Chapter 3
Adrian Mercer's outfit was impossible to miss.
Blue hair.
A loud floral shirt.
Matching floral shorts that showed off his muscular calves.
And a silver chain hanging loosely around his neck.
The moment he walked in, heads turned.
Adrian was used to being the center of attention at almost every event.
He didn't find it strange that people were staring.
He loved having fun.
He just didn't particularly like this kind of party.
His mother had practically threatened to break his legs if he didn't show up.
Apparently, this was the welcome party for the woman he was supposed to marry.
His future fiancée?
The thought alone annoyed him.
He was sick of women.
And he had absolutely no intention of getting married.
That was why he'd deliberately stopped outside to play a game before coming in.
Unfortunately, he had lost.
So his mood wasn't exactly great.
With one hand shoved into his pocket, Adrian wandered through the ballroom with the lazy, careless attitude of someone who looked like he'd come to kill time rather than attend a formal event.
His handsome face was relaxed and slightly bored.
Beside him, his friend Ryan Brooks pointed toward a girl in a cute, overly sweet dress.
"Look, Adrian. That's your fiancée."
Adrian glanced at her.
His expression didn't change.
"Your fiancée."
Ryan:
"......"
Adrian was already turning his attention away.
Then he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.
His brows pulled together.
Where have I seen her before?
Curious, he started walking in that direction.
?
Trace Donovan saw Adrian heading toward her.
Her heart immediately started racing.
She had met Adrian at a party abroad.
Back then, she'd been instantly drawn to his handsome face and rebellious personality.
They'd talked.
They'd laughed.
They'd had a genuinely good time.
Trace had been the one to ask for his number.
But afterward, whenever she messaged him, his replies had been painfully brief.
Sometimes he didn't reply at all.
She had never understood why.
At the time, she'd mentioned the possibility of a marriage between their families.
But her family had told her that the Mercers weren't planning to marry Adrian off anytime soon.
He was still too young.
He needed to establish himself first.
So Trace hadn't pushed it.
She simply kept an eye on him from a distance.
Then this year, everything changed.
The Mercer family had finally agreed to the marriage between the two families.
Trace immediately dropped out of school abroad and came home.
Her family had only sent her overseas to build her résumé anyway.
If she could marry the man she loved, why bother finishing school?
She had already found the person she wanted.
What was the point of studying?
Trace nervously smoothed down her skirt.
As Adrian approached, she gathered her courage and greeted him.
"Adrian—"
He walked straight past her.
As if he hadn't even seen her.
Trace:
"......"
?
Emma Carter wasn't sure what kind of cosmic joke had landed her in this situation.
This was her first time appearing at a public event with Lawrence as his companion.
And she'd already run into another client.
She normally tried very hard to make sure her clients didn't know she worked for other people too.
It wasn't good for business.
If a client found out she was juggling several men at once, they might start wondering whether they were really getting their money's worth.
And her entire profession depended on charging premium prices.
The last thing she needed was a client thinking she wasn't worth the rate.
Of all the people she could have run into, though—
It had to be Adrian.
Adrian Mercer was completely unpredictable.
He did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
His mood could change every five minutes.
He supposedly couldn't stand her.
Yet somehow, whenever he was bored at work, he'd call her and make her play video games with him.
He was terrible at them.
Absolutely terrible.
If he weren't her client, she wouldn't have carried him through a single match.
But the customer was always right.
Adrian also regularly ordered her to buy random things for him.
Once, he had actually sent her out to buy condoms.
Apparently, he'd seen a video online claiming they could be used to make bubbles.
He wanted to try it.
Seriously.
Even the world's greatest gold miner couldn't dig up a nugget of nonsense that pure.
He blew exactly one bubble.
Then told her to take the rest home and keep them.
Emma had stared at him for a long time.
Excuse me?
Her salary was one hundred thousand dollars a month.
At this point, she was pretty sure half of it was compensation for psychological damage.
Technically, she was still Adrian's secretary.
But she definitely couldn't let him order her around tonight.
Her time currently belonged to Lawrence.
