“Hi, Aria.” Tilda blushed as she introduced, “This is Lydia.”


    Lydia’s mouth stiffened slightly, but she quickly put on a gentle andposed smile.


    “Hello, I’m here to see Owen.” Lydia’s voice was soft, but her gaze subtly swept over Aria from head to toe.


    Aria wore no makeup, her expression calm, as if their arrival hadn’t affected her in the slightest.


    Aria noticed the scrutinizing gaze and slightly furrowed her brow. “He’s not off work yet.”


    Lydia sensed her displeasure and quickly looked away, smiling. “He should be home soon. Is it okay if we wait inside?”


    “Sure,” Aria replied.


    Aria stepped aside to let them in and turned toward the kitchen to prepare refreshments.


    As the crisp clink of sses sounded from the kitchen, faint voices came from the living room. “I heard she’s Liam’s ex- wife?” Lydia whispered.


    Tilda also lowered her voice. “Yeah, but they’ve been divorced for a long time. Aside from the marriage certificate, it’s pretty much like they were never married.”


    She added, “Liam must’ve been blind. He left such a capable wife for Hannah. That woman who thinks she’s so high and mighty.”


    When Aria came out carrying a fruit tter, the two women tacitly stopped the topic.


    “Thank you.” Lydia smiled in thanks.


    “Thanks.” Tilda looked nervous, fingers twisting at the hem of her shirt.


    Aria smiled. “Owen and I aren’t married yet. Just rx.”


    Tilda replied, “Okay.”


    Aria sat down across from them and began scrolling through her phone.


    Silence filled the room.


    “Are you Owen’s girlfriend?” Lydia suddenly asked, her tone carrying a hint of probing.


    Without even looking up, Aria replied, “Yeah.”


    If she weren’t, she wouldn’t be here.


    Lydia had only meant to start a conversation, expecting Aria to ask about her identity. But after ten seconds, Aria still said nothing, seemingly not at all curious about her.


    She was good at keeping calm.


    When Tilda had told Lydia that Owen had a girlfriend, Lydia hadn’t believed it.


    Before returning to the country, she’d done a full background check on Aria.


    Switched at birth, raised in the countryside, yet she became a professor at Kerano Global Health and invested in the Stars Group to be itsrgest shareholder.


    Aria was impressive and captivating.


    After reading the files, Lydia could understand why Owen would fall for such a woman.


    Even so, an inexplicable bitterness surged in her heart.


    Soon, the sound of a key turning broke the silence.


    Owen entered the apartment, suit jacket casually draped over his arm, the top two buttons of his shirt undone.


    When his gaze swept past Tilda and Lydia, he froze for a second.


    “Owen.” Lydia stood up faster than Aria.


    She walked over, a flicker of emotion in her eyes. “Long time no see.”


    Owen gave a slight nod. “Yeah, it’s been a while.”


    His gaze bypassed her and fell on Aria in the distance, instantly softening.


    With guests present, he didn’t say much and simply asked Aria, “Are you hungry?”


    Aria shook her head. “No.”


    “I’ll cook in a bit.” As he spoke, he finally turned to Lydia. “What brings you here?”


    In Lydia’s memory, Owen had always been the distant, aloof boy whose name was pinned on the school’s honor board.


    Now, he stood at the entrance with his sleeves rolled up, asking his girlfriend if she was hungry and offering to cook.


    She had never seen Owen like this. He was gentle and attentive.


    Lydia pushed down the flutter in her heart and smiled politely. “As an old ssmate, may I stay for dinner?”


    Owen replied politely, “I bought groceries this morning. There’s not enough for four people. Maybe next time.”


    The smile on Lydia’s face froze for a moment but quickly returned. “Right, we did drop by rather suddenly.”


    She got to the point. “I encountered a contract dispute during my internship in Masmubia, and it’s affecting my return to Huthailia. I was hoping you could help me with the case.”


    “This isn’: my area of expertise,” Owen said calmly. “You cane to Seacrest Law Firm tomorrow. We have twowyers who specialize in internationalmercial disputes.”


    Lydia forced a smile. “Alright then, sorry to trouble you. We’ll get going now.”


    Tilda stepped forward quickly, whispering, “Owen.”


    Owen nodded, then suddenly asked, “By the way, how did you find out where I live?”


    Lydia’s heart tightened. “I was desperate to find someone to handle my case, so I asked around. I’m sorry.”


    In middle school, someone once got hold of Owen’s ount and passed it around. He deleted his ount not long after.


    After being epted into high school, he rarely attended ss. One student once used his desk and cluttered it with junk. After that, Owen never used that desk again.


    There had been many simr incidents.


    Lydia had always known. His sense of territory was strong. Even when she liked him, she never dared get too close.


    But now, she regretted everything.


    Owen’s expression didn’t change, but his voice was a quiet warning. “I hope it won’t happen again.”


    Lydia could no longer maintain her smile. “It won’t.”


    She turned to Aria. “Sorry for disturbing you today. Thank you for your hospitality, Ms. Saxon.”


    Lydia practically fled. Just as the door closed behind her, she heard a very gentle voice from inside. “Madelyn, howe you’re back so early today…”


    The door shutpletely, sealing off that world.


    Lydia stood frozen, pain stabbing through her heart.


    Since middle school, she had regarded Owen as a distant, unreachable star. She believed that if she were just good enough, she would one day earn a ce in his world.


    But today, she finally realized. The star that seemed so high above her was, to someone else, just an ordinary boyfriend.


    Lydia deeply regretteding here today.


    If she hadn’t seen what Owen looked like when he loved someone, she could have kept lying to herself.


    But now, he was warm to his girlfriend, while to her, he was only cold and vaguely resentful.


    As the elevator doors closed, Lydia’s eyes turned wet.


    *****


    Owen changed into morefortable clothes and curled up on the sofa, deliberately scooting closer to Aria. “In that case, we don’t have to work tomorrow either.”


    Aria was flipping through a magazine and responded lightly, “I’ll go back after the holiday.”


    Owen waited a bit, then cautiously looked at her.


    She hadn’t looked at him once.


    “You don’t have anything to ask me?” he finally asked, his voice slightly lower than usual.


    Aria looked up. “No. Should I?”


    Owen fell silent.


    A girl from his past showed up, and she didn’t even ask. He wasn’t feeling great about that.


    He cleared his throat. “Aren’t you curious who she is?”


    Aria closed her magazine. “Wasn’t she an old ssmate? I heard it just now. Apart from being an old ssmate, aren’t you curious about anything else?”