“What engagement? Howe I didn’t know anything about it?” Sophie asked Colby, feigning surprise. The moment she walked into the Aldridge Estate, she knew something fishy was going on.


    But she didn’t believe for a second that Colby was behind it.


    “Babe, I’m really feeling wronged here,” Colby said with a pained look. “When they dragged me downstairs, all they told me was to change my clothes. No one mentioned it was an engagement party.”


    “They?” Sophie eyed Adler and Jenna, raising an eyebrow. “Are these the ‘they‘ you’re talking about?”


    Put on the spot, Adler gave an awkward smile. Beside him, Jenna looked equally sheepish, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.


    “Well, it’s because thest engagement party was a mess, right? We just wanted to take this chance to do it over, but who knew…” she trailed off.


    No one expected that James would show up and cause a scene!


    Sophie turned back to Colby. “So, it wasn’t your idea? And here I thought you were nning a surprise engagement party for me.”


    But this time, it was all surprise and no delight.


    Colby yfully pinched Sophie’s nose. “Who said I didn’t have something nned for you? It’s just that they took matters into their own hands this time and nearly ruined everything.”


    “No way! If you were nning your own engagement party, why didn’t you tell us?” Adler was flustered; Colby always looped him in for big events like this.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Now, here Colby was, nning it all solo without a peep. It felt like his role as


    a best friend didn’t matter at all!


    Jenna gently tugged Adler’s arm. “Calm down. Remember the cruise ship confession? We had no clue about that either.”


    “…That’s true,” Adler grumbled, pursing his lips in frustration.


    He couldn’t stand anyone being more romantic than him, not even his best


    <b>1/3</b>


    12:02


    buddy!


    Meanwhile, news that the Minton family was being snubbed at a dinner hosted by five families at the Aldridge Estate quickly became a hot topic.


    Only Colby coulde up with such a sneaky move and have the guts to pull it off.


    Odie, back at the Minton family, watched the news, his forehead veins bulging with rage.


    Jonah walked in, “Boss…”


    “Did you find him?”


    “Kiran… has run away.”


    “Run away?” Odie’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What do you mean ‘run away‘?”


    “The Pord family couldn’t find Kiran. Devonport is sorge; we have no idea where he might have gone. Our people are looking too, but we’re not familiar with Devonport…”


    They weren’t in Devonport, and their resources were stretched thin here. Finding Kiran in the vast crowd of Devonport was like looking for a needle in a haystack.


    “This Kiran…” Odie clenched his fists.


    Jonah added, “Boss… also, Ms. Sandy…”


    Odie frowned. “What about her?”


    “Ms. Sandy justnded overseas yesterday. Forced back by Colby, she couldn’t swallow her pride. When she heard you were in Devonport, she rushed over immediately. She’s already here.”


    Hearing this, Odie gave a sardonicugh. “She actually came here? Doesn’t she know what ‘danger‘/means?”


    Sandy was a princess/spoiled rotten by the Pord family, her arrogance fueled by a lifetime of indulgence.


    Since Colby had made it clear that Sandy was not to set foot in Devonport


    2/3


    <b>12.02</b>


    again, her defiance was a one–way ticket to trouble!