The elevator doors slid shut, and the mbers of the Sumrs family all watched Miss Lowell with concern, worried about how she was feeling.
"Was that man your ungrateful son?" Grandma frowned. "What rotten luck, running into him here of all places."
"Yes." Miss Lowell sighed and nodded. "That was him."
Even though Miss Lowell had been gone for many years, seeing Regan Sterling just now made her involuntarily recall the ti he’d brought the dia to her school.
She had been in the middle of a lecture that day when Regan Sterling burst in with a dia crew in tow. In front of her entire class, Regan loudly condemned her for supposedly turning his paralyzed, bedridden father away.
According to Regan Sterling, her husband—who had actually abandoned the family—was a poor, pitiful man she had driven away. She, on the other hand, was painted as a bad-tempered, unrepentant lunatic who had forced him out.
At the ti, Miss Lowell had stood on the lecture platform, staring blankly as the son she had raised single-handedly berated her at the top of his lungs. She saw the students’ questioning gazes and the caras held high by the dia crew. The flashes went off relentlessly, capturing her stunned expression. In that mont, she felt as if the entire world had abandoned her.
Even after so many years, the mory of that scene still caused Miss Lowell imnse pain. It was as if she were trapped in that nightmare all over again, unable to escape.
Seeing the sad expression on Miss Lowell’s face, lody Sumrs quickly patted the back of her hand. "Don’t worry, Miss Lowell," she said reassuringly. "He can’t do anything to you now. If he ever cos to bother you again, we’ll just have hotel security throw him out."
"That’s right, Miss Lowell," Grace Sutton added. "After that manager ca out, he didn’t dare say another word. I doubt he has the guts to cause a scene again."
Miss Lowell managed a faint smile. "Don’t you worry," she told them. "I’m fine. I let all that go a long ti ago."
The group returned to Suite 36-02 and were about to head to their rooms to rest when the door to the adjacent suite, 36-01, suddenly opened.
A well-to-do, middle-aged woman in a red dress opened the door. Her slightly curled, long hair was casually pinned up, and she wore a pair of glittering slippers.
The woman looked at the Sumrs family and said cheerfully, "I saw you all earlier at the buffet, but you were eating, so I didn’t want to interrupt. You live at The tropolis Residences too, don’t you? I’ve seen you around the complex. We’re from there as well."
The mbers of the Sumrs family nodded and exchanged greetings with her.
The woman in the red dress smiled again. "It’s just my mother and over here, and it gets pretty boring. Why don’t you all co over and play cards with us? Later, we can all go to the hotel’s art exhibition together. It would be nice for our two families to have so company."
Upon hearing this, lody Sumrs smiled at her family. "Mom, you all should go. We’re going to be here for a while, and you’ll get bored just sitting in your rooms. It’s nice to have neighbors to spend ti with."
Winnie Sumrs asked lody hesitantly, "What about you? Aren’t you coming with us?"
lody Sumrs shook her head. "I still have so things to unpack. You all go on ahead. I’ll call you if I need anything."
Winnie Sumrs nodded, and the rest of the family went over to Suite 36-01.
lody Sumrs returned to her room with Albus in her arms and flopped onto the bed, exhausted.
She casually picked up her phone and scrolled through the group chat for The tropolis Residences. Everyone was talking about the mountain fire.
"4-1209 Slacking Off: This is terrifying. It’s been burning since this morning. Isn’t it out yet?"
"2-1908 Coco: This is a wildfire, not a kitchen fire. They aren’t that easy to put out. Did you see the news about Ostrania? Their wildfires burned for a solid six months."
"6-702 The Lover: Six months?? That’s horrifying! You don’t think it’ll reach our complex, do you?"
"2-1408 Bella Grant: It can’t, right? I’m still paying off the mortgage on my apartnt! The fire had better not reach us, or I’m defaulting."
"12-1803 Lawson Building Supplies (Closed): It won’t reach us for now. There’s a firebreak between us and the luxury villa district, nothing combustible. Besides, even if it does jump the gap, the rich folks in the villas will get hit first, heh heh."
"4-2009 Nina: Give a break. You think the rich people in the villas are like us? They own multiple properties; they’ve been long gone. Where are us poor folks supposed to run? All we can do is wait to die."
