Alexander gritted his teeth as he walked into the grand banquet hall. If it weren''t for business obligations, he''d be anywhere else. The ce was packed with overly-dressed guests, all buzzing with chatter about mergers, acquisitions, and thetest financial drama. He "Alexander, good to see you here!" A familiar voice called out, and he turned to see Mr. Dawson, an old partner in the tech industry. With a polite nod, Alexander extended a hand.


    could barely muster up the energy to pretend he was interested in any of it.


    "Good to see you too, Dawson. How''s the recent project treating you?" Alexander asked, already bracing himself for the inevitable long-winded answer.


    "Oh, you know, busy as ever! I''ve got the best team, though," Dawson said, clearly proud of himself. "Maybe one day we''ll give Metacortex a run for their money, eh?" Alexander gave a slight chuckle, more out of courtesy than anything. "Good luck with that. They''re quite thepetition."


    Another business partner joined them, immediatelyunching into talk of numbers and predictions for the uing quarter. After a while, Alexander couldn''t take any more. Business talk was exhausting on the best of days, and tonight, he simply wasn''t in the mood. As soon as he spotted an opening, he excused himself. "If you''ll excuse me, I need to grab a drink," he said with a slight smile, making his way to the bar. He was about to order a whiskey when he turned, bumping into someone. His eyes narrowed when he saw who it was.


    "Cindy?" he asked, surprise mixed with irritation. "What are you doing here?"


    She shed him a sweet, borderline smug smile. "Oh, Alexander! Nice of you to finally talk to me," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Especially after you so kindly ruined my career."


    Alexander rolled his eyes. "You deserved it. You embarrassed ire back in America-don''t pretend like you''re innocent."


    Cindy scoffed, folding her arms. "So, you really are that whipped by her, huh? It''s almost cute."


    His eyes shed with irritation. "Watch it, Cindy. Don''t do anything stupid or think about bothering ire. If you do, I won''t hesitate to do the same thing I did before."


    Cindy red, but a faint smirk danced on her lips. She leaned in a little, her tone low. "I''m not the one you should be careful with, Alexander." With that, she tossed her hair back and sauntered off, leaving him staring after her, puzzled. What did she mean by that? It wasn''t like Cindy to issue vague threats, but maybe she was just trying to rattle him. Still, something about her tone stuck in his head. With a sigh, he shook it off. Cindy wasn''t worth the energy to stress over.


    Alexander moved around the room, exchanging polite nods and small talk here and there, but his attention drifted until his gazended on ire from across the hall. She was talking to a group of people,ughing at something someone said, her expression as poised andposed as ever.


    For a moment, he felt a pang of something uncharacteristic-a bit of regret, maybe? Or something he didn''t want to name. He wasn''t even sure why he hadn''t gone up to her to say hello. Instead, he just stood there, watching her from afar, feeling somehow out of ce. With a sigh, he downed his drink. This banquet was a nightmare of boring conversations, stiffpetition, and veiled threats. Not to mention running into Cindy. Enough was enough. Alexander set his ss down, straightened his suit, and headed for the exit, deciding he''d rather face a quiet night alone than spend another minute here.


    At the grand banquet, ire leaned against a marble column, wine ss in hand, but her mind was drifting far from the swirling crowd of finely dressed guests.


    The words Cindy had whispered to her earlier lingered, unshakable. "I know your secret." What on earth did she mean? Cindy had spoken with that sly grin, the kind that stuck with you, and now ire was feeling unusually... rattled. She couldn''t help but wonder, what on earth could Cindy know? Yes, ire had secrets- quite a few, in fact - but which one could Cindy havetched onto?


    She scanned the crowd again, hoping for a glimpse of Cindy''s blonde hair bobbing around. Spotting Matthew across the room, she made her way over and tapped him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his conversation.


    "Matthew," she whispered, tugging him a little closer, "did you see Cindy tonight?"


    Matthew squinted at her, looking thoroughly perplexed. "Cindy? What are you talking about?"


    "Cindy," she repeated, ncing around. "She was here earlier. And she said something that''s really bugging me."


    Matthew raised a brow, looking curious and amused all at once. "What''d she say to you?"


    "She said "ire paused, ncing around to make sure no one was listening. "She said she knows my secret."


    Matthew''s expression changed from amused to serious, his brow furrowing. "She said that? What... what could she know about you?"


    ire threw up her hands in mild frustration. "That''s the thing, Matthew! I have no idea. That''s why I''m worried. I mean, Cindy''s showing up here out of the blue—it''s strange, right? Why now?"


    He nodded slowly, the wheels in his mind clearly turning. "So now you''re suspicious of Cindy?"


    ire shrugged, taking a sip of her wine. "Well, it wouldn''t hurt to be cautious, would it?"


    "Cindy''s harmless," he said, rolling


    his eyes. "She''s probably just bluffing. You know how some people like to stir things up just for fun." He leaned a bit closer, adding in a conspiratorial tone, "Or maybe she''s just trying to get a reaction out of you."


    "Maybe," ire muttered, unconvinced. "But... there''s something about it that feels off."


    Matthew looked at her, as if trying to weigh her words. Then he sighed, relenting. "Alright, if it''ll make you feel better, I''ll do a background. check on her. See what she''s been up to in London, just to be safe."


    BUMS


    ire''s expression softened a bit. "Thanks, Matthew. Just... something about this doesn''t sit right with me."


    Matthew shrugged, giving her a small smile. "Well, don''t stress too much. I''ll take care of it, and you can focus on mingling with the charming guests here." "Charming, right," she scoffed, ncing at a group of businessmen across the room who wereughing far too loudly. "This crowd could bore anyone to death." Matthew chuckled, shooting her a sympathetic look. "Well, hang in there. I''ll get back to you on Cindy soon enough."


    Just as he started to turn away, ire couldn''t help herself. "Matthew," she said again, quieter this time, "do you think she might actually know something?"


    Matthew turned back, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "Honestly? I don''t think she does. Cindy is not a smart person, besides she doesn''t have the resources to dig into your life like that. It''s not her style either. She''s more of a... let''s say, talker than a doer."


    ire let out a small, relieved sigh. "Right. Good point."


    "Besides," Matthew added with a smirk, "if Cindy actually had something, she''d probably be throwing it around to anyone who would listen by now. Subtlety isn''t exactly her strong suit." "True," ire said, unable to hide a small smile. "You''re right."


    "Of course I am," Matthew replied with a mock bow. "Now, try to rx and enjoy yourself, will you?"