speak to each other all the way to the car park. James opened the car door, glanced at Helen, and got in the car fist. He waited for her to get in before abruptly stepping on the accelerator, and his car jumped out.

The car was silent. From the very start, James never looked directly at Helen. When they were about to reach, Helen asked, "Young master, where are we going for supper?"

James didn't make a sound. Rage surged beneath his eyes, and he drove faster.

In the end, James turned the car into a high-end apartment block in the city. Helen's expression grew pale.

The car stopped in the underground car park. James got out of the car and went ahead and pressed the elevator button. He stood at the entrance waiting for Helen to get in before he stepped in. Then he pressed the floor number.

The elevator door opened when it reached the right floor. James walked over to the left door, entered the passcode, and pushed open the door. As usual, he watched as Helen entered first, then followed behind.

James closed the door and threw the car keys randomly by the entrance. He stared directly at Helen without a word, then suddenly raised his hand, slapping her brutally across the face.

That slap came out of nowhere and was sufficiently hard. Helen, who was completely caught off guard, fell to the ground from it's sheer force.

~*~

Eleven o'clock. Everyone had left.

James left the private room at ten and never came back.

Other people drank quite a lot, so they called a car. Whoever had a ride, got picked up. Isabelle called for Jake, who had coincidentally just finished work, to pick up Sophia. Then, she pulled out her phone and called James. After a few times, he still didn't pick up.

When Alexander's assistant came out of the restroom, he saw Isabelle at the lobby of the Royal Palace and greeted her, "Miss Davis."

Isabelle put her phone away and nodded at the assistant.

Seeing that Isabelle was on her own, the assistant was slightly confused, so he nosily asked, "Miss Davis, didn't you come here with Mr. Williams? Why are you here alone?"

Isabelle wondered how Alexander's assistant knew.

The man added, "I coincidentally bumped into Mr. Williams waiting for you downstairs at the office."

Isabelle understood and pursed her lips into a smile, then said, "I don't know where he is. I'm waiting for him."

The assistant made an "oh" sound in sudden realization. Then politely said, "Miss Davis, I have some business to attend to, so I'll be off now."

Isabelle smiled gently and nodded.

~*~

The assistant pushed open the door and glanced at Alexander over at the mahjong table.

There were three other players, one of whom had a young girl in his lap, then there he was - far removed and alone.

The assistant silently walked over to Alexander and glanced at his tiles. There was nothing he could say, his tiles were incredibly lucky. He waited for Alexander to throw out a two dot tile, then bent down, and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Smith, on my way back from the restroom just now, I saw Miss Davis in the corridors."

Alexander's expression didn't change, but his fingers obviously clenched harder onto the tiles.

The assistant continued to report back in a low voice. "Who knows where Mr. Williams went. Miss Davis is waiting for him."

"Oh." Mr. Smith gave a nod, as though it didn't matter.

The assistant's pupils twitched lightly, and he added, "It looks like Isabelle didn't drive. If she can't wait for Mr. Williams, she might have to hitch a hike. It isn't easy to get a car from here..."

Before the assistant could finish, Alexander stood up from his seat, calm and composed. He pointed at his winnings and said to his assistant, "Take over for a while."

He then said "Sorry" to the other three players, who looked confused, and grabbed for his jacket behind his seat and left the private room, all without waiting for his assistant to react.

Isabelle called James several times but was still not able to reach him, so she gave up, sending him a text before leaving. She stood at the side of the road, waiting for a cab to arrive.

She stood in the heart of the city where the rich would frequent, the people here had their own cars and would rarely grab cabs, hence there were barely any cabs in the area.

Alexander rushed to the main hall while putting on his jacket. He scanned the area trying to find Isabelle but she was nowhere in sight. He ran out and continued to scan the surroundings.

The security guard seemed to have recognized Alexander, for he walked forward and greeted him politely, "Mr. Smith."

Alexander ignored his greeting, continuing to look around. He ran towards the road, panting slightly. He took several deep breaths before turning to look at the main entrance. Around two hundred meters from the entrance, under a street lamp, stood Isabelle.

She wore a light blue dress with a floral pattern. Alexander's gaze turned gentle as he continued to look at her in a daze. Taking several steps forward, he gradually increased his pace to reach her.

Just when he was about a hundred meters from her, a cab suddenly stopped beside her. She seemed to have met a savior, quickly entering the cab without hesitation, and just like that, she disappeared into the night.

Alexander froze,his gaze locked on the direction she'd left.

The tiny glimpse of hope he had when his assistant had told him that she may need a ride back vanished in an instance.

The cold night wind blew past. He stood there, listening as cars sped past. After a long while, he turned back with heavy steps. Before he could enter Royal Palace, he paused once again, hesitating slightly, he turned towards the car park at the side.

He started his car, driving straight back to York Garden after circling the area.

He took the expressway, and sped to York Garden reaching it in a short while. As he drove past James's house, Isabelle had just reached it. She bent to pick up her bag and was preparing to pay the cab.

Alexander slammed into the brakes instinctively.

After paying the cab driver, she turned and entered the front yard, shortly after, the mansion lit up.

Alexander waited for the cab she had taken to leave before he drove forward, stopping in-between his and James's mansions.