Chapter: 175

The water was lukewarm and unpleasant now, a stale reminder of his current misery.

His illness only made it worse; his throat throbbed with every swallow, not to mention the water tasted terrible.

Annoyed, he set the glass down with a faint scowl.

Suddenly, Gerry's face lit up, and he practically shouted, “I've got it!"

Caden gave him a half-hearted glance, his voice dry and dismissive.

“Took you long enough."

With a self-satisfied smirk, Gerry declared, "You paid off the boss so he wouldn't tell me, didn't you? You didn't want me to know"

Caden stared at him, dumbfounded.

He turned to Hank with a raised brow. "Are all virgins this clueless?"

Hank blinked, unsure of how to respond. Not all of them, surely...

Caden smirked. "Oh, right. Forgot you're a virgin, too."

Hank was left speechless, mentally rolling his eyes. Caden had no right to boast!

“If Alicia hadn't been drugged, you'd still be one yourself," Hank thought with a silent scoff.

Eventually, Gerry gave up on guessing, sinking back into his chair.

He glanced around the room, watching people mingle and toss around hollow compliments. The whole event felt pointless, a chore with no real substance.

He sighed. "Since when did you start caring about these insignificant social gatherings? Randolph's just a deputy manager. You don't owe him anything, yet here you are-sick, no less. What's the point?"

Caden didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed his glass and rose to his feet.

Gerry frowned. “Where are you going?"

Caden tossed a glance over his shoulder, his voice flat. “Anywhere that's far away from you."

Caden despised drinking warm water, but his throat was too uncomfortable at the moment.

It quickly became dry again.

He waved down a server, asking for another glass of water.

Meanwhile, Alicia hadn't found a chance to approach Rachel, so she stood to the side, idly passing the time.

When Caden came near, she didn't move. Instead, she gave a polite smile. “Mr. Ward."

Caden, just as insincere, replied, "Ms. Bennett."

An awkward silence followed.

Alicia glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

The room was packed with people.

Even so, Caden's striking appearance still drew attention.

Caden's face had a pale look from his illness, but it didn't make him seem weak. Somehow, it only made him more striking.