So the instant she saw Adrian, she turned around and deliberately faced the opposite direction.
"Mr. Vance, can I use the restroom?"
She really wanted to continue playing the devoted companion for Lawrence.
But sometimes survival came first.
She just needed to disappear until Adrian left.
From what she knew, Adrian had been partying since he was old enough to sneak into clubs.
He wasn't interested in formal events like this.
He'd probably leave soon.
He was the type who never stayed anywhere for long.
?
Mr. Vance?
So she isn't calling me baby anymore?
Lawrence glanced at her.
Then nodded.
Emma immediately took off.
She moved so fast that she practically left a blur behind.
Lawrence:
"......"
His gaze darkened slightly.
She held it that long just to defend me?
Could she actually have fallen for me?
Even though she knew perfectly well she was only a replacement?
How foolish.
?
"Adrian! I'm over here!"
Trace turned and grabbed Adrian's arm.
Adrian's brows immediately furrowed.
He instinctively shook her hand off.
Then he turned toward her, already looking annoyed.
"What are you doing?"
Trace froze.
A flicker of hurt crossed her eyes.
"Adrian, I—"
Adrian looked past her.
That familiar figure was gone.
He scanned the ballroom again.
Nothing.
He couldn't find her anywhere.
Trace bit her lip.
"Were you looking for someone?"
Adrian had only been curious about the woman he'd recognized.
If she wasn't there, whatever.
She probably wasn't anyone important.
He reached up and smoothed out the wrinkle Trace had left in his floral shirt.
Then he gave a lazy shrug.
"No. Just looking around."
Trace relaxed.
For a moment, she'd been afraid he'd noticed another woman at the party.
She absolutely would not allow that.
"Adrian, thank you for coming to my welcome-back party."
She smiled.
"Come have a drink with me."
Adrian tugged casually at the silver chain around his neck.
"Nah. I can't drink tonight."
Trace immediately asked,
"Did you drive? That's fine. I'll have someone take you home."
The corner of Adrian's mouth lifted.
His smile wasn't particularly friendly.
"Do I really have to spell it out?"
He looked at her.
"I don't want to have a drink with you."
Trace:
"......"
Why?
Why was he treating her like this?
He hadn't been like this when they met abroad.
They had laughed together.
They'd talked all night.
So why did he suddenly seem almost hostile toward her?
Adrian scratched his blue hair and leaned slightly closer.
His tone remained lazy.
"I came here today to tell you something."
"I really can't stand women."
"And I hate the idea of getting married even more."
"So I'm not agreeing to this marriage."
He paused.
"Since you're the woman here, I'll give you the chance to be the one who rejects the marriage."
"Got it?"
Trace's heart sank.
Her face turned pale.
But before she could say anything, Adrian had already shoved one hand into his pocket and walked away.
His back was relaxed.
His stride careless and arrogant.
Trace wanted to chase after him.
But her feet wouldn't move.
Why?
Why was this happening?
Just then, someone approached Trace with a glass of champagne.
"Trace, congratulations! You and Adrian—"
Trace snatched the glass from their hand and smashed it onto the floor.
"Get out!"
Her voice shook with rage.
"All of you, get out!"
She didn't care what anyone thought of her anymore.
She grabbed the hem of her dress and stormed into the lounge.
Once inside, she immediately made a phone call.
"How's the investigation into Adrian's dating history going?"
The person on the other end answered.
"Mr. Mercer doesn't have a girlfriend right now. As far as we know, he's never publicly had one."
Trace frowned.
"Never publicly?"
She stared at her nails.
"What about someone he's seeing privately? Someone he doesn't give a title to?"
"Nothing like that either."
The voice hesitated.
"He rarely even spends time with women."
Trace picked at her manicure.
"I see."
Back when she'd been abroad, Adrian had practically been the king of the nightlife scene.
He'd been surrounded by women everywhere he went.
Now he barely spent time with any of them.
What had happened?
The person on the other end continued cautiously.
"So, based on everything we've found..."
A pause.
"He's gay."
Trace: "......"