The grand doors of the event hall opened with an elegant sweep, and Liam took a step inside, his breath quietly catching in his throat.
"Damn..." he muttered under his breath.
The place was breathtaking.
The chandeliers above shimred like they were made from diamonds, casting a soft golden glow across the vast hall. Tall marble pillars rose from polished floors that reflected the light like glass. Velvet red carpets stretched in every direction. Elegant music floated softly in the background, a live string quartet tucked into one side of the room adding an atmosphere of class and grace.
He had seen high-end places before, but this?
This was another level.
People were already inside, though the event hadn’t officially started yet. Liam’s eyes scanned the room—and what he saw left him wide-eyed.
It was beauty after beauty. Stunning won in gowns that dripped elegance and allure. Handso n in designer suits that looked tailored to perfection. Everyone here was glowing, like they were plucked out of fashion magazines. Liam didn’t even know this city had this many attractive people.
Yet sohow...
Lana still outshined them all.
No one else even ca close.
And as Liam glanced around again, he realized—he didn’t see a single guy who could stand next to him and match his aura either. That thought made him smirk. It was satisfying. Like he belonged on a higher tier.
But the mont Lana stepped deeper into the hall, everything changed.
A small group of gorgeous won rushed over to her, their eyes lighting up in excitent.
"Lana!! Where have you been hiding?"
"Oh my god, look at you!"
"Wait, wait... who is this charming young man?"
Their eyes darted toward Liam, and they all lit up like fireworks. He gave a polite nod, hands casually tucked in his pockets, posture relaxed yet magnetic.
Then the murmurs began to spread.
So people at nearby tables turned their heads. Others took out their phones. A whisper turned into a wave.
"Isn’t that Liam Carter?"
"Oh my god, it is him!"
"Who the fuck is Liam Carter?"
"Are you serious? He was wrongly arrested yesterday for Kyle’s murder! That guy is all over the internet."
"I’ve been dreaming about him ever since!"
"He looks even more charming in reality!"
"I thought it was just the cara but he’s literally perfect."
Of course Liam heard them. Every word.
Was he annoyed?
Hell no.
This... was paradise.
This was the kind of attention people dread about. Fa, respect, admiration—he could feel all of it sticking to his skin like gold dust. Every look from a woman was drenched in hunger. Every man’s glance carried curiosity... and a hint of jealousy. And in the middle of all of it, Lana’s soft hand was still resting on his arm.
He was living the mont.
But suddenly, she gave his sleeve a gentle tug.
"Let’s get out of the center," Lana whispered, her smile polite but clearly wanting space. "Too many eyes."
Liam nodded, and she led him across the room—past the crowd, past the gazes, to one of the farthest corners of the hall where the lighting was dimr and the noise lower.
They sat down on a cushioned bench near a quiet table. Lana crossed her legs with graceful ease, her figure still stunning even when she was trying to be low-key.
Then she looked at him again.
"You know," she began, "I’m going to ask one more ti."
Liam raised an eyebrow.
"You should consider modeling," she said with a soft laugh. "Seriously, you could eclipse every single man here tonight. You’d have the whole industry at your feet."
Liam leaned back slightly, arms stretching along the backrest.
He gave her a sideways glance and shook his head with a smirk. "Nah. Not my style."
Lana tilted her head. "Why not?"
He looked up at the ceiling like he was counting stars. "Too rigid. You wake up when they tell you. Dress how they say. Talk how they script it. Your entire life is packaged for public consumption. I’d go insane."
Lana chuckled. "True though. I’ve thought the sa thing sotis."
Liam turned to her, curious. "So why’d you join then?"
But before she could answer, a voice interrupted them.
"Lanaaa... long ti, no see."
It was a woman’s voice—honeyed, sultry, but with a thin layer of venom beneath the sweetness.
Lana’s expression changed imdiately. Her smile dropped, replaced by a neutral mask. Her posture stiffened. Liam noticed it instantly.
The woman approaching was stunning in her own right—tall, full-figured, and dressed to kill. Her gown was dangerously tight, plunging at the chest so far that her heavy breasts looked like they might burst out at any second. She wore thick perfu, and her eyes glittered with sothing more than interest.
She walked over with slow, exaggerated steps and casually sat right beside Liam—too close.
Then, without sha, she leaned into him.
Her large breasts pressed firmly against his shoulder as if she was claiming her space beside him. Liam’s body tensed, his jaw twitching slightly.
She turned to him with a flirtatious smile. "And you must be...?"
Lana didn’t say a word.
But her glare could lt steel.
Liam slowly removed Elena’s hand from his arm and shifted slightly, putting just enough distance between them to make it clear—he wasn’t interested.
