Alice had long grown used to David’s sharp remarks. His little jabs at her name no longer stung the way they once did. She barely noticed them now. Her mind was fixed on one thing alone.

“David, stop fussing over Alice. Whatever she’s plotting has nothing to do with us. We should keep our distance.”

Alice despised Sophie. She also wanted to throw barbs at her. But Sophie had her by the short hairs. In the past, Alice could push Sophie around as she pleased, knowing Sophie would stay silent. But those days were gone. Now, if she made one wrong move, Sophie would spill everything.

She had nothing left to use against Sophie. She couldn’t risk an open fight. More than anything, she had to stop David from provoking Adrian. Only she knew who Adrian really was. And if David ever pushed him too far, the Lloyd family would face disaster and ruin. All her careful lies, all the strings she pulled to keep David in hand, would fall to dust.

David bristled at her warning, his pride already stung. “Why don’t you rein in your cousin instead? She’s the one tossing herself in my path, staging these so-called coincidences!” he snapped back with irritation.

Alice rushed to soothe him, wary of his temper. “Of course I see that. Alice is exactly like that.”

She softened her voice, wrapping her words with flattery. “Don’t stoop to her games. If you do, she wins. Let’s ignore her. That’ll burn her up inside.”

David calmed at once, convinced “Sophie” was the better woman—gentle, understanding, nothing like “Alice.” The only one in his heart was Sophie.

Meanwhile, Sophie strode ahead with Adrian. When David and Alice finally disappeared from sight, she stopped in her tracks.

She exhaled in relief. “At last, we shook them off.”

Even with her patience, David managed to grate on her nerves. “What a fool.”

“Well, this fool was once someone’s boyfriend,” Adrian said.

Sophie cut him a cold glance. “Careful. Do you want to join that list? Or end up an ex-husband?”

Adrian raised his hands at once. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. My lips are sealed!”

Her glare eased, and she let the quip slide.

Adrian chuckled, reaching to pinch her puffed cheek. “By the way, I never asked… How did you ever end up with him?”

His curiosity was genuine. The reports he had seen painted David as a polished rich kid with good looks. On paper, their past made sense. But from what Adrian had witnessed lately, David wasn’t fit to hold a candle to Sophie. It baffled him what she had ever seen in him.

Now, all Sophie’s reactions showed nothing but disgust. No trace of old affection remained. That only made Adrian more curious.

Sophie dragged the toe of her shoe across the floor. “What’s it to you?”

A sudden thought hit her. “Wait. You’re not planning to tease me about this forever, are you?” Her face twisted at the memory. That chapter in her life was one she wished erased.

Adrian let out a light laugh. “Not a chance.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

She eyed him doubtfully. “I could tell you… But you won’t get jealous, will you?”

“Jealous of that idiot? Not a chance.”

Sophie pressed her lips together, not buying it. He had stormed over the moment he learned she and David were both in Maripore. He had even kicked down her hotel door in a jealous fit.

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