Chapter 93

"Also, what's the deal with his wife?" Stevie added.

Though he had been living abroad, distance hadn't cut him off from the whispers back home.

He had caught fragments about Verena, yet the full story still eluded him.

Cayden exchanged a meaningful glance with Leonardo, who gave a small nod, urging him to speak.

Scratching his head, Cayden said frankly, "It's a marriage arranged by their families."

In their circle, family-arranged marriages were as ordinary as breathing.

What sounded absurd to outsiders was, in truth, business as usual for people of their standing.

Stevie gave a slow nod, and then pressed, "When did they meet?"

Cayden took a sip of coffee before replying, "If memory serves, about two months ago."

"Two months ago?" Stevie's voice sharpened. He reached for the box on the table, rolling it between his fingers with unease.

That necklace-Isaac had asked him to commission it more than half a year ago, a gift intended for the girl he fancied.

Yet before fate could take its course, Isaac had suddenly returned from overseas and entered an arranged marriage instead.

So what now? Hand the necklace over or keep it hidden?

What a tangle!

Stevie's thoughts spun like a compass without a north. How had he landed in such a muddled drama?

As he wrestled with it, the door to the private room swung open. "Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, this way, please," came the clear, melodious voice of a waitress.

At the sound, all three men instinctively looked up.

Their eyes flickered past Isaac but settled-unanimously and inevitably-on Verena.

Cayden had seen her before, though then she'd worn casual clothes and almost no makeup.

But today was another story. She was carefully dressed, every detail considered.

His gaze lingered longer than he realized.

For Leonardo and Stevie, it was their very first glimpse of her, and they were caught unprepared-left momentarily stunned.

The champagne-colored wool coat skimmed gracefully over her frame, her hair spilled like silk across one shoulder, and her smile, though faint, carried warmth. In her eyes glimmered a touch of cool reserve,paradoxically making her all the more approachable, as though the frost concealed an unspoken fire.

Among the three, Cayden was the first to recover.

He stood up with a ready grin. "Come in, take a seat. We've been waiting. You owe us a drink later."

Leonardo followed quickly, returning to his senses.

Stevie sat anchored at the head of the table, with Cayden and Leonardo on his left. The right side remained vacant.

As Verena wheeled Isaac closer, Stevie, like a man concealing a guilty secret, hastily'scooped up the box on the table and slpped it into his pocket.

It was the very necklace Isaac had once commissioned from the famed designer in Clokron, Sophia Dixon.But just as the necklace was finished, lsaac had suffered his accident, and Stevie-bound by work confidentiality-had been unable to reach anyone.

When his duties were done, he'd meant to hand it to Isaac in person.

Who could have foreseen how much would unravel in the meantime?

Now, with circumstances as they were, presenting the necklace felt utterly out of placeStevie pushed the box deeper into his pocket, securing it as though to bury his own uneaseVerena guided lsaac to the chair beside Stevie, and then bent gracefully to drape a blanket over lsaac'slegs.

The simple gesture made the three men exchange glances-admiration and quiet surprise glinting in their

eyes.

Of everyone at the table, Verena was the stranger.

And yet, in front of his closest companions, lsaac clasped her hand. His voice softened, carrying both prideand warmth. "Allow me to introduce my wife, Verena."

At once, Cayden rose with an easy laugh, extending his hand. "Dr. Willis, who would've thought that the nexttime we crossed paths, you'd already be my best friend's wife? l hope you won't hold a grudge for my pasimissteps."