Sure, the girl was stunning. Anyone could see that. She had the kind of body that could break necks on the street, the kind of confidence that turned heads without trying. But to Liam, sothing about her was... off. Deeply off. He couldn’t quite place his finger on it, but his gut told him she wasn’t soone he wanted near him.
Lana noticed the shift instantly.
"Elena," she said, her voice sharp and clear. "What the hell is the aning of this?"
Elena raised an elegant brow as if she’d just been accused of murder at a dinner party. "What? All I asked was the young man’s na."
Her voice was sweet, but her tone was laced with sothing else. Sothing fake.
Liam, uninterested in the growing tension, simply picked up his glass of wine and took a long, deliberate sip, silently observing the exchange.
But then—his phone vibrated.
He reached into his suit pocket, pulled it out, and glanced at the screen. His brow arched slightly when he saw the na.
Ann.
He opened the ssage.
Ann: You went to a model event with Lana!
Liam blinked.
He quickly typed:
Liam: How the hell do you know? Are you stalking ?!!!
The reply ca almost instantly.
Ann: No idiot. It’s all over the Internet. If you fumble her I will kill you!!!
He nearly dropped the phone.
Liam: Fumble her?! What happened to us?!!!!!!!
A pause. Then:
Ann: Nothing, idiot.
Liam stared at the screen for a second, lips slightly parted.
Wait.
Nothing?
Did she just... suggest it was okay?
This girl... was she actually insinuating he could have Lana too? As if the idea of him being with both of them was sothing she’d not only tolerate, but expect? He couldn’t believe what he was reading.
Unbelievable.
"Liam, are you alright?"
Lana’s sweet voice pulled him out of his thoughts like a gentle breeze cutting through fog.
He blinked, snapping his gaze up at her. She was looking at him with concern.
"Oh. Yeah—yeah, I’m good," he said, shoving the phone into his pocket with a smile that was more confused than casual.
He glanced around—Elena was gone.
He hadn’t even noticed when she left.
Lana rolled her eyes as she sat back down. "Good. You should stay far away from that damned bitch."
Liam blinked. "Wow. That’s the first ti I’ve heard you swear."
Lana gave a tight smirk. "So people deserve it. That damn whore’s one of them."
Liam was montarily stunned. The Lana he knew was elegant, graceful, never one to speak harshly.
She must really hate this woman.
Lana didn’t even notice his surprise. She simply went on, like it had been sitting on her chest for far too long.
"She’s a terrible vixen," she muttered under her breath, eyes flicking to where Elena had vanished. "She’s slept with almost every higher-up I know of. They protect her, promote her, gift her brand deals... she doesn’t even work half the ti, she just lies down and spreads her legs."
Liam stared.
"She even goes after new models," Lana added, tone darkening. "Male and female. She seduces them with fake promises. I’ve seen it happen over and over. Half the people that made it up the ladder in this scene owe it to her ’services’."
Liam took a slow sip of wine—and then choked.
The liquid shot right up his nose with a sharp burn.
"Agh—shit!" he coughed, jerking forward, dropping his glass as it tumbled to the carpet. Wine splattered across the floor. He winced as he coughed, the burning sensation in his sinuses overwhelming.
"Oh my god—Liam!" Lana jumped up, kneeling beside him, her expression full of concern.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a handkerchief—elegant, white, scented lightly with lavender—and began dabbing his nose.
He was half-coughing, half-laughing now.
"I’m sorry," Lana said, pressing the cloth gently to his nose, her brows furrowed. "Are you okay?"
Liam nodded quickly, still wiping his nose as he wheezed, "That just caught off guard..."
"What part?"
"The part where you said..." he coughed again, "that guys get laid in here too?!"
Lana blinked.
Then her lips parted slightly in realization.
And then she laughed.
A real laugh. It was soft, musical, and made Liam’s heart flip. It wasn’t the rehearsed smile she gave photographers, or the polite giggle she gave clients. This was pure.
"You’re unbelievable," she whispered, shaking her head as she helped clean the spilled wine on his shirt sleeve.
Liam chuckled, wiping the last bit of wine from his chin. "I an, damn... I thought it was just a woman’s ga. I didn’t know the guys were getting... assisted too."
Lana leaned closer, voice low, "They don’t talk about it, but it happens. All the ti. That’s why this industry is toxic. It’s never just talent. It’s favors, deals, manipulation. That’s why I wanted to win today. Clean. With class. No shortcuts."
Liam stared at her.
And in that mont, he saw her again—not as the glamorous model draped in perfect skin and smiles—but as a woman fighting against a rotten system.
And suddenly... he wanted to help her win more than
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