Chapter: 1003

This is my birthday party!"

Marlin had invited their friends to celebrate with drinks.

His social circle recognized Norah — the beautiful woman Dolores had smeared at the charity event.

Their minds raced with questions. Was this payback for Dolores’ lies?

Dolores’ friends, however, were unfamiliar with Norah. They simply found her beautiful. But judging by Dolores‘ flustered state, they guessed perhaps she was a former flame of Marlin.

A laugh bubbled up from Norah's chest. Marlin had orchestrated this whole thing through Gerry? All that pretense of not knowing her?

"Marlin," she said, her voice laced with amusement, “why do you drop the act?"

Norah's playful banter cast a complicated mood over the private room.

It seemed Marlin and Norah were quite familiar with each other.

Marlin's cigarette hand stilled. He lifted his gaze to meet Norah's silhouette backlit by the doorway.

He examined her eyes carefully and found that they were indeed a little similar to those in his memory.

But he got rid of that thought quickly.

He'd found the woman he'd been searching.

Dolores' eyes narrowed with suspicion. Norah's presence was a calculated move, an unwelcome intrusion. Marlin barely knew this woman, yet here she was, shamelessly chummy with him.

"Miss Wilson," Dolores drawled, her voice laced with feigned sweetness, "where's your boyfriend? It is my birthday, after all. Did he send his regards?"

Ignoring Dolores entirely, Norah fixed her gaze on the man sprawled on the central sofa.

"Marlin," she said, her voice cutting through the sudden hush that had fallen over the room, "I'm asking you."

Silence. The only sound was the pulsing music thrumming in the background.

Smoke swirled upwards, blurring Marlin's vision and obscuring Norah's face. When it cleared, the glint in her eyes sent a jolt through him.

"What are you on about?" he snapped, his voice defensive. "I have no clue what you're insinuating."

The ember glowed dangerously close to his fingertips. With a grimace, he crushed the cigarette into the ashtray.

Grabbing a nearby goblet, he drained it in one swift gulp.

The crystal clinked sharply as he slammed it back on the table.

His gaze remained fixed on Norah, oblivious to Dolores fuming beside him, her hands clenched into tight fists.