Chapter 5

Aria's POV

I told Adrian I was going to the beauty salon for skincare.

Adrian didn't even look up. He just said "come back early" and continued reading documents.

I left with my handbag.

Inside were all the gifts Adrian had given me over the years.

The car circled half the city before finally stopping in an alley in the old district.

Outside an antique shop.

On the surface it repaired watches and sold antiques, but actually it was an entrance to the underground black market, specializing in acquiring all kinds of illicit valuables.

I pushed the door open. A wind chime rang crisply.

The owner had only one eye. He scanned the items I'd dumped on the table with a magnifying glass and curled his lip.

"Quality's not bad, but these designer goods all have serial numbers. Difficult to move. Thirty percent discount."

"Twenty percent."

I opened my mouth.

"These are clean goods. No record."

"Mrs. Hale, you jest. Hale family goods-who dares say they're clean?"

The owner looked at me with a half-smile.

My heart jumped. He'd recognized me.

Just as I was about to speak, the curtain to the back room was suddenly pulled aside.

A man walked out.

He wore a dark gray shirt with rolled-up sleeves, revealing a stretch of smoothly lined forearm.

It was the kind of lethal aura that came only from years of licking blood from blade edges, meticulously concealed beneath a polished veneer.

"Adrian's things-you dare sell it?"

The man walked to the counter and picked up the most valuable pink diamond. It was Adrian's fifth anniversary gift to me.

Slender fingers held the stone up to the light, his mouth curving into an arc of cold amusement.

"Mr. Blackwood."

The shop owner bowed immediately, his respect palpable.

Damon Blackwood.

In this city, not many dared call Adrian by his first name. Damon was one of them.

Rumor had it he was the real controller behind this underground network, with methods even more ruthless than Adrian's.

I hadn't expected to run into him here.

"Stole them."

I met his gaze and lied.

"He's keeping a woman on the side. I need to leave myself an escape route."

Damon raised an eyebrow.

He seemed very interested in this reason. Or rather, he seemed very interested in this matter concerning Adrian.

"Interesting."

Damon put down the diamond, his fingers lightly tapping the counter twice.

"I'll take it all. Market price."

The owner froze.

"Mr. Blackwood, this..."

"Write a receipt."

Damon wasted no time. He withdrew a checkbook, wrote a figure, tore off the check, and handed it to me.

It was twice what I had asked for.

A bearer check. Cash on demand. Untraceable.

"Thank you."

I took it, turned, and walked away.

"Wait."

Damon called after me.

He held a black business card between two fingers and extended it toward me.

The card had only a number on it, not even a name.

"If you need to sell more troublesome things, or encounter any other trouble..."

He looked at me meaningfully, his voice low.

"Contact me directly."

I took the card, didn't even look at it, just stuffed it in my bag and disappeared into the rain.

Through the glass window, I could feel Damon's gaze stuck to my back.

When I returned to the Hale residence, Adrian was actually home.

He sat on the sofa, noticed my bare neck, and casually asked,

"Where's that pink diamond I gave you last time? Why aren't you wearing it?"

My movements as I changed shoes didn't stop, but my heartbeat skipped a beat.

"Sent it for maintenance. The setting was a bit loose. I was afraid of losing it."

Adrian nodded, completely unconcerned.

He pulled a velvet box from his pocket and casually tossed it to me.

"Just passed a mall earlier and picked up something random. Here, play with it."

I caught the box and opened it.

A crystal brooch.

Crude workmanship, cheap rhinestones, not even a brand name.

Probably a freebie from the counter when he bought jewelry for Rosalie, or something he'd grabbed on impulse to meet a purchase minimum.

I looked at that cheap brooch and smiled.

"Thank you, I love it."

Adrian looked at my compliant appearance and smiled with satisfaction.

"Glad you like it. There's a social event in a couple days. Wear it there."

He thought I was so easy to fool.

One piece of candy and I'd wag my tail and beg.

He didn't know that this obedient canary was sharpening her teeth, preparing to bite through the final chain.

At the auction cocktail party, the lights were dizzying.

Rosalie, holding champagne and wearing sky-high heels, walked up to me, her voice loud enough for the entire venue to hear.

"Oh my, that brooch you're wearing today is really... unique."

She bent down, exaggeratedly staring at the few-dollar crystal brooch on my chest as if she'd discovered a new world.

"This material doesn't look like diamonds or crystal, but more like... glass? Adrian really is something, letting you wear this kind of thing out. Isn't he afraid of embarrassing the Hale family?"

The surrounding society ladies immediately gathered around, whispering.

The triumph in Rosalie's eyes was about to overflow.

She did it on purpose, wanting to embarrass me in this social arena, to confirm the rumors that I'd fallen out of favor.

I didn't defend myself. I just instinctively covered my chest and glanced at Adrian in the distance.

"This is... a gift from Adrian."

My voice was soft, with a trace of trembling.