Leah Sinclair retreated to a sofa in the corner. She held a glass of champagne but hadn’t taken a single sip. Watching the sharply dressed men and glamorous women glittering with jewels across the venue, she felt completely out of place.
"Leah?"
A familiar voice rang out. Leah looked up, startled for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Senior Forrest?"
It was Simon Forrest, her senior from university and the son of a prominent local pharmaceutical company owner. He was currently doing R&D at a key laboratory at Z University. Back when she was washing flasks in the lab, he had looked out for her quite a bit. He was gentle and fiercely loyal.
"Long time no see. What brings you here?" Simon took a seat beside her.
"I’m here accompanying my husband," Leah replied evenly.
The two caught up on their recent lives. "Senior Forrest," Leah said, "I’m bored staying at home and want to find a job. Do you have any recommendations?"
Simon lowered his head in thought. "Since you didn’t do a residency after graduation, working as a doctor in a hospital is definitely out. As for being a pharmaceutical rep, your personality is too soft and you aren’t good at socializing, so you’d probably be at a disadvantage. How about... how about you sell reagents? Back at Z University, didn’t you go around washing flasks in various labs every day to earn credits? All those upperclassmen know you, so they’d definitely do you a favor."
Leah’s eyes lit up. He was right. Back at Z University, she had been a "regular" in the labs, washing flasks and test tubes and doing all kinds of chores. She had built good relationships with the upperclassmen across the various labs, and those connections were tangible and real.
"I could give it a try," she said with a smile, a glimmer of light finally returning to her eyes.
Simon chuckled along with her. "That’s great. Our lab frequently needs reagents, and labs in major universities have demands too. I know quite a few people. Come over another day, and I’ll introduce you to them. It’ll definitely be fine."
His attitude was sincere, and he leaned slightly toward Leah as they spoke.
Leah beamed. "Really? Thank you so much, Senior Forrest."
"No need to be so polite with me. You washed so many test tubes for me back in the day. This little favor is nothing."
Leah smiled. It was her first genuine smile of the night.
"What are you talking about that’s making you so happy?"
An icy voice cut in. Kian Hawthorne had approached at some point and was now standing by the sofa. A polite smile hung on his face, but a deep displeasure and possessiveness were hidden in his eyes.
Simon stood up and extended his hand graciously. "Mr. Hawthorne, I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Leah’s senior from university, Simon Forrest."
Kian shook his hand, his grip heavy but his tone aloof. "A pleasure. I’m her husband."
The two exchanged a few pleasantries. Sensing Kian’s hostility and not wanting to put Leah in a difficult position, Simon found an excuse to leave. "I have some matters to attend to, so please excuse me. Leah, I’ll contact you another day."
"Okay. Thank you, Senior Forrest."
After Simon left, Kian sat beside Leah, his face dark.
"He’s going to contact you? About what?" he asked.
"I want to start working," Leah replied. "He said he’d introduce me to a job selling reagents."
Kian frowned. Work? She was doing perfectly fine as a housewife, so why did she suddenly want to get a job? Thinking of her earlier sarcastic remark about having heard so much about him, he sensed a hidden meaning. He couldn’t be bothered to explain himself to her; he didn’t want to spoil her and set a precedent of having to explain and report his every move in the future. But for her to throw a tantrum and declare she wanted to work out of spite was simply too childish.
"Did that guy just now convince you to get a job?"
"No, I want to go out on my own. It’s too stifling staying at home."
"If you’re bored, go socialize with the other wives. Play mahjong, go shopping, max out your credit cards. Do you not know how?"
"It’s not that I don’t know how; I just don’t like it."
Leah looked away. Kian stared at her profile, his eyes clouding over with gloom.
"Leah, what I need is a sensible and virtuous Mrs. Hawthorne," Kian said, watching her intently. "Not a child who needs coaxing all day long."
Leah froze. Her gaze instinctively dropped to the dull tips of her lambskin high heels. After a long while, she offered a faint smile. She lifted her chin and looked at him. "Alright. I understand, Mr. Hawthorne."
Her eyes were like a spring in the night, reflecting the moonlight. Kian paused, momentarily stunned.
A voice echoed from the stage; Selene Shaw had stepped up to host. The spotlight shone on her, and her champagne-colored dress gave off a soft glow. Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to her.
Kian’s gaze also landed on the stage, fixing unblinkingly on the woman. Before he knew it, he had stood up and walked toward Selene.
For the rest of the evening, Kian mingled and socialized, leaving Leah behind. At some point, Selene ended up by his side. Holding their wine glasses, the two chatted and laughed merrily with the guests, looking for all the world like a deeply in love pair of soulmates.
No one found it surprising, and no one spared a glance in Leah’s direction. Standing in the corner, Leah watched the well-matched pair and the envious looks from the crowd around them. Suddenly, she understood.
In this vanity fair, everyone survived on their own merits. In everyone’s eyes, Selene was the woman who truly belonged by Kian’s side.
***
The final segment of the reception was a charity jewelry auction. All proceeds from the auctioned items would be donated to charity.
Selene, Theodore Jennings, and Kian gathered together, flipping through the auction catalog.
Selene tapped her fingertip against the page featuring the South Sea White Pearls. "This set is truly beautiful," she said softly. As she spoke, she cast an inadvertent glance at Kian.
Theodore nudged Kian’s arm. "Kian, since Selene likes it, you should win it for her. Such an elegant string of pearls couldn’t be more perfect for her."
"Selene doesn’t need these kinds of things to show off her worth," Kian replied. He took the auction catalog, his gaze landing on the photo of the pearl necklace.
Leah liked pearls. She had a pair of pearl stud earrings she had bought herself, which she had worn for years. She didn’t yet own a full pearl necklace. Kian’s gaze swept over the bustling crowd, searching until he caught a glimpse of Leah in the corner. There she was—the hostess of tonight’s gala—standing there all by herself.
Kian walked over without a word of greeting and handed the auction catalog to Leah. "Take a look. Tell me what you want."
Leah was somewhat taken aback. She casually flipped through the pages. They were filled with glittering jewels with price tags easily reaching the millions. To her, these things held little meaning.
She shook her head gently. "No thanks. None of this suits me."
"If I say it suits you, it suits you." Kian turned to the set of South Sea White Pearls that Selene had eyed earlier. The set included a necklace, earrings, and a bracelet. The pearls were lustrous with perfect overtones, and the starting bid for the entire set was 3.8 million. "This one."
Leah opened her mouth to say something more, but the auctioneer’s loud, resonant voice had already begun echoing through the room.
When it was time for the white pearls to be auctioned, the sounds of paddles being raised rippled through the audience. The price soared. Kian sat up straight, his fingertip resting on his paddle, looking utterly determined to win.
Leah figured he wasn’t doing this for her—it was just about saving face.
Just a second before the hammer was about to fall, the auctioneer suddenly raised his hand and announced with a beaming smile, "Apologies, everyone! This set of South Sea White Pearls has just been won with a blank-check bid by a Mr. X! This Mr. X says he wants to gift this jewelry to the most beautiful lady in the room tonight!"
The crowd broke into an uproar, murmurs spreading like wildfire. Everyone was guessing who this mysterious Mr. X could be and who would be the lucky recipient of this great honor.
The auctioneer’s gaze swept over the crowd before finally locking onto the corner. He proclaimed loudly, "Now, will Ms. Leah Sinclair please come to the stage to accept this gift!"
Leah froze completely, instinctively looking up at Kian. Even though she clearly hadn’t wanted it, a tiny, self-deceiving glimmer of hope somehow lingered in her heart—
Was it him? Did he secretly arrange this to keep her from being embarrassed?