Chapter 3

I pushed open the heavy glass door of Starlight Diner, and a wave of vintage jazz mixed with the smell of coffee rushed at me.

It was an old-school American retro diner from the last century, with red leather booths and flashing neon signs setting the mood perfectly.

I walked in my high heels to the hidden booth in the far corner and sat down, then ordered a sparkling water with no sugar.

In the center of the room, across two rows of seats, Zack’s livestream setup with its ring light stood out like a sore thumb.

Zack was talking away at the camera. Today he wore an expensive custom black shirt with two buttons undone at the collar, and the Patek Philippe on his wrist caught the diner lights.

Sitting beside him was his longtime partner, Chloe.

Chloe was a girl wearing a pure white floral dress, her long blonde hair styled neatly. She covered her mouth and laughed softly at the camera.

"Everyone, don’t say that. Selena might just have gotten fat because she’s been sick."

"Zack also chose this classy restaurant with no high-calorie food today just to encourage her to lose weight."

As she spoke, she reached over and patted Zack on the arm.

"Zack has always had such a soft heart. Don’t let his harsh words fool you. Once he sees her later, he’ll definitely still take good care of her."

The chat instantly flooded with praise.

"Chloe is such an angel. So kind."

"Too bad Zack is blind. He has an absolute bombshell right beside him and still insists on going online-dating a giant."

"Strongly demanding that Zack and Chloe get together!"

I watched Chloe’s understanding, reasonable act with cold eyes.

She seemed like she was helping me out, but every word she said was really nailing down the label of "fat, pathetic, and deserving of pity" on me.

Zack clearly enjoyed being surrounded by adoration.

He leaned toward Chloe and raised an eyebrow at the camera.

"If she really crushes the booth later, Chloe, you’ll have to cover the damages for me."

The two of them laughed together in front of the camera, and just then, a waiter came over carrying my sparkling water.

"Ma’am, your water."

That greeting sounded a little out of place in this section of the restaurant.

I took off my sunglasses and set them on the table, then let my gaze drift casually toward the VIP half-booth on the other side of the diner.

A dark red curtain half-covered it, and inside sat a man.

He wore a perfectly tailored dark gray suit, with a pair of silver-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.

He was holding half an unlit cigar between his fingers, and his gaze crossed most of the restaurant and landed straight on me.

That look was razor-sharp, like he was sizing up prey, yet it also carried a coldness that saw through everything.

I didn’t know him, but the pressure around him was so strong it even outweighed all the noise in the diner.

The eye contact lasted only a second before he lowered his gaze and kept listening to the people opposite him report to him nervously.

At the same time, because I had taken off my sunglasses, a lot of people in the restaurant had already started looking at me.

Zack also noticed the disturbance. He turned around, and the second his eyes landed on me, his whole body visibly froze.

I lifted the glass, my red lips touching the rim as I took an unhurried sip of sparkling water.

Zack’s throat bobbed, and he nearly lost his grip on the iced Americano in his hand.

He didn’t recognize me at all. He was just instinctively drawn to a completely unfamiliar, aggressively beautiful face.

He didn’t even notice that the camera had tilted off to the side.

Chloe followed his gaze and looked over, and the smile on her face froze instantly, a trace of fierce, guarded hostility flashing in her eyes.

Zack suddenly muted the microphone and leaned toward the camera to lower his voice.

"Guys, the giant still hasn’t shown up."

"But I think I just saw a real muse in this restaurant."