A Night of Desire

In an elegant coffee shop, Chloe Grant and Autumn Shelby sat across from each other. A cup of coffee sat untouched before each of them, as if neither had the heart to taste it.

Chloe Grant glanced at Autumn Shelby opposite her. She didn’t look well—at least, not compared to the last few times Chloe had seen her.

"Autumn, what on earth happened? Not only did President Quinn and Clara Grant not break up, but they suddenly announced they’re already married? When did they get married?

Last time, after President Quinn was injured, didn’t Uncle and Aunt Quinn force them to break up? And besides, weren’t you so confident before, saying President Quinn would definitely break up with Clara Grant? How could this..."

"Will you give it a rest?" Overwhelmed with irritation and fury from Chloe Grant’s barrage of questions, Autumn Shelby snapped before she could finish, slamming the coffee spoon in her hand onto the table with a loud CLACK.

She hadn’t even known when Seth had recovered and been discharged from the hospital, and in all this time, she hadn’t had a single chance to see him.

Then, just yesterday, Seth had made a sudden, high-profile announcement through every available media outlet that he and Clara Grant had already registered their marriage. He even said the wedding would be held soon, with the specific date yet to be determined.

The news was now filled with sweet, heartwarming photos of him and Clara Grant. Autumn was already furious and frustrated enough, yet here was Chloe Grant, chirping away with one mortifying question after another.

"Are you questioning me? Chloe Grant, what right do you have to question me? If I hadn’t deigned to cooperate with you, do you think you’d even be worthy of sitting face-to-face with me?"

Autumn Shelby’s sudden outburst had already drawn the attention of the other patrons in the coffee shop. Luckily, it wasn’t very crowded at this hour.

Still, Chloe Grant felt a wave of embarrassment and shame. She instinctively shifted in her seat, trying to hide her face.

In truth, the news of Seth Quinn and Clara Grant’s marriage was the very reason she had called Autumn Shelby to meet. After all, even though her father was hailed as Theodore Quinn’s savior, he still couldn’t get any inside information.

She had asked Autumn out to get some answers. It wasn’t as if she had invited her just to drink coffee.

She was furious at Autumn Shelby’s outrageous attitude, so angry she ground her teeth. Still, she had no choice but to swallow her indignation.

If she didn’t need to cooperate with her to break up Seth Quinn and Clara Grant, there was no way she would be putting up with this treatment.

After a long moment, once she no longer felt the gazes of others on them, Chloe Grant glanced around. Seeing that no one was staring at them anymore, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Chloe Grant lowered her head, struggling to compose herself. When she looked up again, she was wearing a smile. It was forced, but passable.

"Autumn, that’s not what I meant. Why would I question you? I was just so anxious that I spoke without thinking. Please don’t be mad at me."

Perhaps because her apology seemed sincere, Autumn Shelby’s expression finally softened a bit. She didn’t speak, however. Instead, she raised her hand to signal a server to come and replace the spoon she had snapped in two.

Only after the server replaced the spoon did Autumn Shelby leisurely begin to stir her coffee. She raised an eyebrow and said, "So you’re anxious about Seth and Clara Grant. You think I’m not? You think it doesn’t kill me to see their pictures splashed all over the news every day?"