"4-1209 Slacking Off: Is it just , or has it gotten even hotter since the fire started? I used to run my AC for fifteen minutes every two hours, but now I feel like I’m about to dehydrate. I can’t afford to run it constantly, though. I’m dying here."
"4-2009 Nina: I’m so thirsty, too. The water pressure from the tap is getting weaker and weaker. Does anyone have any spare water? I’m willing to pay."
"..."
lody Sumrs sighed as she scrolled through the ssages. She had no idea how long this fire would burn.
Suddenly, her phone rang. lody Sumrs glanced at the caller ID. It was Zane Simmons.
lody Sumrs answered the call. Zane Simmons’s voice ca through.
"lody, what are you up to? Getting bored sitting around the hotel? There’s an auction in the hall on the 30th floor this afternoon. Want to go check it out with ?"
"An auction?" lody Sumrs asked, surprised. "They have auctions here at the hotel?"
Zane Simmons chuckled. "They do. So, what do you say? Want to take you to see the sights?"
lody Sumrs thought for a mont and agreed. "Okay, what ti does it start? Where’s your room? I can co find you."
"Admission starts in half an hour," Zane Simmons replied. "I’m right below you in suite 35-02. Co down whenever you’re ready."
lody Sumrs stroked Albus’s head. "Let’s go check it out, shall we?"
Albus tilted his head.
’Are you planning to buy sothing?’
"When I was buying outdoor equipnt," lody explained, "a shop owner told that if the disaster spreads, things like RVs and yachts might beco necessary."
lody stroked his head again and sighed. "But I didn’t have the money for things like that back then. You know how it was—after buying all the supplies, I was broke. Things are different now, though. Now we have money! If I see sothing suitable at the auction, I can just buy it outright."
After speaking, lody washed her face. Seeing it was about ti, she picked up Albus, went downstairs while scrolling on her phone, and knocked on the door of Suite 35-02.
The door opened quickly. Zane Simmons greeted lody Sumrs with a smile. "Punctual as always. Co on, if we leave now, we’ll get there right on ti."
Just then, Joanne White ca to the door. She bit her lower lip gently and spoke softly to Zane Simmons, "Honey, are you going alone? Maybe I should go with you."
Zane Simmons turned to Joanne White, his voice edged with impatience. "You’re heavily pregnant, you shouldn’t be running around. Just stay in the room today. Don’t go out."
Joanne White shot lody a look full of aning, but lody didn’t notice. Her attention was completely focused on her phone.
News of the wildfire on the mountain behind The tropolis Residences had hit the major outlets. A local TV station was now live-streaming the firefighting efforts. The blaze was still not under control; it had been burning since morning and had spread significantly.
The smoke was drifting over The tropolis Residences. Drone footage showed the entire luxury villa district blanketed in a thick, black haze, and lody’s heart clenched with anxiety.
Joanne White bit her lip, watching resentfully as lody Sumrs and Zane Simmons walked away. ’That Austin Hale is completely useless,’ she thought. ’He couldn’t even win lody back.’
’I’ve seen plenty of won like lody—so earnest and naive when it cos to love. They still believe in so grand romance and can usually be won over with just a few sweet nothings from a man.’
’But I never expected Austin Hale to be so pathetic!’
Seeing lody and Zane getting so close made Joanne burn with resentnt, and Zane’s attitude toward lody only fueled her anxiety. He claid they were just old classmates, just friends, but Joanne didn’t buy it for a second.
She wanted nothing more than to march right up to lody, pregnant belly and all, and stake her claim on Zane. But lody had too much dirt on her; she didn’t dare start a fight.
Joanne White felt a toxic mix of anxiety, anger, and helplessness. She slamd the door in frustration, covered her face, and began to sob quietly.
*
lody Sumrs and Zane Simmons arrived at the auction hall on the 30th floor. After Zane presented an invitation, a staff mber politely ushered them inside.
Zane and lody took seats in a back row on the left side of the hall. lody, holding Albus in her lap, nonchalantly watched the people trickling in.
’Quite a few people are here,’ she thought. ’I’m surprised the rich can still be in the mood for this, even with a disaster looming.’
Suddenly, lody spotted a familiar figure among the crowd entering at the front—
’Ethan Sutton?!’
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