Trouble in Paradise

Pete wore a well-tailored black suit. He pulled out a chair and sat across from me with his back straight. It was evident that he and Silas were good friends. They chatted with each other amiably for quite a while. Only after they finished did they seem to notice me.

Pete crossed his arms, and his expression was full of

mockery. "Well, if it isn't Ariana Jones. What brought you here?"

The last time I saw Pete was at the beginning of the year when he visited Hawk Manor on New Year's Day.

The Hawk and Shelman families were old family friends. The Jones were good friends of the Shelmans too. When we were young, our elders tried to match us up. So, we were practically childhood sweethearts.

However, my relationship with Pete lacked the innocent affection childhood friends usually had for each other. It was more like a twisted love-

hate relationship born out of jealousy. Or rather, there was never any love but only constant conflict. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that he was my nemesis.

In first grade, because I scored 20 points higher than him in a test, his dad berated him for not doing well. The next day, he yanked my hair hard. When I went home and told on him, this earned him another round of punishment from his dad. After that, he ran to my house and stood outside the garden. He pointed at my window and swore that he and I would be

Chapter DD26

lifelong enemies.

From then on, we clashed frequently. He once stole my sanitary pads when I had my period, which made me the laughingstock in front of all the boys in the class.

In retaliation, I took the love letter that he had written for the campus belle and read it aloud in front of his entire family. Unsurprisingly, his father punished him once more.

We always went to extremes in tormenting each other, and neither of us ever won. I looked down and dispelled those bitter memories. But at this moment, it was clear who emerged triumphant at last.

The business card printed four years ago wasn't a sign of appreciation for my talent. Yasmine had constantly persuaded me to rejoin the workforce due to Silas' persistent

brainwashing throughout these four years.

All this, which I thought I had lost but regained, was

orchestrated by Pete.

"You played the long game well!" Instead of feeling angry, I was impressed.

Without his meticulous planning, who would have hired me immediately when I decided to work again? After all, as Silas mentioned, I had a four-year career gap.

"If your brain wasn't that rusty, you would've taken the bait even faster," Pete commented. He was dissatisfied that his victory hadn't taken place as soon as he had liked.

I glared at him.

I vividly remembered his reckless behavior at my wedding. On my big day, he jinxed my marriage with a bottle of wine in hand. That day, he said he wouldn't give me his blessing and that I was making the worst mistake by getting married right after graduating. We had a big fight, and I hated him for ruining the only wedding I would ever have.

It seemed that truth needed time to reveal itself. He hadn't changed much from my memory, but his bearing was completely different now.

Over the past four years, every time he visited the Hawk family for the New Year, he had transformed bit by bit. He became increasingly mature over the years. But unlike most CEOs, his bangs weren't slicked back.

I had heard from Nicholas that Pete's family intended to groom him to take over the leadership position in their family. The eldest son was too happy with his marriage, thus dulling his competitive edge. On the other hand, Pete was more suited for business. Nicholas had once mentioned that Pete was like a wolf. He wouldn't hesitate to bite anyone who got in his way, so much so that Pete's own brother had to be wary of him. Even someone as shrewd as Nicholas had suffered losses at his hands too.

At that time, Nicholas warned me about their fierce

competition and advised me to stay away from Pete.

Without a second thought, I agreed and blocked Pete on

WhatsApp right in front of him, stating that I felt like hitting him. when he came into sight. My response had even made the usually aloof Nicholas laugh.