Chapter 21 The charity auction was packed with Nitelheim City elite a gathering of power and influence an about to head to the VIP section , a commotion upted behind me .
Austin ? What are you doing here ? someone called out Hail some fantess in Nifelheim Cay .
Thought Id stop by , Austin replied smoothly He stood tall in atxilored suit , eveling effortless charm .
sharp features and deep se eyes gleamed under the lights , drawing attention from all around .
Beside him stood a woman in a pink dress that accentuated her s slim waist and curves.
She stared at Austin , a flicker of surprise in her gaze .
Austin ? Never seen him before , but hes quite the looker , she mummired , pressing her lips together .
Pity , Guys like that ally dont come from The woman beside her quickly corrected her .
Thont be ridiculous .
Hes the heir to the Herrera Group The first woman woman was surprised .
You mean the Herrera Group ! The one from Newton City Thats the one .
Too bad hes taken , the second woman replied .
The woman in a pink dress shifted her gaze to the woman standing next to Austin .
Her ? Shes nothing special .
The second woman commented .
Theyve been together for six years his Erst love .
Apparently , he dotes on her .
She was even the campus beauty queen .
But honestly , shes not as stunning as people claim .
Probably just exaggerated gossip A slow smirk curled on the pink dressed womans lips .
Six years and still no wedding ? Doesnt sound like true love .
Her companion nudged her playfully , a knowing smile playing on her perfectly made up face .
Wait , dont tell me youre interested in him ? She didnt reply , but just then , a young man strolled over , his eyes flicking between the two women .
Youve got it all wrong .
That woman beside Austin ! Shes not Laurel he explained .
Then who is she ? They seem … close , a woman asked .
The man took a small sip of the red wine in his hand , glancing at the two women beside him with a smile .
Shes the Herrera familys adopted daughter .
Austins foster sister .
The pink dressed woman scoffed .
They dont look like siblings .
She glanced my way then , a sly glint in her eye .
I merely smiled and nodded in silent agreement .
The pink dressed woman neered .
No wonder he hasnt married his longtime girlfriend yet I heard Laurel is a bit of a loner and rarely ly attends social events .
But maybe thats not the whole story .
Maybe shes been p The man pushed aside .
Lets be real if you want to marry into a powerful family , you need to be their equal man next to her nodded , deep in thought .
True , Laurels family background isnt the best .
But shes not just a pretty face shes brilliant .
If she hadnt followed Austin to his university , she couldve easily gotten into Guardvard .
She basically downgraded herself to be with him As his words hung in the air , the man tilted his head , and by chance , his gaze landed on me , standing next to the woman in pink .
His eyes suddenly widened in surprise .
Gideon , werent you also in the same grade back in high school ? a woman asked .
As the man frozen in disbelief , the woman standing next to him suddenly wore a cold , frosty expression .
Gideon , she said sharply .
Havent you seen enough beautiful women abroad ? Gideon Hawke quickly shook his head , Tuuled at him .
Hey We had been in neighboring classes in high school , but I remembered him for a different reason- he once sent me a love letter 1/2 337 Chapter 21 More importantly , he was Lowas best friend .
After graduation , the two had studied abroad together , much to Encars dismay Linuld still recall Incas sulking for an entire week when he found com Gedeon had gotten into the sune university as him .
Then bastard did it on purpose .
Tuscas had grumbled .
Now Im tack is his shadow forever To be tur , Cadron was taller , and better looking , and after high school , he even dyed his hair a striking shade of red .
He had an easy confidener that made him stand out a stark contrast to Lucass brooding Like hell , hes using me as a shield to escape , Lucas had muttereid before stealing an entire tiramisu cake my mom had made for me Now , standing before me , Gideon looked mildly embarrassed .
He scratched the back of his head and shot me a sheepish grin ..
Leyed his dyed hair , suppressing a sigh .
It seemed Lucas never quite managed to reform him but Gideon , in turn , had transformed Lucas completely Laurel ! What are you standing around for ? Come with me .
Angela suddenly appeared at my side , gripping my arm while the two beautiful women stared at me with suspicion .
I turned sharply , my heart skipping a beat as 1 frowned at her .
Angela , was Gideon on the client list you gave me yesterday ! She raised a brow , then handed me a glass of red wine .
Why wouldnt he he ! A notorious playboy like him ? Id be more surprised if he wasnt on it .
Although , if youd given Gideon a chance back then , maybe you wouldnt have been deceived for so long .
My grip tightened around the glass .
If what happened that night was linked to the missing surveillance footage , then the man who entered my room must have known me Otherwise , he wouldnt have gone to such lengths to erase the evidence A stranger would have just claimed it was a mistake .
The worst that could happen was paying a fine no need to destroy all traces of their presence .
Gideon ? Could it have been him that night ? I recalled his stunned expression upon seeing me earlier .
Or was it panic ! Once a seed of doubt is planted , it takes root and spreads , my arm .
Youre a married woman now Laurel , I was just joking .
Dont take it seriously Angela discreetly squeezed my As if on cur , Austin strolled over , arm in arm with Rosemary .
His gaze softened as he looked at me , his tone warm and affectionate .
Laurel , is your hand feeling better ? As if nothing had happened yesterday .
Every argument we ent we had ended the same way if he spoke first , I always let it go .
Not because I wasnt hurt , not because I wanted to ignore it , but because I knew that if I pursued it , all wed get was another fight and an unhappy ending .
1 swirled the wine in my glass and forced a smile .
Im relieved .
My mother really likes that ruby , he mentioned , The
