Chapter 18

The more Isla listened, the more terrible she felt. Kate was intentionally provoking her, while Noah was indulging her. It felt like they were a couple and she was an outsider. She was trying to show that this was her territory, hoping that Noah would admit and approve of it, but he clearly did not want to confirm their relationship. If she had not been worried that he would be mad, she would have just said that she was his wife! Seeing that Isla’s expression was getting more and more terrible, Aimee felt doubtful. “But I heard that he’s married, even though no one can prove it. After all, nobody has seen his wife before, and he has never made his marriage public. So–” She shrugged. “I just want you to know this. Don’t get yourself into trouble. If there was a scandal going on with you two and the news of him being married came out, nothing would happen to him, but it’d be the end of your career. No matter what, one can’t just get close to someone like him. I’m sure that Kate is just full of nonsense…” She did not stop talking as they walked to the garage. “No matter what happens, don’t–” “Aims.” Isla suddenly stopped. “Can you find out which party Noah is attending tonight?” The other woman turned her head to glance at her before saying doubtfully, “Why are you asking that?” “I…” Just as she was about to answer, she heard a car honk in front of her. She paused and saw a silver Ascarati parked on the side. Zac’s charming face was revealed as the window was winded down. “Hi, Ms. Isla. We meet again.” He raised his pretty eyes and gave her a pure smile. “Where are you going? Do you need a ride?” Isla glanced at him in confusion. Why was this guy pretending to be close to her? She took a good look at his outfit and declined the offer with a smile. “I won’t trouble you, Mr. Zac. My agent will take me.” Only then did he notice Aimee, who was next to her. He greeted her with a smile, but he did not leave. Isla thought it was strange. She had a feeling that he had not just happened to be passing by. She asked after giving it some thought, “Is there anything that I can help you with?” “To be honest, I’m going to a party tonight. I’m stressed because I can’t find a partner.” His eyes sparkled as he sighed, looking troubled. “If you could do me a favor, I’d be honored.” Isla instinctively wanted to decline, but the word “party” made her think. Could he be going to the same place where Noah was going? Zac looked at her with a smile. She was not sure whether he had seen through her or this was a mere coincidence, but he said, “If I may be honest, I don’t really like such events, but I need to talk business with Mr. Noah. I’m only going because I saw his name on the list.” Mr. Noah? Her Noah? However, she had just known Zac for an hour. Why was he telling her that? “Mr. Zac, I think we’ve just known each other for an hour. Why would you ask me to go with you?” The more she thought about it, the weirder it felt. He scratched his head with a smile, his eyes bright. “Is it too absurd?” Isla was speechless. This had nothing to do with it being absurd, right? Seeing that she was silent, he looked rather disappointed. He raised his head and smiled at her. “If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you into it.” “No, I’ll go with you,” she said with a faint smile on her red lips. She had just been thinking about ways to get to the party, when Zac had appeared on her doorstep. Although his objective was unknown, she had a feeling that he harbored no ill intentions. Besides, Aimee knew about this, so nothing should go wrong. Aimee pulled her aside quickly after hearing that she had said yes. She asked after lowering her voice, “Why did you say yes? What if people take pictures?” “Don’t worry, Aims. I know what to do.” She got into the car before waiting for her to finish. “Don’t worry, Aims. I’ll take Sister Isla home safely.” Zac’s amber eyes were smiling. Worry appeared in Aimee’s eyes. By then, he had winded up the window and left. Sister Isla? Isla hesitated as she looked at Zac, not knowing what to say. “I just thought calling you Ms. Isla would make us feel like strangers. You’re two years older than me, so I thought I’d call you Sister Isla. I hope you don’t mind?” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye with a pure smile on his face. Although he was a little extroverted, which made him frivolous, he was not irritating. Since he had an explanation, there was nothing that Isla could say. They drove out of the city and headed to the mountains. The sky turned dark on the way, and it started raining a few minutes later. The sky was completely dark by the time they arrived. The venue was a private villa halfway up the mountain. It looked amazing, and there were lights and music coming from the house. Two attendants came with umbrellas as soon as Zac parked his car. He accepted a black umbrella and helped Isla out of the car himself. As soon as they entered the villa, he suddenly stopped. He told Isla, “I left my phone and invitation in the car. I’ll go get them.” She did not think too much about it. She just nodded and walked in. She was stopped as soon as she walked through the door. “Please show your invitation, miss.” A woman in a suit who looked approximately 30 years old stopped her. “I came with Mr. Zac. He went to get some stuff, but he’ll be here soon.” Isla explained courteously. The woman stopped her again when she tried to get in. Disdain appeared in her eyes when she took a good look at her. “Miss, you can’t go in without an invitation. Those are VIPs in there. I wouldn’t be able to bear the responsibility if something unfortunate were to happen. Since you said that you came with someone, you’ll go in when that person arrives.” Isla was upset when she heard her tone. She was clearly treated as a gold-digger coming to get herself a man at the party. “I–” She could not believe it, but she had seen Noah as soon as she had lifted her head. He was standing among a crowd of people, seemingly discussing something. Kate followed him like a good girl, and they looked perfect together. She found it unfair that she could not even get through the door. She was not sure whether she was staring too much, but Noah seemed to sense something and looked in her direction. They locked eyes as people walked around them. Noah frowned. Why was Isla here? “Noah? Mr. Brooks is talking to you,” Kate, who was next to him, reminded him softly. He looked away from Isla and talked to the man next to him. Kate turned her head and looked where he was looking. The smile on her face faded when she saw Isla.