Page 73 of Addicted To His Favorite
“Mr. Harold, from now on,” Leon whispered sharply, “you need to stay away from Ms. Emily.”
Harold froze, surprise flashing across his face. “Why? I like her!”
Leon let out an exasperated groan. “Mr. Harold, don’t you already know by now that Mr. Graves likes her?”
“So what?” Harold shot back stubbornly. “I’ll just compete with him! I’ll treat her well, and we’ll see who Ms. Emily chooses.”
Leon let out a deep, frustrated breath, shaking his head. “Mr. Harold, you can’t compete! Mr. Graves has loved her for years. He’s been planning to make her his for a long time. You’ve only known Ms. Emily for a short while—there’s no comparison.”
Harold’s eyes widened, disbelief flickering across his face. “…for years?”
“Yes,” Leon pressed, his voice urgent. He leaned slightly closer. “Not only has Mr. Graves loved her for years, but he’s already registered their marriage in court, Mr. Harold! She’s already your sister-in-law!”
Harold’s face went pale in an instant, his heart racing. The champagne glass slipped from his fingers, teetering toward the floor, but Leon caught it just in time and set it safely on the table behind them.
Shock, disbelief, and bitter disappointment washed over Harold. He whispered, almost to himself, voice heavy, “I… I finally met someone I really liked… and she turns out to be my sister-in-law?”
Tears pricked at his eyes. He turned away from Leon, hands trembling, and grabbed several glasses of alcohol, pouring them all into one. He downed it like water.
Leon reached out to stop him, but Harold immediately grabbed another glass and emptied it as well, despair tangled in his every movement.
***
Amelia stood beside Lucas, trying to catch his attention, but he wasn’t looking at her. His face was blank, eyes distant, completely detached from the conversations around him. Amelia’s gaze lingered on him, desperate for even the slightest sign of acknowledgment, but he remained indifferent, absorbed in his own thoughts.
It had been weeks since he had even glanced at her properly. Since Emily left, he had refused her presence altogether. He barely even acknowledged her existence, banning her from his office and forcing her to rely on Dillon just to communicate. He wouldn’t even speak to her directly.
Amelia stepped directly in front of Lucas, her expression caught somewhere between annoyance and curiosity. “Lucas, do you know anything about Sebastian’s girlfriend? Who is she?”
Lucas didn’t answer right away. He reached for another glass from the table, the amber liquid catching the light as he tilted it back and swallowed in one smooth motion. Setting the empty glass down with a quiet clink, his sharp gaze lifted to Amelia. His voice was cool, disinterested .
“For a woman to be with someone like Sebastian Graves… she’s either from a wealthy family or backed by a fortune just as powerful as his.”
Amelia’s lips parted to ask more, but the sudden stir in the hall cut her off. A wave of whispers rippled through the crowd, building like an undercurrent of electricity. Heads turned toward the grand entrance, and the same phrase passed quicklyfrom mouth to mouth— “Mr. Sebastian Graves is here with his girlfriend.”
The words spread like wildfire.
Amelia stiffened. Her eyes flashed, and in a sharp movement, she spun on her heel. Her heels clicked furiously against the floor as she pushed through the crowd, desperate to catch sight of the woman worthy enough to be introduced by Sebastian.
Lucas didn’t bother moving. He only exhaled a low sigh, reached for his whiskey again, and leaned back in his chair, indifferent to the commotion.
The atmosphere thickened as the murmurs grew louder, anticipation hanging heavy in the air. And then—
Emily appeared at the entrance.
The entire hall seemed to inhale at once. She stepped into view, draped in a breathtaking silver evening gown that shimmered under the lights with every graceful movement. Her slender figure was framed by intricate jewelry shaped like flowers and thorns, each piece glittering with crimson diamonds that bled fire against the silver.
The collective gasp echoed across the room.
“Wait—Isn’t that necklace…?” one voice whispered in awe.
“The Empire Group’s special collection,” another confirmed, hushed yet trembling with envy.
“No, it’s even rarer—it’s from the Graves family’spersonalcollection, designed by their private, secret designer. He never releases more than one set every two years. But this…” the voice lowered in awe, “…this makes two in the same year.”
The crowd buzzed with disbelief, whispers overlapping in excitement. Emily’s jewelry wasn’t just expensive—it was untouchably exclusive.
Across the room, Amelia’s anger flared hotter with every admiring glance Emily received. Her knuckles whitened around her champagne flute until it shattered onto the table with a sharp clink. She stormed across the floor, the click of her heels slicing through the murmurs.
