To say that Aliana was shocked would have been the biggest understatement of the century when she saw the most ridiculous article she had ever laid eyes on.

As her light grey eyes narrowed at the picture below, where she and Jacob appeared far more intimate than they actually were and an ugly scowl slowly formed across her face.

Completely forgetting about the furious beast standing right in front of her, a sharp, incredulous "What the fuck?" naturally slipped from her lips.

Then, in the very next second, she snatched Gavriel’s phone straight from his hand and began furiously reading through the article.

"Is the Van Empire becoming a private playground? Scintillating new evidence suggests heiress Aliana Vanderbilt and Acting CEO Jacob Grant are mixing business with extreme pleasure!

Early this morning, cameras captured a moment so heated it could have melted the glass walls of the Van Empire itself. The ’She-Devil’ was spotted in a compromising full-body embrace with the man currently holding the reins of her family’s company.

Sources claim the physical closeness between the Deputy CEO and her Acting CEO left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

But the heat did not end there.

The pair was later seen retreating to Aliana’s private office suite, where the doors reportedly remained locked for twenty mysterious minutes. When Acting CEO Jacob finally emerged, he appeared visibly dishevelled. With tousled hair and a rumpled suit, he carried the unmistakable appearance of a man who had just finished a very ’intimate’ negotiation.

Miss Vanderbilt followed shortly afterwards, though notably, she was no longer wearing the olive-green outfit she had arrived in earlier that day. Instead, the Deputy CEO appeared in an entirely fresh ensemble, looking flushed and radiant.

One cannot help but wonder... what exactly happened behind those locked doors that required a complete change of clothes?

Insiders close to the Vanderbilt family whisper that their recent trip to Spain wasn’t just for business, it was a secret engagement! Word on the street is that the Acting CEO has already officially claimed the Heiress, and the duo is preparing to tie the knot in a whirlwind ceremony that will unite their power over the Van Empire forever."

The more Aliana read, the more her body began to tremble, not with fear, but with pure, unbridled rage. And Gavriel, who stood only a short distance away while watching her every reaction carefully, felt every bit of it with full force.

Before he could even say a single word, a series of vicious curses suddenly spilled from Aliana’s lips, harsh enough to leave even him momentarily taken aback.

When her eyes finally lifted to meet his, they were practically spitting fire, so furious that one would think he was personally responsible for the entire scandal.

Silently, she held his phone back out towards him.

The moment Gavriel took it from her hand, her ice-cold voice sliced through the heavy silence between them.

"If you believe even a single word of this garbage, then you’d easily be the biggest fool I’ve ever met." Her sharp eyes narrowed slightly as she continued, "And I would still like to believe that the man I just agreed to marry isn’t an idiot... is he?"

Her gaze challenged him openly, daring him to say otherwise, and Gavriel found himself utterly.... speechless.

He had the distinct feeling that if he dared to utter even a single wrong word right now, this feisty little kitten might genuinely claw his face apart.

Despite that, his blood continued to boil violently with the image burned deep into his mind. Making him want to hunt down that corrupt human and rip him apart piece by piece for daring to touch what belonged to him and him alone!

"Well?" Aliana’s sharp voice suddenly pulled him back from his murderous thoughts. "Are you?"

After a brief pause, Gavriel finally answered, "No."

"Good." With that single word, she turned on her heels and began walking out of the living room.

A deep crease immediately formed between Gavriel’s brows at her actions, and before he could even think, his hand shot out to grab hold of her wrist.

"Where are you going?" he asked in a tight voice.

Aliana turned to glance back at him over her shoulder before replying in an eerie calmness, "To get my phone from my car, of course. Otherwise, how exactly am I supposed to make all of them pay for posting such ridiculous nonsense?"

The dangerous fury burning behind her eyes made even Gavriel pause slightly.

And upon hearing her answer, he reluctantly loosened his grip and let her go.

Forty minutes later, a car pulled into the driveway, and Nigel quickly tumbled out of it like a bowling pin before straightening himself, only to gaze at the beautiful mansion standing in all its glory.

When Aliana told him to come here as fast as he could, with, of course, a suitcase packed with a bunch of her clothes and other essentials, he was taken aback. Wondering if she was going into hiding because of the scandalous news breaking out.

But upon arrival, when he read the elegantly written Valentine Residence, he almost puked blood.

He could not help but exclaim, "Just what on earth is going on?!"

At this point, he truly felt like he might need to get his blood pressure checked with the way things continued to unfold.

Releasing a long sigh, Nigel unloaded Aliana’s luggage before making his way towards the front entrance.

But before he could even knock, the doors suddenly swung open.

"Welcome to Valentine Residence, Mister Green."

The butler had appeared so suddenly and silently that Nigel nearly jumped out of his skin, his heart almost leaping straight out of his throat.

"Ah... yes. Thank you." Nigel replied awkwardly while still trying to calm his racing heart.

"This way, please. Master and Miss Vanderbilt are waiting for you," Winston said in a dead, monotonous tone that genuinely made Nigel wonder whether the man was actually a robot beneath his suit.

"Alright..."

Nigel was about to drag the luggage inside when Winston spoke again.

"You may leave the luggage here. I will ensure it is moved to Miss Vanderbilt’s room."

The moment Nigel heard the words Miss Vanderbilt’s room, another wave of shock nearly hit him straight in the face.

But having absolutely no mental energy left to process anything else tonight, he simply did as instructed and followed the robotic butler further into the mansion.

Winston eventually stopped before a large set of wooden double doors and paused to knock politely. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

After receiving an almost inaudible response from inside, the butler slowly pushed the doors open for Nigel to enter.

Nigel quietly sucked in a sharp breath, and the moment he stepped inside, he had to blink several times at the unusual sight before him.