A Night of Desire

Clara Grant and Rhys Ryston had never met in person. Although they were in frequent contact, they’d never even seen pictures of each other.

But the moment the girl turned and saw her, their eyes met, and Clara Grant knew at once that she was Rhys Ryston.

Sure enough, the girl saw her and started walking over.

When she drew near, Clara Grant stood up. They both offered a small smile.

"You’re Clara, right?"

"And you must be Ryston?"

They spoke at the same time, then looked at each other and smiled.

Clara Grant gestured to the seat across from her. "Ryston, please, have a seat."

Rhys Ryston sat down and asked, "Have you been waiting long?"

"I just got here myself," Clara Grant said. A waiter had already approached their table, so she asked Rhys Ryston, "What would you like to drink?"

Rhys Ryston looked up at the waiter. "A latte, please. Thank you."

Clara Grant wasn’t picky, so she ordered the same. "Make that two, thank you."

After the waiter left, Rhys Ryston looked at Clara Grant with an apologetic expression. "Clara, you don’t like coffee, do you? I’m so sorry. I pull a lot of all-nighters, so I’m used to it. I need a cup in the morning to get going."

Clara Grant blinked, smiling playfully. "I’m not a huge fan of coffee, but I don’t mind having some with you."

Rhys Ryston’s smile was more reserved than Clara Grant’s. "Thanks."

"What’s with the thanks? We may have never met before, but we’ve been good friends for a long time, right?"

Rhys Ryston’s lips parted as if to say something, but just then, the waiter arrived with their coffee, so she held her tongue.

Once the waiter had placed the coffees on their table and left, she looked back at Clara Grant and smiled. "Clara, thank you for seeing me as a friend. To be honest, I don’t really have many."

As she spoke, her expression turned a bit helpless and sad.

Clara Grant could see it, of course, but she just smiled gently and said in a soft voice, "Well, you have me now, don’t you?"

"By the way, what did you ask me here for today?" Rhys Ryston nodded gratefully. Not wanting to say more, she took a sip of her coffee and changed the subject.

"Let’s chat about something else first," Clara Grant said with a laugh. "For instance, I still don’t know your real name."

"Rhys," Rhys Ryston answered succinctly.

"So your real name really is Rhys. Then why did you choose Rhys Ryston as your pen name?" Clara Grant asked, her interest piqued.

Rhys found her curiosity a little odd. She smiled and said, "I just picked it randomly."

Clara Grant remembered how she had once teased Rhys that her name was a perfect match for River Sterling’s, and she couldn’t help but smile. ’A randomly chosen name? Does that mean she and River Sterling are fated to be together after all?’

"What is it?" Rhys asked, confused by her smile.

"It’s nothing. I just thought of someone whose name is a perfect match for yours," Clara Grant said with a laugh. "His name is River Sterling, and your real name is Rhys. ’Rhys’s River’... see how perfect that is? What’s more, he’s a fan of yours. He’s reading *You Are My Eternal Love* too."

"Oh, really? Is it a guy or a girl?" Rhys asked, playing along with a smile as she saw how excited Clara was.

"A guy."

"A guy reads romance novels? That’s a rare breed. I’d love to meet him if I ever get the chance."

"Speaking of *You Are My Eternal Love*, Ryston, that’s actually why I wanted to meet with you today." Clara Grant’s smile faded as she got down to business. "I heard Aegis Pictures is interested in adapting it into a TV show, but you’re not on board?"

"How do you know that?" Rhys asked, confused.