?Chapter 485:


    The next morning, golden sunlight seeped through the thick curtains, spilling across the room and casting a warm glow on Vivi’s perfectly made-up face.


    With an irritated sigh, she turned over, trying to escape the unwee brightness. But just as she was about to slip back to sleep, the shrill sound of her phone shattered the morning stillness.


    Annoyance prickling beneath her skin, she sat up abruptly and snatched the device from the nightstand.


    The screen shed with a name: K.


    Suppressing a wave of frustration, she pressed the answer button, though the lingering edge of exhaustion and irritation still clung to her voice. “What is it?”


    “Vivi Quinn, you better start exining! Do you have any idea what’s blowing up online right now?” The sharpness in her voice made Vivi wince.


    She pulled the phone slightly away, rubbing her temple as her headache worsened. When she finally spoke, her voice carried an unmistakable edge. “K, unless the world is ending, lower your voice and get to the point. What’s with the hysterics so early in the morning?”


    Of course, Vivi already knew exactly what K was fuming about.


    The entertainment headlines were stered with her name—hers and Noah’s. Bold, attention-grabbing titles screamed spection, apanied by carefully curated snapshots from the night before. The kind that left just enough room for the imagination to run wild. The images were impossible to ignore.


    One shot captured Vivi with her head tilted slightly, her gaze soft, almost dreamy—as if she were looking at Noah with unspoken affection.


    The calcted space between them—the subtle tension, the lingering intimacy—was enough to set the inte aze with spection.


    “Hysterics? I think you’re the one who’s lost it! Vivi, don’t you dare y games with me. Have youpletely lost your mind? Trying to seduce Noah? Are you insane—or just asking for trouble?”


    Vivi let out a cold sneer, her fingers tightening around the phone.


    “Seduce?”


    As if she, Vivi Quinn, needed to seduce Noah.


    The mere thought wasughable. Her mood soured further as memories ofst night’s infuriating waiter resurfaced, fueling her frustration.


    “K, get a grip.” Her voice remained cool, but a flicker of unease curled in her chest. “I’m warning you—watch your words. ‘Seduce Noah’? Don’t be ridiculous. Last night was aplete ident.”


    “ident?” K’s tone turned downright mocking. “Do I look like I was born yesterday? Spare me the act!”


    Her disbelief was palpable, dripping with contempt.


    “Vivi, you’d better start talking!” K’s voice was razor-sharp, cutting through the line with barely contained fury. “What exactly did you do to Noah?”


    “What could I have possibly done?” Vivi said, her toneced with amusement. “K, instead of interrogating me, maybe you should focus on something more important—like figuring out how to actually win Noah over. Because at the end of the day, that’s all you are, isn’t it? His precious first love… cherished, but never acknowledged.”


    “What did you—!” K’s breath hitched, her words catching in her throat. She hated this. Hated the way Vivi so easily exposed her biggest insecurity—the painful truth she tried so desperately to ignore.


    Yes, she was Noah’s first love. The one he had held in his heart for years.


    But that meant nothing when she was forced to remain in the shadows, watching as Sadie—that undeserving woman—stood in the ce that should have been hers.


    “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Vivi,” K shouted, her voice low and seething. “Let me make one thing clear. Noah is mine. No one—not you, not Sadie—can take him from me.”


    .


    .


    .